Walmart, the largest private employer in America, is putting into practice a test program for equipping store associates with body cameras. It has announced this through CNBC. Warnings are seen at the entrances of stores in selected areas like Denton, Texas: “Body-worn cameras in use.” Some Walmart associates have been seen conducting receipt reporting or helping customers, but according to sources, this initiative was focused mostly on employee safety oils rather than shoplifting prevention.
This pilot includes a comment from a spokesperson for Walmart who confirmed the initiative: “It’s a test we’re trying out in one market, and of course, we’ll take stock of where we go with the results,” about saying that it will take place in just one location and will use results before making any long-term decisions. It follows the trend set by end small retailers, who have imported similar technology to help curb theft. However, the country employs cameras to improve worker security during all high-tension verbal engagements.
Mixed reactions: Safety or surveillance?
The retail workers find themselves under tension, with the year-end holiday shopping season leading the way. At this time, the stress is propelled by customer aggression. Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, claims that it is a bad environment, and then he questions the benefits of the cameras in resolving the conflict. “Workers need training on de-escalation and handling hostility,” he said. “The body camera doesn’t intervene. We need safe staffing and panic buttons.”
Award in the same basket is United for Respect, an advocacy group for workers. Co-executive director Bianca Agustin noted that cameras alone do not work. “There’s a claim that body cams will organically promote de-escalation. We don’t think that’s true,” she said, adding that they could potentially escalate tensions.
The skeptics are not dissuaded; many industry gurus insist that it can work wonders in making people act appropriately. David Johnston, Nrf v-p asset protection, said, “When people see themselves on camera, they’re more likely to change their behavior.” Walmart’s trial fits with those from other retailers, such as TJX Companies (owners of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods), who claim to have reduced thefts via body-worn cameras.
A broader trend in retail
The entry of body cameras in the retail sector signifies a growth trend among retail organizations in making a safe shopping environment. According to the latest security survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, 35% of the retail sector had been researching body cameras for either their employees or loss prevention officers. About 11% of the respondents pilot-tested the technology, but none of them have a full implementation yet.
For instance, TJX Companies have embraced the devices and are thoroughly training their loss prevention associates on the effective usage of the devices. According to John Joseph Klinger, TJX’s finance chief, this device has helped in reducing shrink—or lost inventory. “People are less likely to do something when they are being videotaped,” he said.
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Yet while advocates state that these devices are for protection and accountability, opponents say that their effect on worker safety is largely speculative. One former retail worker who had threats of violence almost daily expressed skepticism toward cameras carrying very little effectiveness in tense contexts. “When people are acting irrationally, I don’t think a camera would stop them,” the former employee stated, further adding that the presence of cops would assure so much more.
This is precisely what the pilot project of Walmart is all about with body cameras—delicate balances among safety considerations, employee welfare, and customer relationships, none of which is to be shaped easily, as “standard” technology in retail. Its use highlights continuous efforts addressing changing dynamics in the retail workplace, even though whether or not this will become a “standard” instrument in retail remains unclear.
