STATISTICAL SAMPLING SECURITY METHODOLOGY FOR SELF-SCANNING CHECKOUT SYSTEM

Disclosed is the implementation of a statistical basis for use in a self-scanning checkout system for determining how many items to check in a shopper's shopping cart for incorrect or missing scans as well as which particular or types of items to check to determine if they were properly scanned by a shopper who may use a portable scanner or scanning terminal to scan bar codes on selected items. In the present invention, every or nearly every shopper will be checked by a cashier or security guard, but only a limited and select number of items will be checked for each shopper. The present methodology determines how many items to check for a given shopper as well as which particular items to check for that shopper. The following factors may be considered, alone or in varying combinations, in determining the number of items to check for a particular shopping transaction: shopper frequency (the number of times the shopper has visited that store); queue length (the length of the checkout line at that time); prior history (check more items if the shopper has had errors in the past, check less items if the shopper has had no errors in the past); store location (check more items in stores located in areas with a high risk of pilferage); time of day, day of week, date of year (determine if pilferage more likely at certain times of day or year); number of times items are returned to shelf during shopping; and dwell time between scans.