Theft is an eternal, expensive, irritating problem for retailers. But beyond simple shoplifting, organized crime rings that target specific retailers and their products have wide-ranging and detrimental impacts on not just the retailers and their employees but society as a whole. In a novel, tech-savvy move to try to thwart them, Home Depot has added a notable step to its purchase process. When regular customers go to make legitimate purchases of various power tools, checkout clerks will use a Bluetooth-enabled device to activate a code for the power tool that allows it to function normally. Without this step, the electic drill, saw, or screwdriver simply will not operate, even if fully charged. Acknowledging that there might be ways around the new system (e.g., enterprising theives might hack the tools, criminals also might try to steal the Bluetooth devices to be able to activate the tools on their own), Home Depot considers this effort as a viable means to make the theft that much more difficult. Such hurdles should be effective in halting organized theft rings, which tend to hire vulnerable local people to engage in the actual theft, then bring the stolen items to the organizer, who then moves to sell it. By hindering these steps, the company hopes it can convince the crime rings to move on to other, easier activities.

Source: Matthew Stern, “Home Depot Turns Off Thieves’ Power to Use or Sell Stolen Tools,” Retail Wire, August 24, 2021