A woman walked into a Tennessee Walmart. Minutes later, she left with three TVs — and only paid the price of a can of Pepsi.
How did she do it?
The American mega-chain is notorious for the installation of self-checkout machines, which have led to a decline in the number of cashiers working the registers.
And that has led to an uptick in shoplifting cases, according to a National Retail Federation study.
The organisation reports that retail theft in general has become a $100 billion problem in the U.S.
The suspect, who has not yet been identified, used a classic trick — she scanned a cheap item during a visit on June 5, making it look like she was scanning and paying for everything. In reality, however, she only scanned that item, then left.
No one noticed until she had left the store.
“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
Many stores across the country have increased their prices or closed altogether as a result of the uptick.
The Murfreesboro Police Department has asked the public for assistance in identifying the woman, who was caught on security camera footage.
"The person of interest drove away in an older red Ford Crown Victoria, but the license plate returned to a red Chrysler 200," the department wrote in a Facebook post. "Call Detective Ray Worden at 629-201-5637 if you know this woman."
Community members flocked to the comments and shared their reactions to the crime.
Many bashed Walmart for its business and operations decisions.
"Will "Wal-Mart powers that be" ever figure out that self scanning promotes stealing?" asked Nelda Nolen Kerr.
"This is exactly why Wal Mart needs full time cashier’s .. at every register!" echoed Sherri Landers Scheffler.
"At least she didn’t steal the Pepsi," joked Patrick Mcgoldrick.
Others had opinions about the police response to the incident.
"I think that effective immediately police resources should not be used for theft cases at stores that have self checkout," said Chris Voss.
"Police resources should not be used for theft cases at businesses who refuse to secure their inventory," added David Criswell.
"Police have more important things to do than to deal with this crap day after day," echoed Anna Maria Dunkerson.
