MIAMI, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 18: A Walmart sign is displayed outside a Supercenter on November 18, 2024 in Miami, Florida. Walmart is set to report its third-quarter results on Tuesday, Nov. 19th. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Walmart employees in North Texas are wearing body cameras as part of a pilot program to increase employee safety at stores, Fox Business reports.
The cameras will be worn by employees at multiple stores in Denton. The locations have signage that the employees are using body-worn cameras.
As of now, the program is only being tested in Denton stores. A Walmart spokesperson told Fox Business that the company would evaluate the results of the pilot program before deciding the long-term fate of the program.
"While we don’t talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry," Walmart said in a statement to FOX Business.
Walmart isn't the first retailer to test body-worn cameras in its stores.
TJX Companies, the parent company of stores such as TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods, has been using body-worn cameras in its stores as a theft deterrent.
The cameras are only worn by loss prevention associates who are trained in their usage.
Businesses collectively lost $112.1 billion in 2022 due to retail theft, according to the National Retail Federation's 2023 National Retail Security Survey. According to NRF’s latest study, "The Impact of Retail Theft & Violence 2024," about 91% of those surveyed say that shoplifters are exhibiting more violence and aggression compared with 2019.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Fox Business.