The next time you walk into a T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods, you may notice something different about some employees that you'd typically only see on police officers: body cameras.
John Klinger is CFO of TJX, which owns and operates the retail chains, and he said on a company earnings call last month that workers at some stores in the U.S. will start being equipped with body cameras. He said the move is an effort to combat shrink — a term used to describe losses in inventory from things like shoplifting and theft.
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"When somebody comes in, it's sort of, it's almost like a de-escalation where people are less likely to do something when they're being videotaped," Klinger said.
He added that while TJX is "highly focused" on addressing shrink, the company is also looking at how to "balance protecting the goods with making sure that the customers can shop easily ... while also maintaining safety in our stores."
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TJX isn't the only retail company looking to use video surveillance as a way to combat theft. According to a 2023 survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, more than 1 in 3 (35%) major retailers in the U.S. said they were considering the implementation of employee-worn body cameras.
In addition, 11% of survey respondents said they had already begun testing the technology in their stores.
