A WALMART customer stopped shopping and left the store due to anti-theft policies.
The shopper was just trying to buy socks, but ended up leaving Walmart after finding the items locked behind plexiglass.
“I needed to buy socks. I went to @Walmart to buy socks,” said the customer shared in X.
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“Walmart has all the socks locked away. I went to buy socks somewhere else”, they continued.
“I can’t be the only one leaving the stores because they don’t want to have to wait for an item to unlock before purchasing…”
The client included a gif in his post of Mark Cuban telling a Shark Tank contestant, “For this reason, I’m out.”
Walmart’s customer service account, Walmart Help, responded to the post: “Can you send a DM? We will look into this further.”
The customer, @AlwaysEatLast on X, did not respond to the comment and it is unclear whether he messaged Walmart about the complaint.
RETAIL LOCKDOWN
Walmart has joined a long line of retailers implementing anti-theft policies.
Target also locks items behind plexiglass to prevent theft in its stores.
Another shopper expressed a similar complaint after a visit to Target.
“@Target used to be my happy place. It’s a shame now,” they tweeted.
“Half the store is locked, there aren’t enough employees to unlock it when you need it, and the price is double what it used to be.
“Almost everything I bought there, now I get it from Amazon.”
CVS also locked items to combat ongoing theft.
Latest self-checkout changes
Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at several locations were made available only to Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed at specific times and more cashiers were offered in its place.
While shoppers feared that shoplifting would fuel the upgrades, a Walmart spokesperson revealed that store managers are simply experimenting with ways to improve checkout performance.
One bizarre experiment included an RFID-powered self-checkout kiosk that would thwart fiercely contested receipt checks.
However, this test has been discontinued.
At Target, items are being limited in auto-checkout.
Last fall, the brand researched new express self-checkout lanes in 200 stores with 10 items or less for added convenience.
In March 2024, this policy was expanded to 2,000 stores in the US.
Shoppers also identified their local Walmart stores restricting customers to 15 items or less to use self-checkout machines.
A shopper recently documented his experience on YouTube and shared his frustration with anti-theft policies.
“I hate it when I go into stores and everything is locked like that,” they said.
Locking items is just one of the new policies retailers have implemented to combat the rise in theft.
Some retailers have also employed receipt checks and closed self-checkout lanes to discourage shoplifting.
A study carried out by Brennan Center concluded that shoplifting has increased in large cities.
New York increased 64% in shoplifting incidents, while Los Angeles increased 61% between January 2019 and June 2023.
Despite the dramatic increases, the study showed that retail crime appears to be declining.
The US Sun reached out to Walmart for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
