Survey: 15% of shoppers admit to stealing at self-checkout

The National Retail Federation says store-theft costs businesses more than a $100 billion in losses each year. A Lending Tree survey suggests the wide use of self-checkout may be partly to blame. 

Whether you love it for speed and convenience, or hate it because you think stores are making you do their job, almost half of us use self-checkout regularly. Unfortunately, it appears a good number of consumer cashiers are giving themselves a five-finger discount.

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With too many instances to count, of brazen thieves grabbing what they want and walking out the store, we're talking about something considerably more subtle.

The Lending Tree survey finds 69% of consumers believe self-checkout contributes to easy shoplifting. 

For most people, there can be simple mistakes. We try to scan everything, only to find there's an occasional item that slips through. 

"I guess you're just in the process of getting everything done quick, and getting in and out," says one shopper. "I feel guilty (when it happens)," says one shopper.

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Another 15% though have purposely stolen something while checking out, and 44% say they plan to do it again.

Of them, the numbers get interesting.

Typically, according to the survey, men (19%) are more likely to grab-and-go, over women (12%). Younger consumers lead the way, with 31% of Generation Z and 21% of millennials admitting to purposely taking something without scanning it. 24% of parents with younger kids report taking items. And, by household income, 18% of six-figure earners say they’ve stolen at self-checkout, more than any other income bracket.

In the Lending Tree survey of 2,000 participants, of the people who 'accidentally' took something they didn't pay for, only a third went back to the store to make it right. 

The average self-reported value of the stolen goods is $60. Among those who say they'll do it again, nearly-half say they’ll target the most-expensive items they have in their cart the next time.

HoustonNews