Target doubles down on receipt check policy as chain is forced to respond to shopper who’s ‘never coming back’ to store - TalkLPnews Skip to content

Target doubles down on receipt check policy as chain is forced to respond to shopper who’s ‘never coming back’ to store

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SHOPPERS are expressing their frustration about the treatment they continue to receive while shopping in major retailers.

Customers have been voicing their frustrations on X, formerly Twitter, as they complain about an array of issues they face while shopping.

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Target customers are becoming increasingly frustrated with receipt checks in the storeCredit: Getty
Some vow they will not return to the store if this treatment continues

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Some vow they will not return to the store if this treatment continuesCredit: Getty
Target said these are simply security measures, but customers don't care

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Target said these are simply security measures, but customers don’t careCredit: Getty

From most everyday items being locked behind glass to extra receipt checks, long wait times, issues and limits with self-checkout, and the lack of employees available for help and checkout lanes.

And now the most recent chain to jump on board with receipt checks is Target, and some customers are not happy.

“@Target just asked me to show my receipt after I shopped. Never coming back,” read one post on X.

“Even worse, I spent way too much in there,” the post continued, “bad business.”

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Target even responded to their post, saying in part that this “is a security measure that may occur for a variety of reasons.”

They list some reasons such as “random security checks on bagged or un-bagged items, or larger items with no visible receipt.”

Target has previously cited a rise in crime and shoplifting since the pandemic as their reason for implementing new security measures such as receipt checks.

But some customers suspect that there is more to the story than just a rise in crime.

Most read in The US Sun

Although shoplifting rates have risen in some parts of the country, especially since the pandemic, overall crime has been declining nationwide.

In Los Angeles, the average monthly shoplifting rate jumped from about 540 thefts per month in 2021 to just under 900 per month last year, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

‘Honor system didn’t work,’ groan Target shoppers after store suddenly removes all self-checkout without explanation

Last year, there were almost 12,000 shoplifting reports in the city for 2023 – an 81% increase compared to 2022.

But New York City also saw an increase in shoplifting rates, rising nearly 65% from 2019 to mid-2023, according to a study by the Council on Criminal Justice.

However, despite that increase from the pandemic, New York’s shoplifting has actually been on the decline from 2022 to now.

Over the last two years, Target cut over 35,000 jobs, which is almost 8% of its total workforce.

But at the same time, Target saw roughly $2 billion more in profits in 2023 than the year before, despite an almost 2% drop in sales.

In fact, corporate profits are now accounting for the highest share of national income in over 10 years, according to the National Bureau of Economic Analysis.

But while corporations have been making more money than ever, the majority of Americans are worse off financially now than compared to before the pandemic, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Target also announced this week that they would be lowering the price of over 5,000 everyday items due to this 2% drop, but many now speculated on social media that Target has been actively participating in price gouging for years.

“Alternative headline: Target confesses to blatantly price gouging millions of consumers, no penalties expected,” posted one user.

Read More on The US Sun

“Target was price gouging you to hell while claiming inflation pressure and lost a s**t ton of customers,” wrote another.

“So they’ll return prices to normal and pretend they’re giving you a deal.”

Top 5 receipt checking tips from a lawyer

Camron Dowlatshahi, a Los Angeles attorney, spoke to The U.S. Sun about receipt checks and customer’s rights and options when it came to being asked to show your receipt.

  1. There has been a lot of debate around the legality of a retailer asking to see your receipt, but if it is within the store, it is completely legal. “There’s seemingly nothing illegal about that. You’re still on the company’s premises and their reason to do it is to prevent thefts,” Dowlatshahi confirms.
  2. However, if they are chasing you out of the store, that changes things, Dowlatshahi said. “Location matters,” he explained. “If you’re outside of the store you’re in the parking lot and they come and start accusing you of theft and that you have to show your receipt, I think that’s a bit of a different situation because now you’re on your way.”
  3. While customers are allowed to say no to receipt checks, it may cause issues if you do and the store suspects you of stealing. “You can say no, maybe it creates an unnecessary hassle for yourself because now you may have the police come to your house and follow up,” said Dowlatshahi.
  4. If you are being barred from leaving a store because you refused a receipt check, you could have a legal case — but the store must have held you for a long time. “Let’s say it’s for hours, that’s certainly false imprisonment, and they didn’t have any impetus for doing so,” Dowlatshahi explained. “If a customer has been emotionally traumatized by being held for false imprisonment, I would definitely encourage [them] to sue.”
  5. “I would say, show your receipt,” he concluded. “It’s just a really simple thing to do. If you didn’t steal anything, it’s relatively simple to do,” the lawyer advised.

(According to Camron Dowlatshahi, a founding partner at Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP)

https://www.the-sun.com/news/11521927/target-receipt-checks-shoppers-fed-up/