HONOLULU(KHON2) -- Body worn cameras are the latest tactic introduced by retailers to prevent shoplifting according to Tina Yamaki, Retail Merchants of Hawaii President.
"We're starting to see them on the mainland and a lot of stores are trying to do it as a pilot project to see how it is," she explained.
Marshalls and TJ Maxx parent company TJX is arming its store security workers with body worn cameras to prevent shoplifting and help protect store employees.
And they're not alone. The National Retail Federation said 35% of the large chain stores are looking into body worn cameras for their workers.
"Part of it is identifying who's coming into your stores," Yamaki said. "A lot of thieves coming in know where our cameras are placed so they kind of hide their face this way. If you face them, you can get a better shot of them."
Yamaki said she hasn't heard of any local retailers using body worn cameras…yet.
"But, it's something that we might be seeing in the future," she added. "Everyone is trying to find the best solution to what is going on."
Capital One Shopping research show retail stores lost $121.6 billion to theft last year and it's expected to reach $150 billion by 2026.
"It's very serious," Sugar Sugar Hawaii owner James Geischen said. "It happens way more than people believe."
Geischen said his stores gets hit every single day and he has heard of mainland retailers using body worn cameras.
"Is this something that you would ever consider doing in your shop?" KHON asked.
"For us, we would not consider doing it," Geischen explained. "We don't have like a visible loss prevention or security official staring at the door. But if we were Home Depot, or something like that and we actually had that visible presence at the door, then I guess it makes more sense."
While small businesses like Sugar Sugar may not be outfitting its employees with body worn cameras, they are investing heavily in other security measures like these security cameras. Geischen said their surveillance cameras are so high powered that they can zoom in and read text from about fifty feet away.
And he said the new surveillance cameras have helped.
A representative for City Mill said dealing with shoplifters is also a high priority for them. But they are not interested in implementing body worn cameras either.
In a statement Cityi Mill said:
"At this time, we are focusing on loss prevention methods such as increased video surveillance, increased product security and increased team member presence on the sales floor."
"We're trying everything that we can because we know shoplifting is prevalent here in Hawaii and it just brings the prices up for our consumers cause somebody got to pay for the loss," Yamaki said.