Sam’s Club Shoplifting Policy – What To Expect

Shoplifting is a problem that is closely monitored across all platforms in retail. Every major retailer has policies and procedures to prevent shoplifters from getting away with their crimes.

Many retailers will go as far as pressing charges against individuals who shoplift products from their stores. Sam’s Club is no exception. They take the act of shoplifting very seriously, and they will press charges against some individuals.

They also have loss prevention policies in place to deter shoplifters. Their most unique procedure involves stationing a couple of employees at the exit. Their job is to scan your receipt before leaving and scan a few items in your cart to ensure everything has been purchased. This loss-prevention tactic deters shoplifters from walking out without paying for their items.

Loss Prevention in Retail

Loss prevention in retail refers to policies designed to prevent a company’s product loss. Every retailer deals with loss prevention year after year. The ultimate goal is to experience no product loss, but that is not realistic.

Nothing can be absolute, so expecting 100% of your product to remain accounted for, especially for a company as large as Sam’s Club, is unrealistic. Even in a world without shoplifters, there is going to be product that gets damaged or lost in transit. 

Loss prevention specialists are dedicated to finding solutions to the loss of products for a company. Companies will usually do annual or semi-annual inventory counts to keep track of everything a store is supposed to have in stock and compare it with what they have. That is how loss prevention numbers are calculated and measured for better success for the next fiscal year.

Loss prevention is often something taught to employees at the store level. Many retailers have training for their employees dedicated to teaching them how to identify shoplifters based on suspicious behavior. Most will not allow you to approach a shoplifter. It can be dangerous to draw attention to someone committing a crime. However, identifying the behaviors often and making your presence known as an employee is enough to deter someone from shoplifting. 

Shoplifters play a considerable role in the loss prevention team’s efforts in a store like Sam’s Club. They must create policies to deter individuals from shoplifting and affecting their loss prevention data.

The Penalties of Shoplifting

Most retailers have penalties in place for shoplifters that are caught in the act. There are severe consequences for shoplifting. Stealing is a crime, and anyone caught shoplifting could face consequences as severe as fines or charges.

Sam’s Club has a threshold at which they will press charges against an individual who is caught shoplifting. For offenses that total less than $1000 in stolen product, an individual could face a class A misdemeanor, one year in the county jail, and up to a $2500 fine. Sam’s Club will press charges against anyone who is caught shoplifting.

Another penalty for shoplifting at Sam’s Club includes losing your membership. If you are caught shoplifting, they will revoke your membership, and you will be banned from renewing your membership. You will not be allowed to shop at another Sam’s Club location.

Shoplifting is a serious crime with severe consequences. Individuals caught shoplifting will have to take responsibility for a criminal record and possibly pay fines or spend time in jail.

Why Sam’s Club Scans Receipts

When you shop with Sam’s Club, you will be responsible for checking out your groceries at a self-checkout kiosk. Once you are finished, you will meet an employee at the exit who will scan your receipt. Sam’s Club has loss prevention policies in place to help deter shoplifters.

This employee is looking for anything that might have been missed while scanning your items. It is easy to forget something left on the bottom of your card in the chaos of trying to get out of the grocery store, so they will scan your receipt, then scan some of your items to double-check that you remembered to scan everything.

This practice deters shoplifters from walking out without paying for something. It is more likely that they will be caught trying to leave with something they have not purchased with an employee stationed at the exit. 

This method is not foolproof, and theft still happens. But it is far less likely when someone is meant to check your items at the exit before you leave.

The Takeaway

All retailers face the threat of shoplifters. It is a problem that is consistent yearly in the retail world. Most, if not all, companies perform inventory checks to see what product they might be missing. Employees are often trained to watch for behavior that indicates theft, and loss prevention teams are dedicated to enforcing policies to help prevent shoplifting.

Sam’s Club takes shoplifting very seriously. If caught, a shoplifter could face charges. They will have to deal with a misdemeanor or worse on their criminal record, fines, and possibly jail time. They will also lose the privilege of having a Sam’s Club membership.

Sam’s Club has unique policies in place that help deter shoplifters. They have someone at the exit to scan your receipt and check your items to ensure you purchased everything in your cart.

Shoplifting is a crime, and the consequences should be taken seriously. Sam’s Club’s shoplifting policies should be enough to deter anyone from shoplifting.