- A TikTok video has gone viral for showing how Walmart workers are able to catch customers stealing.
- The purported Walmart employee who made the video wrote, "POV: We know when you're stealing."
- The person is seen holding a device that shows items being scanned in real time at registers.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A viral TikTok shows how Walmart employees are able to catch customers red-handed if they try to steal merchandise.
The video is from TikTok user @thewalmartguy69, who claims to be a Walmart employee. The text in the video reads, "POV: We know when you're stealing."
In the clip, the TikTok user is seen holding a device that gives "register alerts." The handheld device shows which self-checkout registers are currently in use and which are available. It showed that only one register was being used for a transaction at the time, and the rest were open. The TikTok user then pans his camera to the self-checkout area, where viewers can see that there is, in fact, a customer at one register while the rest are empty.
The camera then returns to the device, which informs the TikTok user how many total items that customer has scanned and what these items collectively cost. Beneath the item and price totals, the device also offers a limited breakdown of the individual items that customer scanned and how much each item costs. It shows an arrow next to the partial breakdown for the register, where the TikToker can presumably click to find the full breakdown of items.
The device appears to be from a company called Zebra Technologies, which sells various handheld devices designed for purposes like checking prices, locating items, and managing inventory.
The user later created another TikTok in response to a comment from a viewer asking, "What exactly happens on your screen?"
This video shows the purported employee performing actions at a self-checkout register and showing notifications of these actions subsequently pop up on the device. First, the TikTok user presses the button on the register that asks for employee assistance and then shows a "Help needed" banner appear on the portable device for that register.
The person then scans a travel-sized hand sanitizer and cancels it, at which point a "Void" banner shows up on the handheld device for the register. The device also shows a "Tendering in progress" banner to indicate when customers are paying for their items.
Walmart's other means of combatting theft include using cameras powered by artificial intelligence in more than 1,000 stores. In 2019, theft and fraud cost retailers like Walmart nearly $62 billion, which represents roughly 1.6% of sales that year.
