Stopping “Sweethearting” & Staff Theft at the Checkout: A Playbook for Retailers

Retail shrink isn’t just a back-of-house problem. At the checkout—manned lanes, SCO, scan-and-go-the risk of sweethearting (staff giving away items or discounts to friends/family) and other employee fraud quietly erodes earnings. With shop theft and overall shrink hitting record levels, ignoring internal loss at the till is no longer tenable.