When it comes to security, the 2nd largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom definitely doesn’t mess around.
We’re talking about Sainsbury’s, of course, and if you’ve been wondering what Sainsbury’s Shoplifting policy is all about, then today is your lucky day!
Sainsbury has a very aggressive Shoplifting policy, enforced by surveillance cameras that use AI learning to report suspicious behavior immediately to employees. Standard and saved surveillance still apply and Sainsbury’s also uses electronic tagging, security guards, and trains employees to look for suspicious behaviors.
Finally, receipts are scanned at the exit, completing our profile-in-brief of Sainsbury’s security.
If you are curious how Sainsbury’s shoplifting policy all comes together to help reduce the chances of employee theft and shoplifting, then read on and we’ll tell you all about it!
AI-Integrated Surveillance tech
While just about every retail store in the world has electric eyes watching you in the form of video cameras, Sainsbury’s has something a lot more powerful – Artificial intelligence working with their surveillance.
In 2020, they partnered with ThirdEye, who provide analytic and machine-learning driven software to create a ‘concealment detector’ for Sainsbury’s.
Put in simple terms, Sainsbury’s has Artificial Intelligence looking through the cameras and it has been trained to look for people pocketing items.
When the technology spots someone hiding an item, it transmits a quick 4-second video to a Sainsbury employee, who can then contact loss prevention or simply call the police.
Even without the AI, someone can watch the standard surveillance and since they will be keeping the data for up to a year or more, the surveillance is still pretty effective.
With that AI driving, however, we’re talking about next-level security – Shoplifters would do well to stay far away from Sainsbury’s.
Electronic Tagging and MORE
Aside from that fancy AI surveillance, Sainsbury’s still uses the old standard of electronic tagging because frankly, it works.
As you might guess, however, Sainsbury’s doesn’t like to use legacy technology when there is something newer, and so in February of 2008, they started implementing an EAS strategy to reduce employee theft and shoplifting risks with an organized, effective approach.
Stock for the store now arrives tagged with EAS (Electronic article surveillance) tagging that is placed on the items before they are even shipped to Sainsbury’s.
By means of electronic stations in the store, these items may be tracked, and since employees aren’t the ones tagging items, they can’t walk out with them either.
This also has the advantage of making stocking less expensive for the store. Rather than spending man hours removing items from a box, crate, or pallet, and then pricing and tagging them, when a new shipment arrives they can open the cardboard or simply remove the plastic sheeting and stick the items straight onto the shelves to sell.
From a security standpoint, this also means that items may be ‘followed’ around the store wherever they go. If a potential shoplifter were to pick up an item to hide it behind goods on another shelf, then this behavior could potentially be observed.
What’s more, RFID-tagged items are inventoried in the POS (Point of Sale) smart registers and since they are part of the database, it can also be seen when they have actually been paid for.
We aren’t talking about the antiquated scenario of ‘carry the tag through the arches by the door and it will set off an alarm’ here. It will, of course, but Sainsbury’s tech is MUCH more than that. Wherever you are in the store, Sainsbury’s will know exactly how many electronically tagged items you have!
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Security guards
Aside from the software-driven electric eye and the RFID proximity sensors that track the items themselves, good old-fashioned human security guards are also present, at the doors and often wandering the stores.
That means that potential shoplifters are not only dealing with smart machines, but that their suspicious activities may well be spotted by an actual person, and they could be questioned, asked to leave the store, or even stalled until the police will arrive.
These guards will not lay a hand on customers, nor chase them out of the store, but they might well follow a suspicious person leaving the store while on the phone with the police to help ensure that the person won’t be getting away.
Employees trained for security scenarios
Employees are also trained to look for suspicious persons and if they see someone hiding an item, pocketing it, or otherwise attempting to obfuscate the object, then they can contact loss prevention or simply ask a security guard to become involved.
In some cases, they may even be instructed to call the police right away, adding yet another layer to the veritable onion of Sainsbury’s security standards.
We should also mention that by ’employees’ we also mean dedicated loss prevention investigators, who may be wandering around the store plain-clothed and with a watchful eye – say what you will about Sainsbury’s, but they spare no expense in making solid loss prevention strategies that really WORK.
Receipt scanning
Finally, when you go to leave the store, don’t be surprised if your receipt is scanned at the exit. This seems innocuous but think about all of the security measures we have described so far.
By scanning the receipt, there is now a concrete list of EXACTLY what you just paid for. Now consider that proximity tags could be present on any number of the items in a shoppers bag (or pocket) and you’re starting to see the big picture – it’s an instant inventory and if something is there that shouldn’t be, then you are probably going to jail.
Will Sainsbury’s press charges if I am caught shoplifting?
Put simply, ‘yes’, Sainsbury’s has one of the most aggressive shoplifting policies around and they have the latest tech to enforce it.
This makes loss prevention even more important, as this kind of security isn’t cheap unless it is WORKING.
Stores lose billions around the world from employee theft and from shoplifting, but with a system like Sainsbury’s has in place, the security really pays for itself in results.
If Sainsbury’s catches you, then what happens next is going to be up to the loss prevention staff at that particular store. With minors, this could mean that the items simply must be returned and they might even be banned from the store.
There is no guarantee of this, however, and the most likely scenario is that the police will be called and charges will be pressed.
That means heavy fines and potential jail time for anyone caught shoplifting and in turn, it helps Sainsbury’s to keep their losses and their prices low, while also protecting their profit margins.
Don’t be surprised when more stores start adopting this technology but in the meantime, if you are considering shoplifting, then we really don’t recommend that you try it at Sainsbury’s unless you like the idea of going to jail!
Some closing words
In today’s article, we’ve talked about Sainsbury’s shoplifting policy and we have to say that it’s impressive.
Sainsbury’s utilizes AI-driven software in conjunction with surveillance cams and machine learning so that a machine can tell when a customer sticks something in a pocket or purse, or simply hide it anywhere else.
Aside from this, standard surveillance may still be monitored by one of their many security guards, and footage is kept just in case they want to see what else a shoplifter has been doing over the last YEAR if that’s what they want.
With employees also watching for suspicious behavior, RFID tagging for real-time inventory movement tracking, and receipt scanning to determine exactly what has been paid for, it’s a formidable setup to say the very least.
As we’ve said in the beginning of this article, Sainsbury’s simply is NOT messing around when it comes to loss prevention, so any would-be shoplifters should do themselves a favor by staying far away from Sainsbury’s UK!