‘Why is everything locked up?’ cries Walmart shopper who waited 10 minutes for help – she ‘regrets’ ever coming in

CUSTOMERS are expressing their frustrations online about big retailers security measures, which they say is hindering their shopping experiences.

One customer wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that they regret stopping into Walmart to grab deodorant at all.

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From almost all everyday items being locked behind glass to extra receipt checks, issues and limits with self-checkout, the lack of employees available for help and checkout lanes, which result in long wait times – customers have had much to complain about.

“I came to Walmart to get stuff for our family trip because it’s next door to my nail tech and I regret it,” read the post.

“Why is EVERYTHING locked up and I’ve been waiting 10 minutes for someone to unlock DEODORANT for me,” the post continued.

The answer to her question, according to retail executives at least, would be because of a rise in theft throughout their stores since 2020.

Large chains, like Walmart and Target, are expecting $132 billion in combined shoplifting losses this year alone, according to research by Capital One.

So their reasoning, is they simply had no choice amid this large a number combined with inflation.

But while businesses did see an increase in shoplifting losses and theft, their profits have also skyrocketed at the same time.

Corporate profits are now accounting for the largest share of national income in the last 10 years, according to the National Bureau of Economic Analysis.

In fact, Walmart reported a quarterly profit of $5.1 billion just last month.

This is triple the amount made during the same quarter just one year earlier.

But despite tripling their profits, the chain has has laid off thousands of workers in the last four years, citing the need to cut costs because of inflation and the money lost due to theft.

Walmart was a large contributor to a whopping 3,225% spike in retail layoffs among major chains nationwide, according to a report from Challenger, Gray, and Christmas.

At the same time, competitors like Target also saw large increases in profit.

Target saw roughly $2 billion more in profits in 2023 than they did the year before, despite an almost 2% drop in sales.

But as both chains continue to cut costs on labor in stores, with Walmart recently announcing they are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into expensive digital price labels that can be changed instantly.

This allows the chain to further lay-off workers as fewer floor employees are needed in person.

Target also announced in May that it plans on lowering the prices of over 5,000 items.

Target blamed a 2% sales drop, but some customers interpreted this massive drop on thousands of items as a clear admission guilt from the chain.

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

https://www.the-sun.com/news/11678973/walmart-locked-up-items-complaints/