A WALMART customer is angry about the store’s latest security measure.
The customer posted on X that he stormed out of the store after having to wait in a long line until an employee unlocked a pair of socks for him behind the security glass.
2
2
“Recently tried to buy socks at Walmart,” the shopper began his post.
“They were all locked away… I asked a Walmart clothing clerk to buy me a pair.
“They told me to go to the front of the store and ask a cashier to unlock the display case… All of the cashiers had more than seven customers in line.
“I left with nothing.”
The angry shopper posted his story in response to a TikTok reposted on X showing laundry detergent being locked away due to an outrageous number of thefts.
“Detergent locked away due to rampant theft,” was the caption of the poster beneath the video.
In the 30-second clip, viewers can see hundreds of laundry detergents – from Tide to store brands – locked behind safety glass.
On the screen, the creator wrote: “Another Walmart story.”
The person filming the locked items asks the employee why relatively inexpensive items are being locked away.
“Hey, sorry. I’m curious, but why is the laundry detergent banned?” asked the TikToker.
“Because they were stolen,” the employee answered bluntly.
“Really? That’s hard to keep in mind,” said the inventor.
One X user responded to the video saying that locking away items is nothing new in his home state of Minnesota.
“Yes, this has been the case in Minneapolis for two years,” they wrote.
Anti-theft measures introduced by retailers
Retailers in the US and Canada have implemented anti-theft strategies. The US Sun has compiled a list of the measures that have been implemented in stores.
- Lock items in cupboards.
- Safety pins.
- surveillance cameras.
- Signs warn of the consequences of theft.
- Receipt scanner.
- Receipt checks.
- Cart with locking technology
“Includes shampoo, toothbrushes and razors.”
Another customer said that at a Walmart near him, customers were not even allowed to touch the unsealed products until they paid for them at the checkout.
“I live in California and this is absolutely true. However, in my area, the locked items are brought to the cash register by staff, where you pay and collect them,” he wrote.
“They don’t let you put the detergent in your cart until you pay. This takes about 5 minutes longer for each transaction.”
Hard times
Retailers like Walmart, Target and CVS have increased their security measures as shoplifting increasingly takes a significant toll on businesses.
According to a study by Capital One Shopping, retailers will lose $121.6 billion to shoplifting in 2023.
By 2026, that number is expected to rise to $150 billion – a statistic that is causing panic in the retail industry.
A CVS spokesperson had previously told Business Insider that the store did not want to take such drastic measures.
“Locking away items is the last resort,” the spokesman said.
KEY KNOWLEDGE: Locked Items
In November 2023, WSL Strategic Retail surveyed shoppers about their use of anti-theft cabinets for its How America Shops report.
Here are the key findings:
- 70% of shoppers were confronted with sealed goods when purchasing an item.
- 78% of these shoppers said they were helped by an employee and waited to purchase a product. However, this number dropped among customers under 26 years of age.
- 12% of shoppers said they declined to purchase the product and many went online or to another store instead.
- 10 percent said they had bought a similar product that was available in the same store. Again, there was a difference among Generation Z customers: 19 percent of them said they had done so.
Why 22% of customers did not wait for help?
- The majority wanted to avoid the additional effort.
- Many were unable to find an employee in the store, and those who did say the employee had difficulty opening the cabinet.
- A third were upset about the fact that the products were locked away
- A quarter said they did not have time to wait for help.
Source: WSL Strategic Retail
