Walmart insists ‘your shopping should go smoothly’ after customer points out Catch-22 policy to stop shopping

A WALMART customer angered by the store’s extreme anti-theft measures has received a response from the retail giant.

The customer posted a photo on X of deodorants locked in a Walmart store.

The image shows dozens of deodorants, with prices ranging from $2 to $16, behind protective glass that requires a key to unlock.

The Walmart shopper wrote “@Walmart if you keep things locked and no one has the key how are we supposed to buy them?”

Walmart responded to the post, asking the shopper to message the store to help resolve the shopper’s complaint.

“Your shopping experience should be smooth, Mark,” Walmart responded.

“Can you DM us the store details so we can check it for you?”

Retail theft across the country has pushed stores to extremes when it comes to anti-theft protection.

Last year, retailers in the United States lost more than $112 billion in revenue due to retail theft, according to Capital One.

If the trend continues, by 2026, retailers are expected to lose $150 billion due to theft.

This estimate is causing major retailers like Walmart and Target to impose strict self-checkout restrictions, lock down products, and check customers’ receipts before leaving the store.

These new security measures don’t sit well with many customers.

Shoppers across the country are angered by megastores’ extreme anti-theft measures, with many posting on social media about their anger.

A CVS pharmacy chain customer posted on X about a ‘dystopian’ window in the store.

“@cvspharmacy Loving the dystopian version of their stores’ exclusive display,” the shopper wrote.

“It makes it really impossible to shop in person.”

A buyer cited the post to add her frustrations with the fact that Target also locks products from the store.

“I love going to Target when they inexplicably removed all the call buttons but kept everything locked so you have to wander around aimlessly to find someone to unlock it for you,” the Target shopper wrote.

Locked products mean customers have to wait for staff to come and unlock the box.

However, some customers have found that the stores they frequent are understaffed, forcing them to wait a while or leave the store altogether.

A Walgreens shopper posted on X about having to wait over 10 minutes for products to be unlocked, only to leave the store empty-handed.

“I wonder if Walgreens saved money on those anti-theft locks or lost it when people like me say in the 11th minute of waiting for someone to come unlock it ‘I’m actually not waiting here for a product I could have gotten ‘. what I wanted was a quick run to the store,’” the shopper wrote.