StopLift's "Accelerator" detects self-checkout theft in real time

Retail chains can now receive realtime reporting on self-checkout theft and other scan avoidance, prevent false alerts, and improve customer service at the self-checkout with StopLift Checkout Vision Systems’ new Self-Checkout Accelerator.

With the Self-Checkout Accelerator, StopLift’s new capabilities prevent false alerts and interventions, immediately flag unscanned merchandise at the checkout, and alert the attendant before the customer leaves the checkout. See real scan avoidance incidents at StopLift.

Working with retailers on four continents, including Tesco in the UK, StopLift has already detected and confirmed more than 1.7 million scan avoidance incidents at thousands of manned and self-checkouts in retail chains, and enabled retailers to improve cashier and self-checkout attendant training. StopLift’s patented video analytics technology visually determines what occurs during each transaction to immediately distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent behavior at the checkout.

“The Self-Checkout Accelerator enhances weight-based security to handle a broader spectrum of cases,” said Malay Kundu, Founder and CEO of StopLift. “Until now, security at the self-checkout has been performed solely by weight scales. Unfortunately, weight scales take time to settle, and legitimate purchases do not always match their expected weight in the database. As a result, conventional security measures often produce mistaken alerts which frustrate customers, leading some retailers to disable security and expose themselves to theft.”

StopLift’s video analytics enables self-checkouts to detect theft and unintentional scan avoidance that circumvent the weight sensor. For example, the system can detect merchandise left in the shopping cart or bagged outside of the bagging area without scanning. With real-time alerts, the attendant is notified right away so that he can take immediate action before the customer leaves the checkout.

“Our technology has found that shoplifting is as much as five times more likely to happen in the self-checkout lane,” Kundu said.

The Self-Checkout Accelerator can also identify an item not meant for purchase placed in the bagging area, such as a purse or reusable shopping bag, so that no alert will be sent and no beep will occur.

By utilizing StopLift’s video analytics to “double check” potential alerts, the Self-Checkout Accelerator can now effectively prevent unwarranted interventions. This protects the shopper from the annoyance of having the transaction interrupted, the embarrassment of having the self-checkout light flash, and the frustration of waiting for an attendant to come and clear it.

“This means no more customer complaints of, ‘The machine beeped at me!’” Kundu said.

Fewer false-positive alerts make their way to the attendant, and more trustworthy alerts are delivered, he said. The Self-Checkout Accelerator gives the attendant the confidence to act properly on the alerts, rather than haphazardly clear them, and cover a greater number of self-checkout stations. This means greater productivity gains and associated labor savings for the retailer.

With attendants spending less time clearing false alerts, they can spend more time providing true customer service. Customers have fewer interruptions at the self-checkout and more positive face time with attendants, resulting in a happier shopping experience!

In addition, uninterrupted transactions proceed faster for the customer, allowing for more sales in less time. And with every self-checkout customer checking out faster, this means shorter lines, less wait, and happier customers.