Invisible Barcodes: The Innovation You'll Never See (And That’s The Point) | Ask An Expert

In this Ask An Expert episode, Chris and Anne welcome Dave Steck, former VP of IT and Store Innovations at Schnucks, to explore how Digimarc’s invisible watermark technology is reshaping the future of retail operations. Learn how weighted items like salads and hot wings are being protected against theft, how retailers can collaborate with vendors to adopt this tech, and how gift card fraud could become a thing of the past. Key Moments: 0:28 – What is an invisible watermark? 3:00 – Real-world use case: Preventing “banana fraud” at self-checkout 6:10 – How easy it is to implement in-store 8:07 – Additional applications for bakery and deli items 10:58 – Integration with packaging and printer workflows 14:00 – Future upgrades with Fujitsu and Everseen 16:00 – ROI and 40% shrink reduction results 20:00 – Why more retailers haven’t adopted yet 23:00 – Emerging use cases including robotics and CPG optimization 24:00 – Fighting gift card fraud with watermarked scratch-offs #retailinnovation #Digimarc #selfcheckout #retailtech #lossprevention #grocerytech #omnitalk #retailautomation #DigitalWatermark #ShrinkReduction #GiftCardFraud #SmartStores Music by hooksounds.com