Walmart Begins Program That Has Employees Wear Bodycams For Safety

According to a CNBC report, Walmart, Inc. WMT started providing body cameras to some of its store-level employees across the U.S. as part of a pilot program testing the technology.

The Details: Shoppers have noticed Walmart associates wearing bodycams and signs posted at some store entrances warning shoppers that the store has "body-worn cameras in-use," according to photos posted online.

Thoughts?

A Walmart employee in Denton, Texas, was seen wearing a bodycam while checking receipts near the store's exit, according to a shopper who shared a photo with CNBC.

It is unclear how many Walmart stores and employees are part of the bodycam pilot program, though the company said it is currently testing the tool in one market.

"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 told CNBC.

"This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions," the spokesperson added.

Other retailers have started using body cameras for theft prevention, but sources told CNBC that Walmart intends to use the devices for worker safety purposes.

TJX Companies, Inc. TJX said earlier this year that it started using body cameras in its stores, which include TJ Maxx, Marshall's and HomeGoods.

TJX Chief Financial Officer John Joseph Kilinger said on the company's first-quarter earnings call that the body cameras were an effective loss prevention tool.

"One of the things that we've added — we started to do last year, late towards the year, wear body cameras on our [loss prevention] associates," said Klinger.

"When somebody comes in, it's sort of — it's almost like a deescalation where people are less likely to do something when they're being videotaped. So we definitely feel that that's playing a role also," added Klinger.

A TJX spokesperson told CNBC that employees who wear body cameras have gone through training on how to use them properly and footage is shared upon request by law enforcement or in response to a subpoena.

"Body cameras are just one of the many ways that we work to support a safe store environment. This includes a variety of policies, trainings and procedures," the spokesperson said.

"We hope that these body cameras will help us de-escalate incidents, deter crime and demonstrate to our Associates and customers that we take safety in our stores seriously."

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