THE item that is most often "un-scanned" at self-checkout stations inside grocery stores has been revealed - and it may surprise you.

Products that are commonly left un-scanned before bagging include bananas, skimmed milk, and various fruits and vegetables.

But an Efficient Consumer Response research paper found that reusable bags are the number one item that customers fail to scan.

"Across all 52,000 SKUs, the most frequently non-scanned item was various types of reusable carrier bag, accounting for 1.5percent of items not scanned," researchers wrote in the 2018 report.

The study went on to say that of the top 20 non-scanned items, 85percent were fruit, vegetables, or dairy products.

Un-scanned items on the list included red peppers, lemons, whole milk, carrots, cucumbers, sparkling water, eggs, wet wipes, bread, and various types of yogurt.

Theft at stores has forced companies like Walmart and Target to place cameras at self-checkouts to prevent stealing.

In a recent video posted to TikTok, a user detailed how Walmart employees help prevent shoppers from stealing groceries at self-checkout. 

A mom-of-four said that she used to work at the store and wanted to lift the lid on how staff can stop thefts.

Using a "TC device," workers can apparently stop a shopper from shoplifting by controlling their machines.

The gadget grants Walmart staff the ability to pause your self-checkout at any point.

The TikToker said: "We pretend like there's something wrong with the machine if we suspect that you are stealing.

"So at any point on this device, if we click the number it will show us the entire order and everything that you've so far scanned in.

"If we suspect that you're stealing, there's an option down at the bottom that says pause transaction."

According to researchers, "rates of loss appear to be linked with rates of utilization – the more the technology is used, the higher the rate of loss that can be expected."

"Overall, stores where 50percent or more of transactions are processed through fixed SCO (self-checkout kiosks) can expect their shrinkage number to increase by at least 30percent and where this involves using more than 7-10 machines, it could be as high as 60percent," the wrote.

Self-checkout was introduced to consumers in the 1990s at Piggly Wiggly.

It was designed to lower stores' labor expenses.

Although some consumers aren't always honest when using self-checkout, others find it quick and easy.

In an article by the TAKEOVER, a consumer said: "I can attest to the perception that scanning and bagging items myself is faster."

Researchers also found that most grocery stores use audits for some form of control.

"These audits are undertaken at the end of the shopping journey, just prior to the payment process and are typically what are known as Partial Audit Checks – a member of staff is instructed by the system to check a small sample of items in a consumer’s basket/trolley to ensure that they have been scanned correctly," researchers wrote.

"If an error is found, then they can either be subject to a full re-scan of all their items, and/or asked whether they want to add the items found to be un-scanned to their bill."

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