Retailers Take Desperate Measures Including Fog Machines to Deter Rampant Shoplifting

Retailers in America are now turning to fogging machines to deter thieves from stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise.

DensityUSA, a company based in St. Louis, Missouri, has done business with stores and homeowners in Europe and Australia, Fox News Digital reported. The density foggers are connected to existing alarm systems, which, when activated, will trigger a thick fog in a room in a matter of seconds.

According to the president of DensityUSA, Mike Egel, “thieves can’t steal what they can’t see.”

“Once it’s activated, the DensityUSA system creates a dense fog with near-zero visibility conditions in just seconds,” Egel told Fox News. “The fog is designed to be dense and disorientating to deter an intruder from following through with their intentions.”

In June, the company completed its first liquor store installation in Memphis, Tennessee. So far this year, DensityUSA has been approved for sale in North Charleston, South Carolina; Prince George’s County, Maryland; Oakland, California; and Chicago, Illinois.

The rise in interest in the fogging device comes as stores are expected to lose $115 billion in retail theft by 2025. Stores reportedly lost an estimated $86.8 billion in retail theft in 2022.

“I think the COVID-19 pandemic tore the social and economic fabric of America,” Egel 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.”

Breitbart News reported that a group of masked thieves with hammers stole $500,000 worth of merchandise from a jewelry store in Pasadena, California. Thieves were able to get in when the owner escorted a client outside.

A similar incident occurred at a jewelry store in the United Kingdom, but the thieves came out empty-handed, deterred by a dense fog that filled the 900-square-foot store in five seconds.

The Density Security Fogger boasts a 97 percent effective rate against burglary compared to traditional alarm systems citing only a 17 percent effective rate. The system can be controlled remotely, and the fog leaves no residue.