Latest news with #LisaVargas
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
This Walmart Store Has Seen a ‘Huge' Decrease in Shoplifting After Making 1 Major Change
A Walmart in Missouri has seen a significant reduction in shoplifting since removing self-checkout lanes in April 2024 Local police state that calls and arrests to the supercenter have decreased by over half in a year-over-year comparison In an email to PEOPLE, Walmart stated that it currently does not have plans to remove self-checkout options in any other storesA Walmart in Missouri has dealt with significantly less crime after tearing out its self-checkout lanes. In a recent presentation to city officials, Shrewsbury Police Chief Lisa Vargas stated that police calls and arrests at a local Walmart supercenter were down by over half when compared to the same period in the previous year, per local news outlet the Webster-Kirkwood Times. Walmart removed the self-checkout option at the Shrewsbury location in April 2024. Prior to the change, many people were checking themselves out and not paying for items, per the outlet. Vargas stated that in January through May 2024, the Shrewsbury Police Department responded to 1,915 calls — over 25% of which came from the local Walmart. In the same period in 2025, only 11% of calls were regarding issues from the store, per the Times. 'That's a huge change. We really appreciate Walmart taking initiative and removing those self-checkers,' Vargas said during her presentation, per the outlet. PEOPLE reached out to the Shrewsbury Police for comment on Friday, June 20, but did not receive an immediate response. 'We're always looking for ways to innovate in our stores, including the checkout experience,' Charles Crowson, Walmart's Director of Global Affairs, said in an email to PEOPLE. 'Any adjustments are based on varying factors, including feedback from associates and customers, shopping patterns and business needs in the area,' he continued, adding that Walmart does not have plans to remove self-checkouts from other locations. This isn't the first time that Walmart has implemented changes in an effort to prevent shoplifting. In 2024, the retailer introduced handheld scanners at select locations, which enabled employees to ensure that shoppers were not using old or fake receipts to walk out of stores with unpaid items. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The chain also has been making changes to combat card skimming, which is a tactic used by thieves to steal credit card information by installing official-looking devices over the existing devices at self-checkout stations, per ABC affiliate WSET. Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Walmart forced to shut down self-checkout lanes for good
A Walmart in Missouri has seen a sharp drop in police calls and arrests after it made a bold move: ripping out every self-checkout machine. The Shrewsbury supercenter removed the kiosks last year after logging a staggering 509 police calls. Since then, the numbers have plunged — with only 183 calls so far this year and arrests cut nearly in half. 'That's a huge change. We really appreciate Walmart taking initiative and removing those self-checkers,' Shrewsbury police chief Lisa Vargas said on Tuesday. Walmart has been looking for other ways to crack down on shoplifting at self-checkouts such as using handheld scanners in select stores to verify a receipts authenticity. Bosses have also been locking up items that are frequently stolen behind plexiglass screens. Besides Shrewsbury, select Walmart stores in Ohio and New Mexico eliminated self-checkouts to lessen the chance of shoplifting. 'We believe the changes will improve the in-store shopping experience and give our associates the chance to provide more personalized and efficient service,' a Walmart spokesperson told CX Dive . Walmart is in the middle of a massive revamp at 650 stores this year. While they're working on store redesign, select locations are also rolling out adjustments to self-checkouts to stop crooks stealing customers' card details. Commonly seen is red tape covering part of the card reader prevent card skimmers from stealing financial information. Card skimming has become a frequent problem in Walmart stores nationwide, with one incident going unnoticed for 18 days . During those days, a card-skimming device disguised as a pin pad at one of the retailer's registers in Connecticut . The problem has escalated to a point where Washington state's legislature proposed a bill to regulate the use of self-checkouts . Besides registers, Walmart has begun testing other methods aiming to decrease its crime rate without diminishing its current progress. Some of these tools include opening locked display cases with phones and hidden barcodes in Great Value-branded products . Walmart is not the only retailer to continue axing self-checkout. Dollar General also performed a massive self-checkout removal in 12,000 stores , hoping for a decrease in shoplifters. The takeaway worked in Dollar General's favor, and the chain reported an 8 percent boost in income during its first quarter . Sam's Club, a division of Walmart, is removing all machines and rolling out AI -powered 'Scan & Go' technology to reduce checkout wait times.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Walmart makes massive self-checkout U-turn: 'Huge change'
A Walmart in Missouri has seen a sharp drop in police calls and arrests after it made a bold move: ripping out every self-checkout machine. The Shrewsbury supercenter removed the kiosks last year after logging a staggering 509 police calls. Since then, the numbers have plunged — with only 183 calls so far this year and arrests cut nearly in half. 'That's a huge change. We really appreciate Walmart taking initiative and removing those self-checkers,' Shrewsbury police chief Lisa Vargas said on Tuesday. Walmart has been looking for other ways to crack down on shoplifting at self-checkouts such as using handheld scanners in select stores to verify a receipts authenticity. Bosses have also been locking up items that are frequently stolen behind plexiglass screens. Besides Shrewsbury, select Walmart stores in Ohio and New Mexico eliminated self-checkouts to lessen the chance of shoplifting. 'We believe the changes will improve the in-store shopping experience and give our associates the chance to provide more personalized and efficient service,' a Walmart spokesperson told CX Dive. Walmart is in the middle of a massive revamp at 650 stores this year. While they're working on store redesign, select locations are also rolling out adjustments to self-checkouts to stop crooks stealing customers' card details. Commonly seen is red tape covering part of the card reader prevent card skimmers from stealing financial information. Card skimming has become a frequent problem in Walmart stores nationwide, with one incident going unnoticed for 18 days. During those days, a card-skimming device disguised as a pin pad at one of the retailer's registers in Connecticut. The problem has escalated to a point where Washington state's legislature proposed a bill to regulate the use of self-checkouts. Besides registers, Walmart has begun testing other methods aiming to decrease its crime rate without diminishing its current progress. Some of these tools include opening locked display cases with phones and hidden barcodes in Great Value-branded products. Select Walmart stores have been adding gadgets to self-checkout scanners to decrease the chance of card skimming Walmart is not the only retailer to continue axing self-checkout. Dollar General also performed a massive self-checkout removal in 12,000 stores, hoping for a decrease in shoplifters. The takeaway worked in Dollar General's favor, and the chain reported an 8 percent boost in income during its first quarter. Sam's Club, a division of Walmart, is removing all machines and rolling out AI -powered 'Scan & Go' technology to reduce checkout wait times. Costco, one of Sam's Club's biggest rivals, began rolling out the same technology but is not planning on axing self-checkout from all locations.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Walmart Makes Sudden Self-Checkout Decision After Alarming Police Data
Walmart is pulling back on one of its biggest retail experiments after eye-opening data from police revealed just how costly self-checkout can be. At a Supercenter in Shrewsbury, Missouri, Walmart abruptly removed all self-checkout machines—permanently. The decision came after years of frequent police calls tied to theft at the store, which local law enforcement says dropped dramatically after the kiosks were removed. According to the Webster-Kirkwood Times, the Shrewsbury Police Department responded to 509 calls from the Walmart location between January and May of last year. During the same period this year, after the self-checkouts were removed, those calls dropped to just 183. Arrests fell by more than half, from 108 to just 49. "That's a huge change," said Police Chief Lisa Vargas. "We really appreciate Walmart taking initiative and removing those self-checkers." While many major retailers once hailed self-checkout as the future of shopping, the reality has proven far more complicated. Customers frequently struggle with the machines, and some simply skip the scanning process altogether. The Mirror reported that Christopher Andrews, author of The Overworked Consumer, explained that stores initially viewed the technology as a labor-saving breakthrough, but it backfired. "They ended up realizing that they're not saving money, they're losing money," Andrews said. The move in Missouri isn't isolated. Walmart has also removed self-checkouts from a location in Cleveland, Ohio, and is reportedly reconsidering its broader among customers over slow, glitchy machines has compounded the issue. And with theft rising across many retailers, automated checkout lanes have become a high-risk gamble. Still, Walmart isn't giving up on innovation altogether. The company is testing Scan & Go technology at select Sam's Club locations. That model uses a mobile app to tally purchases in real-time, combining QR codes and AI to reduce shrink while offering speed and convenience to that system proves more efficient—or more secure—remains to be seen. But for now, one thing is clear: at least one Walmart is thriving without self-checkout. And police say the data speaks for Makes Sudden Self-Checkout Decision After Alarming Police Data first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 20, 2025
