But will the use of body cams effectively deter aggression?
Walmart has confirmed that it is pilot testing the use of body cameras in some outlets in a bid to protect customer-facing teams from harassment.
The organisation, which is the largest non-governmental employer in the United States, confirmed the development to CNBC.
"While we don't talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry," Walmart told the news outlet.
"This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions."
The confirmation comes as CNBC reported that some Walmart outlets now have signage advising customers that employees are using body-worn cameras.
There is also a photo of a document that was posted in an online forum for Walmart employees and customers that's instructing staff how to use the body-worn cameras.
The photo, as seen by CNBC, tells employees to "record an event if an interaction with a customer is escalating," and to log the incident in an "ethics and compliance app."
It also advised staff to not wear the cameras in break areas and bathrooms, according to the document, as reported by CNBC.
Will it deter workplace violence?
The use of body cameras comes amid cases of workplace violence at Walmart stores, which are expected to escalate amid a busy holiday season.
Findings from United For Respect revealed that there were over 200 distinct incidents of violence at Walmart stores between January 1 and December 31 in 2023. In the same period, there was also at least one violence incident at a store reported every month.
The most-reported cases are gun violence incidents, with 132, followed by bomb threats (26) and physical assaults (31).
Bianca Agustin, the co-executive director of United for Respect, said body cameras alone will not be enough substitute to proper training for employees.
"There's a claim that the body cams are going to promote deescalation just organically. We don't think that's true," Agustin told CNBC.
"You see a lot of violence against workers already at the self-checkout kiosks when they even are attempting to [deter theft] ... there's a potential that this might hurt that [deterrence] ... it also could provoke people."
Stamping out workplace violence
Employers across the world have been deploying various tech in a bid to curb violence and aggression against customer-facing teams.
In New Zealand, Foodstuffs North Island also trialled facial recognition technology (FRT) for six months in 25 stores to look into its impact.
It found that the use of FRT reduced serious and harmful behaviour by an estimated 16%, avoiding serious harm events, such as assaults, abuse, and other aggressive or disorderly conduct.
