Nearly two years, following Home Depot’s 2019 “Investor and Analyst Conference,” it was reported that shrink, or product theft and losses, is a bigger issue, potentially worsened by the opioid crisis and the ease at which stolen products can be quickly resold online.
At the time, several news outlets, such as the LA Times, also reported that:
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[Home Depot is] installing technology so that power tools won’t work unless they go through the retailer’s point-of-sale system.
Technology that prevents power tools from working unless they go through the point of sale system? How’s that going to work with cordless power tools, which are arguably the largest segment of power tools purchased today?
I listened to a transcript of the presentation and Q&A session, and Home Depot did indeed say that they are accelerating plans around technology that can help bring shrink down, including point of sale activation where you buy a power tool, and the only time that power tool can work is if it goes through a point of sale.
In other words, it seems that Home Depot is experimenting with technology that prevents power tools from working unless you buy them at a register.
They said this is one of several pilots to better secure higher-valued products.
Interesting.
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What kinds of power tools? Which brands? I suppose this is related to which power tools are most commonly stolen from stores. “Power tools” can also mean different things.
HOW will this be done?
Some cordless power tool brands have specific models and connected technologies that allow tools to be locked-out via an app, but you need an app to do it. I don’t think I have ever seen these tools, such as Milwaukee One-Key, sold at Home Depot stores.
Home Depot has been in the news again recently and several readers have pointed me towards a Business Insider story that says the plans are now being set into motion.
They say:
Home Depot is introducing power tools that won’t work if they’re stolen.
It has been around 20 months since this initiative was first announced, and despite the fresh media attention, there is no indication as to which brands and tools this will affect, and how the anti-theft measure will work.
News story point to Bluetooth connectivity being involved, where tools are unlocked at registers or remain locked and inoperable if stolen, but the vast majority of cordless power tools today lack such connectivity options.
This will continue to be an interesting development to follow.
This post was originally published on 12/12/2019 and updated on 8/3/2021.
Josh
I’m quite sympathetic to Home Depot’s issues with theft, but I really don’t want to deal with deliberately technologically crippled power tools that stop working if they’re not reauthorized periodically, or when their auth chip shorts out from normal heavy duty use.
Mahalo
I doubt the tech would be setup to require periodic reauthorization or a chip that would short out. My guess is a one-time, irreversible authorization where the fail-safe is to “authorized” rather than to “unauthorized”.
aerodawg
If it fails safe to authorize then it’s probably easily bypassed. Just fry the chip that controls authorization…..
Ken
Until they figure out how to sell smart drills as a subscription service.
Ken
Haha! Free tools that only work poorly until you buy their proper function through a connect app maybe… just like every piece of crappy software available for my phone on the app store…
and they get rights to your tool usage history…
Tom D
I could ALMOST see it working … IF brushless motors are actually cheaper to make than brushed – sell a normal tool that has a “Fuel” upgrade for $30 in the app or something.
(Then again the real advantage of brushless is the longer lasting vs more power in my opinion.)
Raycr
As a retired LE I would hire off duty police officers in uniform if possible who have powers of arrest not private security in each store. Your theft insurance would go down, and it would discourage Wal-Mart style shootings in house.
Go back to the normal compliment of cashiers who work as your eyes and ears. As suggested earlier go back to the old tool corral with dedicated register.
Any Radio frequency generator or even magnet to turn on the switch would be for sale at Ebay the following week. Look how they worked on handguns -NOT!
I would buy my tools on the internet but make sure I got a vender who didn’t pass off returned or used tools as new.
Will
See, then you have to PAY more people, which is what HD is trying NOT to do.
Source: I’ve worked for HD.
Raycr
Yes but that is what they did 2 years ago and then they tried to cheap out and pay in shrinkage instead.
I am a stockholder so a bigger bottom line is nice but I hate having to check my self out.
I would rather live life as a gentleman and have UPS deliver it to my door by mail order than wait in even longer lines.
Robert
I don’t see why they don’t just set up a separate storage space that’s a “tool warehouse”. Leave out displays and when someone wants something they pull a tag and take it up to the register. The dedicated tool guy goes and grabs it and voila, zero theft, more store space, better stock management, etc.
Stuart
Stores with closed-off tool corrals are a hassle. They have that in higher-risk areas.
One Sears near me had nearly all of their mechanics tools in lock cabinets, so I shopped at a different store. If you know what you want, that’s okay I guess. If you’re looking or want to compare, it’s terrible.
Whatever
This is the best idea so far. It’s win win ur right man & I don’t wait in lines, I steal the shit. But the guy that said people will just go steal something else in ur store is 100% correct, the best bet I have seen is that AI software that follows packages not people & tuffer, stronger, more intense looking dudes standing RIGHT DIRECTLY AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE DOOR so I can’t duck around him & who gives a shit if u put a 70 yr old women at the door & they have to restate alot & only work 2hrs at the door a day cause only a pathetic fawk would agree to work that job day n & day out, the quality workers u throw up there quit quick
EC
Theft is a major problem at HD. It’s blatant, easy, and well known. In almost any HD you can walk right out the door with a full cart and no one will say anything to you. Recently in Phoenix an off duty police officer tried to stop 2 men that walked out of a HD with carts filled with power tools. A truck was waiting for them in the parking lot and they just tossed in as much as they could and drove off at high speed. No one from HD offered to help and the criminals just ignored the cop trying to stop them. Had they ran over someone in the parking lot or something the cop would have probably lost his job.
The same thing happens in all big stores, Walmart, Lowes, Meynards… They don’t want theft obviously, but they also don’t want the liability that comes along with physically preventing it. Its takes a lot of loss from stolen tools to rise above the mountains of legal bills they would have (from customers, employees, and the criminals) if they tried to physically stop the theft. Some sort of tool activation is probably the only way to put a dent in it. That or maybe go the small electronics route and have a display item in store and you take a card to the register and the item is brought out after you pay.
Will
Trying to physically stop a theft results in on-the-spot termination, which is why no one helped.
I don’t why they can’t do what Costco does: have everyone form in a line and check everyone’s receipts.
But I’m sure they’ve figured all this shrink into their budget and insurance.
Stuart
Wholesale clubs can check receipts because you agree to their terms and conditions as part of the paid membership.
Retail stores sometimes have receipt checkers – a Home Depot near me does this as does a Walmart – but they cannot enforce it.
Bill Loew
The funny part is where the power tool display models on display have signs that say “Non Operating Display Model”, and their still stolen.
Nail guns that have holes drilled into the air chambers are very popular.
Brandon
Power tool DRM? I’m sure it’ll be flawless like all the other forms of DRM, right? Right? Right. This is not cool.
Serendipity
Everytime someone brings up DRM I remember how much I hate apple. Side rant.
Andrew
Most companies are suppose to either destroy or return to manufacturer defective or returned products… These can include stolen items… These items are in fact not destroyed. They are resold to “wholesale” companies which in turn resell these items, again, to the public. Some of these items may contain this tech… How are the resellers going to be effected by this new loss prevention strategy?
Denis
Right, i bought pallet from liquidation store, and have few new combo kits Dewalt. Now tools require activation at HD point if sale.
Luis
I just purchased a brand new Dewalt XR combo kit with tool connect and the drill /driver doesn’t work. The impact driver, however works great. When trying to pair the drill/driver through Tool Connect it’ll say it needs to be activated at the place I purchased it from.
I guess I’m returning both to the reseller
SteveP
I’m guessing this is not being applied to Ryobi products. At their low price points, they are not likely a target for pro thieves to begin with. And the added cost of the activation tech has to be passed onto the purchaser, upping the price.
What they have done is put all the power tools in locked cribs. So now you have to find a clerk to open it up. In one instance the guy just gave the tool to me once I asked but at a more-urban store the woman took it to the checkout and held it there for me
Ironically, this is in Maine – where about half the cars and trucks parked out front will have the keys in the ignition…
Oh – and all the Ryobi “deals” are still piled up on aisle ends and in the sale bays at the front of the store – loose – no security. I suppose slightly more in view, but still odd
Michelle Hollar
yea i work at a tool store and we got some of the Dewalt tool connect product and you have to get it activated so is there a way around it?
Jp
Ill stop buying from Hime Depot. What ever happened to frying crooks?
MSTRKRFTR
Right? Forget Home Depot and this Draconian solution. ?
Brian A
My concern about this is for the big brands HD sells (Milwaukee, Dewalt, Makita, Bosch), there’s no difference between the tool bought there versus anywhere else. E-retailers could care less about this, so are the manufacturers working with HD on this? Is it going to increase the cost of the tools? I really don’t see how this is reasonable or feasible.
Yes tool theft at HD is a huge problem, one they really haven’t cared about forever. Public knowledge that employees can’t stop you from walking out with a carriage full of stuff is the problem, only the dedicated security personnel can stop you.
Chris
If the upfront cost is less than the cost of the theft as a total, maybe Home Depot would cover that cost so the consumer never sees a price increase in the first place.
This may ultimately halt eBay sales of stolen items when the consumer buys a non-functional tool and gets a (eBay absolutely sides with the buyer on everything) refund.
People buying on craigslist (or others) will have to be less trusting and double check everything from then on (I’ve met way to many people that totally trust me when I say that something works and I have to make them test stuff out, those are the people that get screwed on things like this “DRM” type system).
tall_will
HD employee here. It’s a huge problem. We can’t stop anyone, and the security detectors at the entrances aren’t enabled, so all of those spider wraps you see on more expensive items are only meant to deter casual shoplifters. There is usually only one asset protection associate per district in the smaller districts, who must monitor every store, and police must be on-site before they can detain anyone.
It’s also the real reason why we’re encouraged to be so friendly and engaging; to constantly bombard potential shoplifters with an employee presence. People who really need help will seek us out.
I think if HD really cared about shrink they would keep all the high price items behind a cage where you pay as you’re leaving, like they do with Ring and Nest and digital thermostats, and pay to keep AP associates in the stores. They also would end the ridiculous policy of returning opened merchandise. No one will buy opened products and they get moved around the shelf until they are RTVd (return to vendor).
There’s so much they could do that would help. I don’t think customers will like having tools that are subject to an activation system that could potentially fail.
Koko The Talking Ape
One evening I went to the HD closest to me. I needed some lumber cut to length, and I had to hunt down the bathroom and appliances guy to page the lumber guy. Waited 20 minutes, turns out there was no lumber guy. I didn’t get bombarded. No bombardment.
There were also half-unloaded pallets of stuff in the aisles, along with packing material lying around, creating a slip and trip hazard.
No wonder they have a shoplifting problem.
Fm2176
I believe you about the sensors not being on. Even when one goes off I’m usually waved along. Sure I bought that $100 tool, but who’s to say I don’t have $500 worth in my pockets or that storage tote?
I went into a local HD last year and found an empty M12 tool bag that someone had emptied and discard in a corner. I also have an M12 Gen 2 Packout tool kit with a sensor on it. I bought it a couple of months ago, the alarm didn’t go off, and I noticed the sensor a few days later. Unless I find the receipt I’m not taking it back to have the sensor removed, so in effect it looks stolen. I think I’ll keep it on the Packout handle as a reminder of how lackluster security is.
kirby
Why do you think HD is behind this protection ? Do you know who owns the tools in the store ? Not HD
Adam
If this is truly about shrinkage, and not a money grab to force customers into stores, then this isn’t about walk-in shoplifters – it’s about shrinkage from employees.
Traditionally that’s the most difficult type of shrinkage to combat: they have the means and the opportunity, all it takes is a motive, and even good people can succumb to poor decisions.
Mahalo
Based on the “brand new in box” power tools that I see all the time on supposed second-hand seller apps like Offer Up and Let Go, I would have to agree with you. The tools I see most frequently are DeWalt and Milwaukee, both carried at HD.
Fred
Why not register in the shop with the tool serial no and model… on an special app. Then when tool gets privately sold the seller and the new owner do a ownership transfer. It works with cars. Then when a tool needs a repair. The store can check on the app who is the owner. If all is ok repair if not call the cops.
atomic
First of all because I’m not installing any app on my phone that I didn’t pick. Yes it could be a website, but this would just be a headache remembering to do this transfer or making sure the seller does it. They also have no right to know what I do with the thing I bought after I buy it. But either way, this is about stealing things from stores not other people. And by checking at repair time your not solving anything because you’d just get the people who bought a used tool a few years ago, the person who stole it got their money and no repercussions.
Gordon
In my limited experience, many of those tools are bought by employees that get to see the clearance price before it hits the rack.
tall_will
Going to respectfully disagree with you. I’ve worked at two HD stores and no one has been fired or arrested for stealing except for company time (hiding in the break room). Walk-in shoplifters are a HUGE problem: on Tuesday we had a walk-out with a cart full of Milwaukee 12hr batteries and Fuel power tools. On Wednesday a guy walked out with two buckets full of DeWalt merch. They come with decoy shoplifters; they wait until nightfall to toss items over the outside garden walls to waiting cars; they brazenly grab things and just run out the doors. All we can do is document it and hope to recognize them the next time they come in and hope the police get there in time.
Andy
I don’t know about HD, but industry wide, internal theft is estimated to acct for 2/3-3/4 of all theft. Clearly ORC is driving that to the lower number, but if you are seeing employees being fired, you’re LP sucks.
dave9
Hardly is that all HD could do. What they can do is install cameras better than what was found in circa 2008 cell phones, so that these people can be identified.
I often see HD et al thefts posted on my local police Facebook page but they are just too blurry to make a positive ID unless the thief was dumb enough to wear one of their favorite outfits so people recognize that rather than their blurry face shot.
Boggsy
From multiple heights and angles at each exit… Only issue is that people don’t like to basically broadcast themselves at every waking moment.
If Some dude is in a sealed room getting off to me in 4k hdr, I should at least get 20% off.
I think they should at least be able to fire a crazy GPS tracker at the getaway car… Or a teaser that doesn’t shock too crazy, but pinches a tracker into your scumbag skin. Or better yet, employees should be legally allowed to beat you up.
Net guns.
Something.
Adabhael
Secondary benefit, maybe the online inventory will be more accurate?
Dave K
This is the same company that is moving towards making their stores entirely self-checkout (my local store has already done so.) So not only are they going to break, er I mean, secure the power tools, they are going to make the customers do the work to “activate” them.
Mike
Wouldn’t it be easier/cheaper to put a corral around the tool section along with a register. You want to leave with a tool, you buy it then and there. Lots of stores have done this kind of thing with other products.
Andy
That is the easy way, but typically store see a double digit loss in sales when they do this.
NewArnun
Yeah but we are talking about tools here. HD is a job place. Where people go to get stuff they need to get a job done. Whether I have to pay for the took I need for a job at the corral or at the front register makes no difference to me. If the price is right and I need the tool then I am gonna buy it, regardless of where in the store I have to pay for it at. Smh lol
KMR
Home Depot stores used to have a checkout right at the tool corral entrance. I specifically remember this at at least one Philadelphia area HD at least 15-20 years ago.
Mahalo
They had one at my local HD, too. That went away, though, and I would have to agree with Andy that the tool corral would hurt sales. One theory I had about it is that you get reduced foot traffic through the tool aisles if you make a corral with only one entry point. So many purchases are impulse buys, so you really need to encourage someone that is meandering through the store to make his/her way through the tool aisle and hope you snag them on something.
evadman
The challenge is that a thief is usually always a thief; making it harder to steal won’t stop the problem only make it harder for regular consumers. Same thign happened with music. What was the ultimate solution there? It was to make buying music easier.
Today, when I buy stuff in stores, they forget to deactivate the security tags quite often. This is going to be similar, where the customer is going to be associated with theft immediately instead of a employee mistake.
What about playstation, xbox, and other consoles being locked on runing 3rd party software (or copied disks)? throw in a ASIC mod chip. What about remote software activation? just repoint the IP address in the code to localhost. What about USB dongles? Make your own with a ASIC or image. These are all uge pain in the butts to consumers and don’t stop any theft besides opportunity theft.
These plans need to be well thought out so that consumers are not impacted, and I haven’t seen a solution yet that is engineered that way.
Mahalo
Unfortunately for HD, they don’t have total control over tool pricing. So they can’t make it “easier” to buy tools the way the music industry has made buying music easier. Without power to grease the skids and make the tools they sell more accessible price-wise, they’re left to figure out how to increase friction for thieves. This, as you mentioned, does the same for consumers.
NewArnub
What? Like an average thief stealing for drugs would be able to do something like all that. Thief’s at HD tend to be more drug addicts then hackers dude. Lol
Smash Ogre
Look at the Ransomware problems right now, script kiddies looking for quick money take the crimes of opportunity and then hand off the goods (credentials) to the real hackers. The same will happen with H.D. DRM’d tools, the druggies will steal the (unusable?) tools for quick money and sell them to buyers with the means to circumvent the DMR and finally an eBay sale as “unlocked” Power Tools. If there is a market, there is a way. H.D. is just creating a new market segment, “unlocked” power tools.
Andy
The only way to reduce theft without losing sales is to increase staff levels, or at least give the impression of an increase. Unfortunately, this costs more than it typically saves. Most retailers are insured for non paperwork generated theft. Sure, a lot of shrink can raise premiums, but it’s rarely as bad as the companies make it out to be. I have over 30 years or retail operational experience, primarily as a consultant. When you really dig in, the shrink impact is usually exaggerated to mask other issues
Mahalo
It’s funny you say that. The other thing they do sometimes to give a perception of “being watched” is have a security camera that beeps when you walk by it to alert you that you are “under surveillance”. My local HD used to have that setup, but it honestly felt kinda creepy to me and I noticed they took it down about a year ago.
Fm2176
I first noticed this in the Brunswick, GA store in 2014 or so. The volume was cranked up, so as I paced up and down the aisles looking for deals I kept getting the obnoxious reminder that I was on camera.
Benjamen
Interesting I posted a few stories on Instagram about anti-theft devices at Home Depot.
Basically I was buying a two pack of Milwaukee penlights and it had a big visible anti-theft device on it. So rather than going through the self checkout, I asked a cashier to ring it up. She said, “no need, we don’t have the ability to read these tags anyway, so you can clip it off at home.”
When I got home I discovered the big red anti-theft tag just had one of those small metal strips that gets magnetized when you purchase it. Which is funny, because the package already had one embedded in it.
Now that I think about it HD used to have those annoying pedestals at the door that would randomly go off, but they got rid of them the same time they put in the self checkouts. I guess you can’t have people checking out themselves and trust them to deactivate the tags.
This makes me wonder, how would this technology work? The employees can’t even reliably deactivate those anti-theft tags. How it is going to work with self checkout? If employees can barely check people out properly, how are customers who have no training going to activate tools?
I know I’d be pissed if I got a tool home and it wasn’t activated properly.
What’s next, companies selling identical tools, but how much you pay for them activates how much torque they have?
Tim D.
I don’t see how you can implement self checkout and not have planned for increase shrinkage. They go hand in hand.
The people that “monitor” the self checkout at the HDs near me are not paying attention at all. A less honest individual could rob them blind.
Mahalo
Out of all the fears you listed, that last one is the real one. Kind of like when you download a so-called “trial version” of software, which is really the fully-featured software with disabled features until you enter an activation key (or connect online to a verification service).
Would it cut costs for manufacturers, who could mass produce one full-featured impact driver (for example) and sell access to different levels of features using software only?
badbot
This is what high end test equipment such as some Tektronix oscilloscopes are already doing. You pay for the features and then they send you a code and so on.
Evadman
See my previous comment on dongles:
https://hackaday.com/2014/07/28/cloning-tektronix-application-modules/ The un-redacted instructions are available online too, but I didn’t want to link to them. I have no idea what that unlocks (my oscilloscope was a $10 kit that I soldered toegther) but it proves the point that dongles or similar won’t solve the underlying issue.
Tom D
The “free or cheap hardware, expensive license key” works GREAT for companies who want/need support; the threat that it won’t be supported if they download a crack from the internet is often enough to keep the big customers in line. The small guys they usually don’t worry about.
Example: FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8
Adam
Could that potentially drive down the costs of tools overall? That is, if they made 1 model, but enabled features based on paid price. If you don’t think you need the hammer function, you wouldn’t buy it until you need it. Seems volume production of one unit could cuts costs. Make them all brushless tools, but if you only pay entry level price, you get brushed level performance.
Why is Milwaukee’s Fuel Hammer drill not more than the non-fuel? I can only imagine because of volume.
I’m sure if this happened, then all that would be focused on is hacking the software to enable everything for free.
Kevin
This is how flir cameras work. The underlying hardware is identical. The difference between models is a configuration file on the device that turns up the resolution, and the sticker on the outside.
Stuart
Somewhat. There’s likely sensor binning and added calibrations done to the higher-end models.
Rx9
So, in effect, shrink is going up because of the self checkout program and its incompatibility with the rfid tag system. That these greedy sobs would rather impose a complicated tool activation system on vendors rather than admit they screwed up is all I need to see upper management is full of hubris.
Smash Ogre
they would rather take an opportunity to jump on the everything-as-a-subscription bandwagon rather than implement effective stock tracking (RFID) cradle to sale. they already have the tech to watch every item in the store and out in the parking lot but choose to cheap out on the implementation. smh
Tim D.
So now instead of Home Depot budgeting in shrinkage, the cost of the shrink prevention will be built into the tool, and be directly (instead of indirectly) paid for by the consumer? great idea!
This is just another failure point that will ultimately increase cost and potentially decrease lifespan of the tool.
Next: Milwaukee OneKey to require you to “activate & register” your tool with bluetooth to your phone and scan your receipt to make it work.
How about an annual fee to keep the drill running, just for the hell of it?
No Thanks! I don’t want to have to jailbreak my tools like my phone just to get proper control over it.
Eric
Amen!
Tom D
“It looks like you’re trying to remove a stuck lugnut – would you like to upgrade to 400 ft-lbs more torque? Only $5.99!”
Wayne R.
It’s $6 if you’re planning to do it someday, but $26 if you’re on the side of the road.
Mahalo
Haha, exactly! The tool will activate features through your phone, but only if you enable GPS location sharing so that they can figure out if you’re in a bind.
PAntonvich
there will be youtube video on now to activate that tool in about 10 seconds after its released.
Vic
Also another new power tools unlock service on eBay. Haha
Smash Ogre
100% true
Jay
Being in law enforcement it’s sickening the number of tools that walk, usually briskly, out of THD and Lowe’s. Employees are instructed to not pursue once it’s out the door due to assaults on employees and the potential responsibility of the principal in the agency relationship. Lowe’s is usually out ahead on its defensive measures against theft…I’m all for enhanced measures so long as it doesn’t overly inconvenience the paying customer.
Jay
I should say Lowe’s is usually out ahead of Home Depot…not out ahead of the actual thievery.
James C
I think a lot of people are reading too much into this shareholder report and overreacting here. HD doesn’t want accidentally “bricked” power tools any more than we do because that’s an easy way to steer people to Lowes and others (assuming they won’t also have some kind of new anti theft thing) . They can’t possibly be so shortsighted to not see the potential for this to backfire… right?
Tom D
They’re trying to satisfy shareholders that they’re “doing” something to control the losses, even if the “suggested solution” is as idiotic as blockchain tools or something.
In reality it’ll be more of the same and maybe a Ryobi that won’t work without an internet connection, quickly clearanced.
Jason
This is simple to drastically reduce shrink. Hire more people, not less. Then put processes and procedures in place to make it more focused on reducing shrink, even if that mean having one employee solely dedicated to tools and helping people buy them. Maybe have them in secure area and once ready to buy, get the item for the customer, with demo tools out on the floor.
Cody Benjamin
Exactly this. Just like the computers at Wal-Mart. Play with the displays all you want, when you actually want to buy one go up to the tool guy counter and pay for it and he hands you one from behind his counter in a locked case. Simple.
Tom D
It cuts down on impulse purchases – people pick up a box, carry it around, leave it randomly somewhere, and sometimes decide to buy it.
The number of people who want to buy something without human interaction is surprisingly large.
Eric
Personally I am not a fan of human interaction if it can be avoided.
Tom D
Mostly I agree – HD could be replaced with a large Milwaukee tool vending machine and I’d not really notice the difference.
Oh wait, it basically is, and they deliver to my door for free somehow.
Smash Ogre
I cannot stand shopping for tools at H.D., I’ve waited 30 minutes or more to find a vest for assistance. Clearly watching the tools section is not high on management’s list.
Chris
As Jay stated, HD’s “do not pursue” policy has certainly made them a target. Thieves know that if they can get out the door, its unlikely there will be any consequences. A few years back I had just left a HD and was getting into my vehicle when 2 guys ran out the doors, arms loaded with as many dewalt boxes as they could carry. 2 other customers (one ex-military) chased the guys down in the parking lot and tackled them, holding them till the police arrive. No one from HD would even come out the door till police arrived. I understand the stores policy from a liability standpoint, but with self checkout, no real security, and lack-luster employees trained to stand down, what do they expect?
Jim Felt
Just the other day some one told me this is the exact policy at Victoria’s Secret. Though I’m guessing future chip activation isn’t likely.
Pablo
I would guess most Home Depot “shrink” is due to employee theft. Home Depot should look at what Costco does to control theft. Hire and compensate good employees, and maybe have someone checking receipts. I don’t think Costco receipt checkers catch a lot, but I do think they are enough of of deterrent that thieves choose to steal elsewhere.
John
There is zero chance I stop at a Home Depot for someone to check my receipt.
Squirrely_Dan
Pablo, good point, but not legally allowed, with one caveat. Before I say, I just want to mention I am in law enforcement, and not some Joe schmoe spewing misinformation…
You can not legally stop a customer to check a receipt. Unless, like costco, you make it a membership shopping store. In order to be allowed in and shop, you have to agree to the membership rules, such as receipt checking.
Stores like Walmart that stop you to check your receipt are not legally allowed to do so. They’re operating on the principal that someone will actually stop and let them check it, all done voluntarily. If the customer says no they are legally allowed to walk right on past & if someone tries to stop them or grab them, it is a legal liability and they (receipt checker/Walmart) can be sued for hindrance/restriction of movement.
Gordon
Actually it’s a misconception that Costco receipt checking is for theft. It’s mostly for checking cashier performance and making sure that items weren’t double scanned or missed. Even self checkout is heavily monitored by associates.
Actual theft is usually stopped before they get to the cash registers.
Frank D
Lots of ways for HD to reduce theft.
But going the technology route, with mandated POS activation seems like it would increase tool complexity and manufacturing cost, thus more money for the power tools. And inconvenience at checkout as in the past there have been enough issues at any store deactivating and removing whatever is in place.
Now, pretty much every powertool and some handtools I bought in many years had a small security device in the packaging / on the box behind the barcode or even on the power cord of the tools, setting off the buzzer, if it was not deactivated at the register.
The previous self checkouts had a deactivate area, but the new big flat screen ones do not???
I bought an 18v stapler the other day, self checkout, nothing to deactivate, mmm, so I handed it to a staff member with my receipt, explaining I don’t want to trigger the alarm, … no, I was good, it doesn’t need anything???
Does that mean the entire system is down at my HD and anybody can just walk out with stuff, no buzzer???
One can bet that if that is the case, that such a thing would spread like wildfire with individuals who are going to take advantage of that. Only one staff member at the register area … distracted with one person, just roll on through with whatever they want … undetected?????
Tom D
Yeah, other replies mention that the entire system is for show – it’s turned off and does nothing.
Wayne R.
Whenever those doorway alarms do go off, I never see anyone react, anyway. Like car alarms…
Rx9
Yes- way too many false positives. In executives zeal to stop shrink, they put rfids on way too many items, including things worth little or way too big to be smuggled out. The more items chipped, the higher chance a cashier will miss a paid for item and the alarm is tripped for nothing. Enough false alarms, and now nobody cares…just like car alarms.
John
Pay for security, prosecute thieves to the fullest. For heaven’s sake stop pussy-footing around the issue. The issue is human scum who will not change. Changing the tools will do nothing. We continue to coddle people who are societal cancer.
Andy
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but if a retailer has policy allowing employees to aprehend thieves, even security guards, their workers comp rates would go through the roof. No way decreaesed theft would offset the cost.
Steve
That’s why you hire security guards that work for firm, contract that out.
OhioHead
In the early 2000’s when DW started shipping 3 speed hammers/drills, they included in the housing an anti theft device……..still was useless…….against folks walking out the the door or throwing over the garden fence……..
Andrew
HD would be wrong in the approach of trying to force activation of power tools. It will ultimately impact the sales, with whatever intrusive approach they take (Activation, tool corral, etc…).
They would however, be smart to spend their money on high resolution cameras, more loss prevention (LP) , and the back end AI infrastructure needed to support that. If an LP officer could tag a face of a shoplifter caught on video, then upload that to a central database, anytime that shoplifter entered another home depot, that store’s LP officer, or shift manager could get a message on their mobile device alerting them of the thief’s presence in the store. It wouldn’t be cheap, and it would be a huge lift for their IT department, but it would be unobtrusive & way more effective than what they’re currently doing.
Kilroy
I’m sure cities like London with many surveillance cameras have spent a ton of effort trying to add AI and other aids to help with people tracking and intelligence gathering, and I’d imagine that some of that tech has spilled over into casinos.
Probably just a matter of time until some of that tech and systems gets cheap enough that big chain retailers can justify trying it in their locations with the highest shrink.
That said, until you actually have employees (or contracted security guards) who are empowered to stop and detain suspected thieves, that type of tech won’t be super useful, but at least when the police get there in time they will be able to connect the perps with more thefts, potentially charging them with bigger charges and keeping them in jail for longer.
Tom D
I suspect this is something like “One Key for Ryobi” or similar; something that disables the tool until it is “activated”.
But if TTI develops that why not just give the tools away and you activate them online for $?
Eric
More bull crap!
Mike (the other one)
Punish the paying customers instead of going after the crooks. Brilliant!
krashtd
Makes more sense to separate the high theft items into a store-within-a-store area, like the liquor stores inside some supermarkets. Very limited access and exposure
Robert
This is a hot topic.
My homedepot just put a lock cage on all of the lower shelf tools or placed them up high. Everything requires a clerk to get to. Lowe’s doesn’t really do that.
Brian M
This will not work, it just won’t. What we need to do is start prosecuting shoplifters much harsher. There’s someone about an hour from me that sells stolen Milwaukee batteries. There’s a guy that posts on all her ads a link to an article about her arrest when she was caught…she’s still selling the batteries. She has no reason to stop because it’s just a slap on the wrist if she gets caught.
dave9
I don’t see how they’re going to effectively do this because *most* of what HD sells, they do not sell exclusively, so the entire merchant industry would have to get on board or at least the distributors would have to pre-activate any tools not shipping to HD. I mean that seems more feasible than a special HD version of the tool which is the only one that has the additional anti-theft tech.
TheToolMat
Just put the tools in an area that requires you to check-in and checkout, and the rest of the store like Frys electronic stores more secure exiting, don’t like it, then tool bad. See what I did there…end the madness,
HD has to shoulder a bit if the blame, they are fostering these losses, take action, and even install highdef cameras in the parking areas. Catch them and lock them up.
MT_Noob
On a side note, I hate when stores try to prevent theft of some items by putting a little lock on the end of the peg that the item is hanging from that prevents you from removing it. That forces you to either try to twist the package around and contort yourself so you can see the specs on the back, or waste time trying to hunt down the person with the key to unlock it. Super annoying.
Rx9
This is go as well as the printer cartridge lockout chips idea is going.
There are hundreds of small Chinese firms willing to cheaply sell the brushless motor controllers needed to make these tools run again. Open the case, swap out the controller, put it back together, done.
Rx9
Also, why all the security cameras if nobody is going to use them?
There is really no good reason for this problem to exist other than a poorly thought through attempt to reduce labor costs.
RCWARD
Sounds like a terrible idea to me. They would screw that up for sure and make your tool not work somehow someway.
RCWARD
How about a strip search at the door. They wonder why brick and mortar stores are going under
Mike
Just like most laws trying to keep honest people honest. Bad people will find a way around it, all of us will just be inconvenienced by it when you buy something and the fancy tech didn’t work out. Just dumb garage that we will have to pay for, cause they sure aren’t paying for the extra costs!
Adrian
This is going down a very dark road. The next thing we are going to have to deal with is power tools as a service. Just like all software now is a monthly/yearly subscription we are going to have to license our tools on a yearly basis. F that.
rob
Many interesting comments here and I am guessing it’s also a regional thing. Here on the West Coast it’s not just HD that often gets hit, Apple Stores, LuLu Lemon, Sears, Nordstorm are all hit on a regular basis. The thieves usually enter the store in a group and grab very specific items; they know 1) most retailers won’t stop them due to the insurance risk of an injury 2)if they are in a group with large handfuls of items it’s harder to stop them. Apple has hired off-duty PD officers to stand in front of stores and park vehicles in front of stores, it does help but not always. These groups may travel hundreds of miles to hit specific stores at specific times, it’s often much more than a crime of opportunity.
Much of these stolen items as Stu noted are people looking to sell it quick for a few bucks (no real idea what the retail cost is) but also there’s a large export market to Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa….much of these groups are basically organized crime with what they steal already sold in the black market. If there was a way to make the tools unusable until an activation it’d be good. Just like a gift card needs to be activated. I’d hope if it works stores like Apple would look at a way to activate items once purchased/at the register.
carl
Why not put the power tools behind locked cages. A demo tool out with a security cable so customers can play with it. A customer wants to buy a power tool or battery, then a clerk gets it from the cage. Put a manned cash register in the tool section. All tools need to be purchased there.
Ray CR
The Harbor Freight store in a high risk area of my state has all ratchets locked up in cages. The Harbor freight 20 minutes away in a low risk area has them breathing freely.
Oleg K.
What they should be working on is improving the ir corporate culture, the appauling quality of the job training for their employees, as well as the working environment their employees are forced to exist in day in and day out… If they can make the jobs more enjoyable then maybe they won’t need to go through the trouble of creating tools that need to be activated and so on.
Mike
I’ve seen the problem first hand at an ABQ HD last year, I was waiting in the check out line and a guy goes running past me with a Makita kit in his hand and 2 LP guys in tow. He dropped the gear in a turn and ran off into the parking lot. The LP guys considered the mission a success as they recovered the property.
I asked the cashier how often that happens and she said ‘all the time’.
Theron Krusling
Earlier someone had mentioned if XYZ brand puts that in their tools I’m no longer buying them. I can absolutely assure you that the “black and yellow brand” and the “red brand” manufacture two different tools under the same model numbers. One for the big box stores and one for the local tool only distribution and repair shops. I have seen the cutaways of the same drill and recip saw. Big box store had plastic gears and transmission parts, cheap triggers. My tool rep had much higher quality internals. The tools had the exact same model numbers! So, if you’re a professional, you probably already buy your tools from a reputable source instead of the big box. So this is not likely to affect you.
I rarely go to the big box stores at all and I am a licensed tradesman. I deal with the same customer service folks at my tool distributors and supply houses for the last 15 years. When you shop those big box stores, you might get a lower price, but you get what you pay for. When I have a problem with a tool, I can look the person in the eye that sold it to me and they hand me a new one. No receipt needed, no hassle. Try that at a big box place!
Professionals – quit shopping at these low end places and support your local businesses.
Tim D.
I simply don’t buy this. Specifically, the same part number part of it.
I have no issues believing that manufacturers make different quality parts for different stores to sell. This is common place among electronics and plumbing parts, so why not tools?
Same model number and different build quality though? no way. Imagine the nightmare of Dewalt or Milwaukee trying to warranty this, or keep up with what was bought where.
That being said, I still have never seen any of these pictures/cutaways as proof.
My local plumbing supply places can show me all brass component faucets, and box stores clearly have plastic parts in them. Shouldn’t this be easy to find proof or pictures of if true?
Theron Krusling
Cutaways was several years ago and I didn’t take any pictures, as camera phones were not that common at the time.
I was told recently by the “Red Brand” representative that the batteries can vary slightly between the box store and pro counters. Larger sizes available in the kits from the pro counters for the same price. Same kit numbers.
Faucets have become quite a joke lately. But to meet the new lead laws, they either have to use higher grade brass or switch to plastic. You know they’re not going to charge any less for the plastic faucet. Most of what we’re putting in is spec’d on the prints and a lot of it is junk nowadays.
American Standard Colony Faucet is a perfect example of store product switching. If I buy it from the large “orange place” it has chrome plated plastic handles, and plastic stemmed cartridges, pop-up style drain and cost around $45. If I buy it from my usual supply house it has chrome plated pot metal handles, brass stemmed cartridges and grid strainer or pop-up my choice. It cost the same.
Amp
That will be the last time i buy from Home Depot. Next thing you know tools wont work without wifi and will require software updates. Theft is part of any big box store overhead. Dont play the game if you cant afford it.
SteveP
If my experience working in retail and as a (somewhat reluctant) HD customer is anything to go by, the biggest part of their problem will be their own staff (who seem to have dropped back into “Don’t care” mode) and of course ex-employees who know the system and its weak points.
POS activation might be appropriate for some very high-end items, but it would have to be transparent to the customer or – as others have pointed out (like all the good ratchets behind glass, etc.) the hassle factor will drive business elsewhere. In the lab, there is always a salesperson to assist – in reality, that’s rare and while you can see what you want, you can’t actually have one.
Better CCTV would help as in some WallyMarts (where the in-aisle camera notifies you on a screen) with some AI applied (any floorwalker knows the “tells” and AI can be trained). But don’t forget to watch the employees as well
Doresoom
That explains the reason behind this Mikwaukee patent: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20210122024A1/en
Stuart
Interesting – great find!
X lu
That would be my last Milwaukee tool-period. Any Mgfr’r that puts enabling POS tech also means disabling so nope. I have zero sympathy for shoplifting losses at major retailer. They have organized their stores including the obscene self check out to minimize labor. Figure out another way to sell expensive tools and hire more skilled people and you will reduce shrink. Low service, cut to the bone operations is the root cause of this problem. The next step will be paying the mfgr’r an annual subscription fee to reactivate through tool you thought you bought.
IronWood
Agree 100%. Pay for the labor or pay for the shrink. These damn self-checkouts are the root of most of this. Poor employee morale is probably most of the rest.
If the brick and mortar stores try to go this “activation” route it will not end well. Will online retailers have different tool versions? What happens when you open a brand new bricked tool? This just all sounds like an absolute nightmare for us legitimate consumers.
My only hope is that this is an “illusion of action” type thing for the shareholders.
Shane
I don’t see how this would work with all the different brands in the game, agreeing and coordination of the technology required and such. I’m sure it would take about 1 day for someone to figure a way around this and it would be useless. Plus, who do you think will eat the cost of adding a feature like this? Sounds like a colossal waste.
Albert
It should be easy to add some parts and code to brushless tools that already have a processor and already have all of their electronics sealed inside epoxy. For brushed tools, they would have to add a processor where one was not previously needed. That could be easily bypassed. Maybe we will only see this feature on expensive brushless tools. If they get stolen less, it might actually lower the cost of those tools.
MikeIt
If you can get your hands on a security device, then it can be hacked. It won’t be long before someone figures out how to bypass the security activation and then we are back where we started. It may even be worse. The activation may create a false sense of security and more power tools may end up walking out the store. I’ve seen security footage in the news of shoplifters running out with armfulls of merchandise but brazen theft like that is not common. Internal theft and shrink is more common in my retail electronics experience. Home Depot doesn’t help itself by making staff scarce to engage and deter shoplifting or by installing self service check out where one can swap bar codes and walk out with a more expensive version of a product. I understand that HD has tools on consignment and that the vendors eat the loss and and in response raise costs and come up with silly ideas like this activation but I think that’s HD’s fault. I hope they don’t do something drastic like come up with subscription based power tools instead!
PW
Put me down as another person who would simply buy tools elsewhere. I can’t think of something I’d want less.
The comes down to 3 things: HD going to all-self checkout, shrinking staff to the bone, and having a well known and explicit policy of doing nothing to stop thieves.
I have no interest in buying an inferior product at their store because HD’s management thinks making their products worse is the right response to the result of managerial choices.
Nathan
How long before you are only renting the tool you picked up at the store. that 99 dollar drill only works for one year – after that take it back to HD for a 49 dollar recode for it to work for another year . . . . . . . .
Yes I know thats overly drastic but with all this other right to repair issues cropping up with software driven systems – they could easily implement something like this.
I will say I haven’t bought a power tool from HD in a very long time – as I mostly look for what I want and order it online now. but there are always those times when you might need something right this moment. In those cases systems like this might be a major issue.
Mike
I was in a checkout line in an ABQ HD when a guy blew past me with a Makita kit in his hand. LP in hot pursuit, managed to slap it out of his hand in the parking lot. Cashier said it happens all the time.
Can’t see how it would be implemented, Kodak was interested in a similar system years ago from Hughes – never panned out due to FCC.
Lee
Stuart,
FWIW, I think you should have created a new article and linked back to this one rather than updating an article that is almost 2 years old. Updates are fine for same day or maybe even same week, but any longer than that and the comment section becomes almost useless.
With that said, the first time I bought a tool that the cashier forgot to activate would be the last time that I bought a tool from Home Depot. I’d prefer to deal with a tool corral rather than driving home to realize the tool doesn’t work and have to drive back. It would just be yet another reason to buy online, reducing their sales even further.
-Lee
Stuart
Perhaps, but there’s zero new information.
Once more details are available, a new post will make more sense.
The alternative would have been to delete this post and publish a new one that was largely the same, but then all the original comments – which are still appropriate – would have been deleted.
MT
This is starting down a slippery slope that I can’t support. Anything that can be activated or authorized can be deactivated or deauthorized. I’m really happy with my tool platform of choice, but the major tool companies are all close enough in price and performance that I won’t hesitate to switch away from any brand that participates in this to one that doesn’t.
Chris
Interesting idea. But I have no doubt that there will be someone who can bypass the lock through some sort of tech wizardry means. Either something to fry the activation circuit, or something as simple as replacing a lockout trigger switch (for example) with a regular switch. I guarantee people will find a way to bypass it almost immediately.
Denis
But till now no any solution. I purchased a lot of kits from liquidation company, and can’t activate
Kent Skinner
No big deal.
There’s plenty of stores that will continue to sell tools without DRM.
DRM only allows you to rent, as there’s always a possibility you’ll lose access to something you “purchased”.
Maps Bam
This is an asinine move. Once again, companies hurt paying customers rather than thieves! You can’t tell me this isn’t going to cause issues with the tools down the road.
BTW, there is no such thing as an “opioid crisis”. Criminals will be criminals and drug addicts will be drug addicts.
Oleg K
Unless they force every single manufacturer to participate it won’t work, besides, it’s easier to just put some sort of tracking addon (like Milwaukee tick) on tool boxes. Also, as a home Depot customer, if their employees actually did their jobs instead of telling everyone they’re on a break, there would be no tool theft and no need to try and reinvent the wheel. Lock up the tools and pay attention to shoppers, that’s all.
DAVID
“… if their employees actually did their jobs instead of telling everyone they’re on a break, there would be no tool theft…”
This is just knee-jerk finger-pointing. It’s easy to say the employees are to blame… They’re not. As a PT semi-retirement gig, I worked at both HD and Lowes, and it was rare to go more than a day or two without a fire door alarm going off due to a thief bolting with a combo kit. How would the tool dept employee stop that? It’s a trick question — they can’t. The big boxes run very lean to save payroll; this is core strategy stuff. Store manager bonuses are tied to hitting lean payroll targets. It’s normal for one person to cover multiple depts. Are these people always working at a high level? All the time? Does that happen anywhere — especially in retail? Are you ALWAYS where you should be? That’s another trick question.
Thieves are responsible for theft. Period.
DAVID
In order for this to work, buyers would have to accept the hassle — assuming we’d have a choice. If Milwaukee alone starts sending out tools with this tech, I absolutely will NOT buy their product. But, it would take some big cojones to go to market solo with something like this. My fear is an industry collaboration that makes this BS the new norm.
I hate thieves.
mmmmme
how about checking each receipt walking out the door???
Stuart
One Home Depot store does this around me.
Personally, I won’t wait in a line for a receipt checker if I don’t have to and have somewhere to be, but I’ll stop for a second if there’s no on else there. My assumption is that the checker is really just there as a deterrent and to keep an eye on things in case someone tries to fly out with a cart full of high-value merchandise.
From what I’ve read, you must show your receipt at wholesale clubs, as it’s part of the paid membership agreement, but there’s no legal compulsion for anyone to stop for receipt checkers at public stores. This leads to some people being adamantly opposed to the practice.
GFB
Cool, all my tools will go up in price. Most of us, will never buy shiz like that. Not to mention, pretty easy to take them apart and make them proper (lulz)