Overall, theft helps drive about $95 billion in losses every year for US retailers, according to estimates by the National Retail Federation, an industry group.Costco collects personal data on its shoppersand provide their photo, home address, and other identifying data.
Shoppers are likely less inclined to steal when a store has this level of personal details about them.Costco is strict about its membership rules. Shoppers must scan their membership cards to complete purchases, and also display them to enter stores. Employees stationed at the entrance of every store check the cards to ensure a paid member is with any group of shoppers entering.
"By strictly controlling the entrances and exits and using a membership format, we believe our inventory losses are well below those of typical retail operations," Costco says in itsEmployees are also stationed at store exits to check that receipts match up to the items in shoppers' carts. Every receipt and cart is checked. than meets the untrained eye, employees previously told Insider.