Sweethearting
Sweethearting is when a cashier lets products through without scanning them, or rings up a cheaper item, for a customer they know. The purchase looks normal at the POS, with a receipt issued and payment made, but part of the merchandise leaves the store without being charged.
How it happens
The cashier passes the product around the scanner, covers the barcode with a hand or keys in the code of a lower-priced item. The friend pays less than they take. Because there is a receipt and a payment, nothing stands out in the system. The gap only appears in inventory, mixed in with ordinary shrink.
Warning signs
Product bagged without a scan
The item goes into the bag with no matching scan recorded at the POS.
Short receipt for a large basket
The volume leaving the checkout does not match the number of items on the receipt.
Code keyed instead of scanned
Frequent manual entry, with low-value items taking the place of the real product.
Pattern repeating at the same register
Purchases with the same gap keep appearing at the same POS and on the same shift.
Where it shows up
It shows up at any staffed checkout, and is more common where cashiers serve many familiar faces, such as neighborhood stores and chains with local teams.
How the Bewacher agent is designed for it
The agent compares what passes through the checkout on video with the items the POS recorded in the same window. When a product goes into the bag without a scan, or the keyed code does not match what appears on the belt, the case is built with the receipt and the video clip. The rule is tuned by value and recurrence, so the loss prevention team only receives the exceptions that matter.
Terms in the glossaryFrequently asked questions
What is sweethearting?
Sweethearting is when a cashier lets items through unscanned, or charges for a cheaper product, for a customer they know. It does not stand out in the system, because the sale has a receipt and a payment like any other.
Does the AI recognize who the cashier's friend is?
No. The reading covers the transaction, the environment and movement at the checkout, in aggregate. The agent compares what crossed the belt with what the POS recorded. The case is handled by the chain's loss prevention team, under its internal policy and applicable privacy law.
Why doesn't the inventory count solve it?
The count shows that product is missing, but not where or when it left. Sweethearting blends into operational shrink, expired goods and receiving errors. Matching the receipt with video of the moment shows where and when the item left without being charged.
Next step
See what the reading finds in your chain.