Lowe’s successfully tested a mechanism that uses low-cost radio frequency identification chips to track and lock items, ensuring that power tools and other equipment are rendered inoperable if stolen.
During the crime wave of the last three years, public attention has been drawn to robberies carried out by groups of robbers, with some retailers and convenience stores spending millions on new security measures or closing locations in dangerous cities.
Lowe’s has launched Project Unlock, which employs blockchain and RFID technology to render tools “inoperable and virtually worthless” if they are stolen from a Lowe’s location.
“At the store, a customer takes the product to the register, gets the barcode scanned, and pays,” according to a webpage from Lowe’s Innovation Labs. “A point-of-sale RFID scanner reads all tags in range, finds the tool with the correct serial number, and writes a unique secret key value that activates the tool for use. Only products that are legitimately purchased are activated. If a power tool is stolen, it won’t work, which makes it less valuable to steal.”
During an interview with Fox Business, Lowe’s Chief Digital and Information Officer Seemantini Godbole stated that other solutions to prevent organized retail theft, such as locking down shelves, ultimately disrupt “an enjoyable experience that customers rightfully should have.” Project Unlock’s process is “invisible” to customers, who should “not even know that anything extra is happening.”
“As you can see, all the retailers are locking down stuff and putting physical locks on the product,” she commented, adding that word will spread among thieves “pretty quickly that stealing these tools this way is not worth it because it’ll never work.”
According to a National Retail Federation survey, retailers reported a 26.5% increase in organized retail crime last year, and nearly 90% of respondents said that the phenomena of the last three years increased risk for their businesses through higher levels of violence, shoplifting, employee theft, and organized theft.
Target CEO Brian Cornell revealed last year that the company’s security spending has increased due to organized retail crime.
“This is an industrywide problem that is often driven by criminal networks, and we are collaborating with multiple stakeholders to find industrywide solutions,” Target CFO Michael Fiddelke added. “For example, because stolen goods are often sold online, Target strongly supports the passage of legislation to increase accountability and prevent criminals from selling stolen goods through online marketplaces.”
Trade groups like the National Retail Federation and the Chamber of Commerce have rallied businesses to support a slew of bills that would increase federal resources devoted to halting the trend.
While the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act would allow law enforcement agencies and businesses to work together, the INFORM Consumers Act would discourage the online resale of stolen goods by requiring verification for high-volume third-party sellers on platforms like Facebook Marketplace.
The robberies occur as some local officials place less emphasis on prosecuting minor offenses.
California is one of several states that have relaxed penalties for minor shoplifting, as residents approved a ballot measure in 2014 that only prescribes misdemeanor penalties for nonviolent property crimes involving stolen goods worth less than $950.
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