Amid rampant theft, some retailers are now turning to unconventional methods for preventing losses.
Rather than locking up merchandise, hiring security, or removing brand names from stores or higher-priced merchandise altogether, some are turning to fog.
DensityUSA, the company behind a technology that blasts out a disorienting fog tied to a store’s alarm system, says more stores in the U.S. are now using it.
"I think the COVID-19 pandemic tore the social and economic fabric of America," Mike Egel, president of DensityUSA, told Fox News Digital. "Pre-pandemic, crime was on the decline. But when the nation shut down and the economy stepped backwards, common sense went to an all-time low. And sadly, crime rose and continues to grow."
In addition to traditional theft, smash-and-grab thefts have also been on the rise, particularly in California. But if deployed in one of these instances, the fog system would create a dense cloud with “near-zero visibility conditions in just seconds,” according to Egel. “The fog is designed to be dense and disorientating to deter an intruder from following through with their intentions."
He gave one example of a jewelry store in the U.K. whose storefront was taken out by a truck. When the alarms went off, the fog covered the space in seconds.
"Thieves can’t steal what they can’t see,” he said.
The European Union was the first to approve the fog for use as a crime deterrent, Fox News reports, but after success there, it came to the U.S. Stores in a handful of states now use the security measure as well.
A company press release claims the product is "effective at stopping roughly 97% of burglary loss, versus the usual security alarm system alone, which is about 17% effective."
It’s something seen in Europe for a decade but now DensityUSA of Kirkwood is bringing it to the US. An anti-crime fogger can fill a room & blind burglars or robbers in seconds. What they can’t see they can’t steal. @KMOV pic.twitter.com/egwrJ15HT3
— Russell Kinsaul (@russellkinsaul) November 9, 2022
A 2022 Retail Security Survey conducted by the National Retail found retailers lost $94.5 billion to shoplifting in 2021.