WALMART shoppers have slammed the retailer for targeting the wrong issue when combating theft.
The big-box retailer is estimated to lose up to $3 billion each year due to shoplifting alone.
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As the industry deals with inflation, increased labor costs, and online competition, protecting inventory and profits is even more vital.
However, customers from numerous retailers have expressed their frustration at the lengths stores are going to which includes receipt checks, self-checkout limitations, and locked-up items.
It is the latter that has gotten Walmart shoppers most recently riled up on X, formerly Twitter.
Customers are having their shopping trips hampered by locked-up items which can include basic essentials like toothbrushes and pens.
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They are then forced to alert employees to help them access the products which can add long wait times to their shop even before they get to the checkout.
Several shoppers have complained about the anti-theft measure with one highlighting concerns for those who have Diabetes.
“Glucose tablets are locked up at Walmart,” they said in a post with a video of the locked cabinets.
“Hopefully diabetics do not collapse waiting for an employee to unlock the case.”
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“I was in Walmart for 25 mins because they locked up $1.99 tennis balls (set of 3) and I couldn’t find anyone to help me get them,” another frustrated shopper said.
“How does that work if you need multiple things that are locked up?” a third user replied.
After reading various complaints, one shopper accused Walmart and other retailers of ignoring easier solutions to the theft issue.
“If these everyday items are being locked up because of theft experience, it sounds like the stores need better security systems rather than caged essentials,” they wrote.
Others have made this point suggesting that instead of such restrictive measures, self-checkouts should be scrapped or at least more controlled, and manned checkouts should be brought back.
These solutions have already been turned to by several retailers who have admitted that mistakes were made.
Dollar General has enacted a U-turn after rolling out self-checkout-only locations in 2022.
Anti-theft measures rolled out by retailers
Retailers across the US and Canada have rolled out strategies designed to combat theft. The U.S. Sun has compiled a list of measures that have been implemented at stores.
- Locking items in cabinets.
- Security pegs.
- Security cameras.
- Signs warning about the impact of theft.
- Receipt scanners.
- Receipt checks.
- Carts with locking technology
Since then, it has removed the self-service devices from 12,000 stores, CEO Todd Vasos confirmed in an earnings call last month.
Earlier this year, Dollar General executives revealed in an earnings call that “decisive action” had to be taken following “year-over-year” losses as a result of theft.
Vasos previously said that the retailer had become too reliant on self-checkouts and that “there’s truly no substitute for an employee presence…and providing excellent customer service.”
Meanwhile, Walmart shoppers have complained about “hell on Earth” after a store closed all of its self-checkout lanes, forcing them to go to a manned checkout.
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Retailers have been warned by a retail analyst who believes that constant changes and “draconian” anti-theft measures could push customers away.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Walmart for comment.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/11742532/walmart-caged-essentials-anti-theft-measures-security/