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Walmart is piloting body cameras for employees at several stores and reportedly asking staff who record incidents to report them in an ‘ethics and compliance’ app.
The pilot scheme began earlier in December, ahead of a busy holiday period where the majority of American retail workers (57%) report feeling unsafe in the workplace due to rising theft, violence, and understaffing.
Walmart has not confirmed how many stores are trialing the technology, nor specified exactly what the purpose of the technology is.
“While we don’t talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry,” a Walmart spokesperson said, speaking to CNBC. “This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions.”
But a document shared in an online Walmart employee and customer forum appears to show the tech rollout is aimed at improving safety.
Titled ‘Providing great customer service while creating a safer environment’, the document includes instructions for Walmart store-level associates (employees) on how to use the body cameras.
Speaking to CNBC, a source familiar with the scheme claimed the primary purpose of the technology is to improve worker safety, rather than to support loss prevention efforts.
According to the document, if Walmart associates are dealing with a customer and the interaction is “escalating,” they should record the incident, discuss it with a team member, and work with their colleague to log it in an “ethics and compliance app.”
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The document reminds associates not to avoid wearing the devices in employee break areas and bathrooms.
Mark Cohen, former CEO of Sears Canada, told CNBC that he believed it is a “test” to see whether it “has any beneficial effects, both on deterring criminals and salving the anxiety and the irritation of their associates.”
Worker safety concerns ramp up around the holiday season – but does the tech really help?
David Johnston, VP of Asset Protection and Retail Operations for the National Retail Federation, told CNBC the devices can reduce conflict, arguing that monitors alongside the cameras can be a “very big deterrent” for customers, preventing aggressive behavior.
Moreover, some retailers report that asking employees to use the technology has helped with loss prevention. Joseph Klinger, TJX’s Chief Financial Officer, said in May: “One of the things that we’ve added — we started to do last year, late towards the year, wear body cameras on our associates.”
He made a similar claim to Johnston, asserting that people are “less likely to do something when they’re being videotaped.”
However, not all experts agree about the technology’s value.
The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) – which represents retail workers at companies including Macy’s, Barnes & Noble, and General Mills (but not Walmart) – told CNBC that during the holiday season, already high levels of hostility reach new levels.
“There’s too much harassment that goes on throughout the year, but especially during the holiday season ... it’s even worse,” said Stuart Appelbaum, RWDSU President.
“Everyone is stressed out. If they can’t find the item they’re looking for, they get upset and whom do they blame? They blame the shop worker.”
On the subject of body cameras for employees, Appelbaum questioned whether they will really help combat rising levels of conflict and harassment.
The RWDSU, he said, believes body cameras used by the likes of Walmart and other smaller retailers are less about employee safety, and more about surveillance and theft prevention.
“Workers need training on deescalation. Workers need training on what to do during a hostile situation at work. The body camera doesn’t do that. The body camera doesn’t intervene,” Appelbaum said. “We need safe staffing and we need panic buttons.”
Bianca Agustin, co-executive director of United for Respect, another body representing retail workers – in this case including those who work for Walmart – shared his concerns.
She told CNBC: “There’s a claim that the body cams are going to promote deescalation just organically. We don’t think that’s true.”
While the tech could be a part of the solution, she argued, body cameras are “no substitute” for training.
Indeed, a spokesperson for TJX said that any employees who wear body cameras have received “thorough training on how to use the cameras effectively in their roles,” and that the technology only makes up one of a “variety of policies, trainings, and procedures,” it has introduced to “support a safe store environment.”
