A WALMART shopper has slammed the “crazy” self-checkout process and revealed what the last straw was for them in store.
In addition to issues with self-checkout, shoppers are tired of seeing tons of everyday items being locked away, subject to extra receipt checks, a lack of staff available to help, and a limited amount of checkout lines available, resulting in long waiting times.
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“I think I’m almost done with Walmart,” wrote one customer on X, formerly Twitter.
“The self-checkout process is crazy, but they want to check my receipt for diapers and wipes in my cart,” they continued.
“Just lock the whole store, have you ever tried barbed wire?” another shopper posted sarcastically after his experience.
One customer called the lock-up displays “dystopian,” saying they “make it really impossible to shop in person.”
“They should invent a CVS or maybe a Target in a city where you can take an item off the shelf and buy it,” another also said sarcastically.
Retail executives have often blamed the rise in crime on these newly imposed security measures.
Major retailers expect $132 billion in combined losses from shoplifting this year alone, according to to look for by Capital One.
Numbers like this since the pandemic have led many retailers, like Target and Walmart, to say they simply have no choice in the midst of this increase combined with inflation.
And shoplifting rates have actually increased in some parts of the country, especially since the pandemic.
But it’s important to note that overall crime has decreased nationally over the past year, although it varies by state and city.
For example, in Los Angeles, the monthly shoplifting rate increased from about 540 thefts per month in 2021 to just under an average of 900 per month last year, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
In total, there were about 12,000 reports of shoplifting made in Los Angeles County in 2023 – an 81% increase compared to the previous year.
However, across the country in New York City, the five boroughs also saw an increase in shoplifting rates over a similar time period, increasing a notable 65% between 2019 and mid-2023, according to a study of Criminal Justice Council.
But despite the huge jump from the pandemic, from New York The shoplifting rate has been decreasing since 2021.
To put this into perspective, there were nearly 52,000 reported shoplifting incidents in New York in 2023.
This represents a drop of about 7% compared to 2022, which represents about 4,500 fewer reports, according to data from the city’s police department.
Although businesses have been affected by this increase in theft and shoplifting, business profits have simultaneously represented the majority of national income over the past 10 years, according to the National Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In fact, last month Walmart reported a huge quarterly profit of $5.1 billion, triple what they made in the same quarter just a year earlier.
But despite tripling its profits, Walmart has laid off thousands of workers over the past four years, citing the need to cut costs for the same reasons it imposed new safety measures.
In fact, the chain has been a major contributor to a massive 3,225% increase in retail layoffs among major chains nationwide, according to a report from Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
Meanwhile, Target has also massively increased profits, generating about $2 billion more in profits last year than the year before, despite a nearly 2% drop in sales in 2023.
Both chains continue to cut labor costs in stores, with Walmart recently announcing that it is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in expensive digital price tags that can be changed instantly, which would require fewer employees to be present. workers in stores.
Target recently announced that the chain will reduce prices on more than 5,000 everyday items due to a 2% drop in sales.
But some interpreted this random price drop on thousands of items as an admission of guilt by Target.
“Alternative Headline: Target Confesses to Blatantly Defrauding Millions of Consumers, No Penalties Expected”, posted a user.
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 updates, 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.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
