CUSTOMERS have been left shocked as Walmart locked up an entire aisle of products seemingly overnight.
Shoplifting has been a growing concern for retailers across the country as theft has noticeably impacted their profit margins.
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Over the summer, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the level of theft was at a “historically high” level.
John Furner, the president and chief executive officer at Walmart U.S. explained that the company will be taking measures to combat the theft issue.
“We’re going to continue to take the steps that are reasonable and required to make sure we’re protecting our customers, protecting our associates, and protecting our assets and inventory,” said Furner.
Shoppers were stunned to see one of these “reasonable” steps come to fruition in the form of a whole aisle of products behind locked doors.
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One TikToker, @thereal.sherriii, took to the platform to show the newly locked up products at her local Walmart.
“Y’all Walmart is standing on business, they not playing,” she can be heard saying while pulling on a locked display door.
It has long been commonplace for stores to lock up certain high-theft or expensive and easy-to-steal items so that an employee has to help customers access them, but Walmart took it to a whole new level.
The poster and her friend were walking down a makeup aisle and every shelf and its products were behind a locked glass door, similar visually to a door from the freezer section.
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The TikToker demonstrated the locks by pulling on one door, and it would not budge.
What came at a greater shock was how sudden the switch to locking up the aisle’s products came.
“It was not like this last week,” she exclaimed, still filming the cosmetics.
“It was not like this yesterday,” responded her friend.
Not only were people shocked, but they were quick to point out a potential flaw in this new design.
“But then no one comes to unlock it,” put one commenter simply.
“If they’re gonna do this they gotta hire openers that just stand by it,” wrote another.
Inside Edition once sent reporters to Target, Walmart, and CVS stores across New York and New Jersey, to test waiting times.
Walmart was the worst for long waiting times for items under lock and key, per the report; the reporters were forced to wait a total of 40 minutes just for three items.
Some commenters pointed out that this might spell trouble for Walmart’s profits.
“Man, their sales gonna drop bc who shops for cosmetics and doesn’t pick up and look and etc,” explained one poster.
Some customers confirmed that Walmart would be losing their personal business
“All I’m saying is that if I have to ask for assistance I will go straight home and order on Amazon” complained another user.
“I straight up stopped buying any makeup in-store. I do online or just buy no makeup,” commented one past customer.
VENDING SOLUTION
David Ashforth who runs Digital Media Vending International came up with an idea to keep retail products locked up without the customers being inconvenienced.
He said “the lightbulb went off” when he had to wait in a store for an employee to unlock a cabinet.
He set to work on creating a huge vending machine for retailers to replace their shelving that locks up produce.
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In theory, it would be a 26.5-foot wide vending machine for a whole aisle which is team has called the “Automated Retailer.”
Honest shoppers would pay in advance online or at an in-store kiosk for the desired product, then be given a receipt or pick-up code to be entered into the machine in exchange for their item.