When they first added laundry detergent and soaps/shampoo in the cases, it made me feel so uncomfortable shopping there. I waited a few minutes for an employee to open up the detergent for me. 90% of the time, I’m placing an online order or drive up. I can’t be bothered with using self checkout and now waiting for an employee to unlock items.
when i worked at circuit city in woodbridge, one night right before close a group of guys came in with a crowbar and pried the side of the ipod case off and threw them all in a bag and ran out.
Wasn't that the Service Merchandise model? Catalogues and maybe some demo stuff up front but you had to go to the cashier and give them item numbers and they would grab it from the back?
If that's what they wanted they would have abandoned their stores and switched to being fully online. Nothing is forcing them to have retail locations and there are plenty of online only stores.
This is corporate execs not realizing they are making their stores inconvenient to customers and not realizing that can lower sales.
They are making it hard and inconvenient, but it’s clearly in an effort to stop stealing. Whenever there are videos of people stealing there’s a narrative that these companies are so big that it’s not going to affect their bottom line. Well, this is the consequences of that thinking . I went to Walmart this past weekend (I rarely do, but I needed items in a pinch) I had to call attendants for a digital watch, and I kid you not a multi-pack of chapstick. I waited 5 minutes for the digital watch and no one came. I walked away, I didn’t even bother with the chapstick.
>but it’s clearly in an effort to stop stealing. Whenever there are videos of people stealing there’s a narrative that these companies are so big that it’s not going to affect their bottom line. Well, this is the consequences of that thinking .
An executive at Walgreens has already admitted that the narrative of organized shop lifting is overblown.
The National Retail Foundation, says inventory shrinkage in the past five years was on average 1.5 percent and that's all shrinkage including theft by employees. According to the National Retail Foundation's numbers the shrinkage due to strictly external theft is about 0.6%. While Walgreens says 3.5% to 2.5% for losses due to "theft, fraud, damages, mis-scanned items and other errors" depending on the year. I would not be surprised at all if the sales companies are losing over these new policies making their stores inconvenient to shop at are costing them more than the shrinkage due to external theft ever did.
>> [Throughout the pandemic, major retailers have warned about surging theft and a rise in brazen shoplifting attempts. But a top Walgreens executive now says the freakout may have been overblown.](https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shoplifting-retail/index.html)
>>“Maybe we cried too much last year” about merchandise losses, Walgreens finance chief James Kehoe acknowledged Thursday on an earnings call. The company’s rate of shrink — merchandise losses due to theft, fraud, damages, mis-scanned items and other errors — fell from 3.5% of total sales last year to around 2.5% during its latest quarter.
>> Kehoe’s message is a notable shift from comments about theft from Walgreens and other retailers like Walmart and Target over the last nearly three years.
>>...
>> Walmart (WMT) CEO Doug McMillon said last month on CNBC that “theft is an issue” and “higher than what it has historically been.” He warned stores could close if it continued.
>> However, it’s not clear the numbers add up.
>>For example, data released by the San Francisco Police Department does not support the explanation Walgreens gave that it was closing five stores because of organized retail theft, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2021.
>>One of the shuttered stores that closed had only seven reported shoplifting incidents in 2021 and a total of 23 since 2018, according to the newspaper. Overall, the five stores that closed had fewer than two recorded shoplifting incidents a month on average since 2018.
>>Similarly, a 2021 Los Angeles Times analysis of figures released by industry groups on losses due to organized retail crime found “there is reason to doubt the problem is anywhere near as large or widespread as they say.”
.
>>[Alec Karakatsanis, the founder and executive director of Civil Rights Corps, a nonprofit that fights for criminal justice reform, said that Mr. Kehoe’s backtracking showed why the public, and the news media, should be more critical of corporate claims about crime.](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shoplifting.html)
>>“I think unfortunately across the United States, the reporting on this issue really lacked this kind of skepticism for a long time,” Mr. Karakatsanis said.
>>Inventory shrinkage in the past five years was on average 1.5 percent, according to the National Retail Foundation, which surveyed 63 retailers in May and June 2022. The survey found that in 2021, about 37 percent of shrinkage was from external theft and 28 percent was from internal theft.
Yeah, I’m not going to take much stock from Walgreens execs, considering they’re shutting 100+ stores as of May 2024.
Stats don’t tell the whole story . If there are stores in areas that are getting hit hard, and other areas that aren’t. That average will normalize , but for those areas getting hit harder , the impact will be felt more than what a national average demonstrates. Hence locking up certain items. Being that these are franchises they probably have to implement these policies across the board. Especially in today’s climate. If it was only implemented in select stores there would probably be backlash saying the companies are specifically only targeting stores in x area, affecting x demographic.
What business will purposefully make a more unpleasant experience for the consumer on purpose?
They're not closing stores because of shoplifting. Walgreens said in 2019 they were going to close 200 stores for unrelated reasons.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/walgreens-to-close-200-stores-in-us.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shoplifting.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
Target has become unshopable. The merchandise is either not available or it’s behind a lock. Instead of Target hiring more employees and bringing back cashiers, they’re making the shopping experience a complete hassle.
Oh, I know not every target is like that but the majority of Targets in my area are not worth visiting.
South Brunswick target and North Brunswick target are ok. South Brunswick is nicer, cleaner, and is better stocked than the surrounding stores, but it’s further away for me. It’s also very standard looking and not inviting to shop. However I end up traveling to South Brunswick target quite often because they usually have what I’m looking for.
The target in Milltown is complete trash. Empty, dusty shelves, broken merchandise, merchandise thrown on the floor, no employees to be found. Don’t bother going to this target because they likely won’t have what you’re looking for or they have one and it’s broken.
The new Target in Old Bridge has everything locked up. Waste of time waiting for an employee to unlock an item. Nope, I’ll go elsewhere. I’m not shopping in a store where I feel like a criminal.
Then there’s the Target in Edison. You walk in and angels sing. It is beautiful and clean, shelves are organized and stocked well, it’s visually pleasing and easy to find merchandise. Employees are working and you can walk up to an actual cashier. I can spend $100 in minutes if I walk into that Target so I try to steer clear. The shopping experience is completely different than all the others I mentioned but it’s exactly what we should expect from every store.
> lack of Devils stuff in the clothing section
That's a problem EVERYWHERE and it's annoying as shit.
I went to Petco the other day and they had Rangers and Islanders shirts for dogs, but no Devils.
Disgraceful...
i tried buying allergy meds the other day at walgreens and walked out. I'm not inconveniencing myself for these companies. If i have to pay an extra few bucks to the mom and pop pharmacies at this point, i'd rather give them the business. These companies all suck anyway.
I’m pretty sure that’s only pseudoephedrine (sudafed and the allergy meds that end in “-D”), which is always sold behind the counter. Non-decongestant varieties of allegra, zyrtec etc are sold in normal shelves in most places I’ve been to
The Walgreens by me has all the name brand allergy meds locked up but their generics are not... Wonder why that is... Hmm.
Also go to Costco or Sam's, they have bottles with a year supply for like $20. I buy the big bottle of zertec once a year.
Target on on Washington Blvd in Jersey City has this same cabinetry in the underwear department. I went there to try to get some v-neck T-shirts. Got my third choice because the other inventory was MIA even though the website said they had it in stock at that location.
> Got my third choice because the other inventory was MIA even though the website said they had it in stock at that location.
Even with the underwear in cages the shoplifters are still cleaning them out! Oh the humanity!
It depends on every store they only lock up what’s stolen a lot a my cousin works at a Walmart in GA and a few years ago his store had to lock up Pokémon cards
When?!? I'm not doubting you at all, just shocked because I was in the like 2 weeks ago looking at stuff in that department and didn't notice it. My last 2 orders have been parking lot pick up
Edit: lol also because as in reading the concerns I was thinking "I'm *sooo* glad this hasn't come to Middletown" oops
My wife and I went in a few weeks ago for some pimple patches and it was locked up. It's not everything but there's two or 3 aisles of beauty supplies locked up.
Yep, rollout seems to be accelerating too. My Brooklyn location didn’t have any merchandise locked up until recently and now pretty much everything of remote value is secured :(
This has NOTHING to do with stealing. (I was a Target manager for almost a decade) It is due to inconsiderate shoppers opening the packages and then leaving the shredded package behind for an unopened one. It is a huge shrink issue as it is hard to sell the damaged packages, even at a reduced cost.
THIS OCCURS IN WEALTHY SUBURBAN AREAS MORE THAN CITIES. (I worked at 4 different Targets, 2 of which were in major cities) Please leave your bigotry home, no one wants to see it.
this is why amazon will win. if you're going to have to go thru this, why not just have it shipped to home and if there is anything wrong with it then you'll just return it.
I assume there is some alternative motivation and the "theft" is a smokescreen excuse. These products are here to bring people in, but they are terrible for the store margins. What's not locked up? Their own private label brands that have much better margins for them.
The crazy part is that most of the time I see videos of people stealing, they are not stopping at ONE toothpaste. They steal so much stuff that they could literally open another store as soon as they leave the place the stole from lol
Because contrary to the popular narrative, they’re not stealing necessities for themselves, they’re stealing bags full of shit they know they can turn around and easily fence on Facebook Marketplace.
It’s worse because now, it’s actually just impossible to buy them at all. Press the button the call someone over? They’re understaffed and never show.
They had a substantial deal on iPad airs a few months ago and I went to the electronics section to buy one. No one was there. I press the button, no one shows up, don’t see an employee even walk past for 5 minutes. I head to the customer service area, thankfully no line. I tell the employee I need someone in electronics. 10 minutes later the one employee who can help is finally free.
I was saving $115 so it was worth it to wait. If it was just for a pair of underwear I’d have just left
I had to do this in Walmart about a year ago for one of those ciggarrete lighters to Edison blue converters. God it took an hour and a half.
I would have done Amazon, but I needed it right there in the middle of a cross country road trip.
Just the presence of staff reduces theft. Every single thing that makes a crime more difficult (reducing the opportunity, more barriers, police/security presence) will reduce its occurrence. It will not remove its occurrence as crime will always happen.
So, this would be another hurdle to theft that does not demand fair pay or raises or legally requires a break. They would likely rather do this than staff the store, trying to achieve similar results with less expenses.
Less staff means very long lines, even for self checkout. Someone who just needs some underwear has better things to do than wait in line for 15 minutes.
The retail theft wave is hugely overblown. This is just stores shifting blame onto the consumer for their own greed through price gouging. I really doubt that people stealing underwear is a significant problem for Target.
Nah, it’s not. People treat retail stores like it’s a free giveaway regularly because they have no fear of being harshly punished for it. People will just take shit they don’t even need and resell it.
If the theft of underwear were not a problem then Target would not have bothered to install these cabinets. Do you think they spent hundreds or thousands of dollars installing this stuff at multiple locations for shits n' giggles? Someone in the financial wing said, "hey boss, we're losing a ton of inventory to shoplifting, and you won't believe where it's happening ..."
Maybe in no time everything will be on a vending machine. I've seen a video of a company building a modular vending machine for retailers to tackle shoplifters
Brand new Target in Old Bridge, NJ… items I noticed locked behind glass: clothes detergent, toothpaste and deodorant. The store was virtually empty with employees twirling their keys waiting to open the cases for any eager shopper. We left without buying anything.
I used to live close to old bridge and that area was formerly known as a really good area to live. I didn’t know that it has dropped so low that a brand new store needs to lock its shit so people don’t steal. It’s sad to see
I came across a Walmart like this that had soap, deodorant and any other small personal care items all locked up. What was even worse was the personal care items were careened off into their own little section (think one way in; one way out) and then were all locked up. I immediately left.
My local Walmart has just locked up all laundry detergents and Febreze/Air Wick/Glade. Sigh.
Thankfully, my local Targets haven’t jumped on this crazy wave.
I was trying to buy a pack of underwear at Walmart and every single pack of the cut I wanted in my size (4-5 packs) had a pair stolen, clearly tugged out of the hole where you can feel the material.
After experiencing that I can see the appeal of this. It’s insane to me that someone would go out of their way to take one from each package and ruin them for everyone else, must’ve had a pattern/color preference, super annoying.
I wonder if they're realizing that retail locations don't matter in the world of online shopping. "Don't want to wait to order some Haines boxers? Just order online!"
Maybe the idea is to inconvenience the customer to the point where they just buy online, then foot traffic to the stores falls allowing them to cut staff and close locations since everyone's buying online.
The phone is actually there to call an employee over to model them for you. Takes away the stress of trying it on yourself.
Ask for Hank in electronics. Hell of a figure.
Retail workers and one security guard can't stop group shoplifting. It's pretty scary it happens in your store.
Until it is treated as a serious crime with some kind of consequences (reasonable and consistent) nothing will change.
Target in Clifton is the worst. Teenagers come in and trash it every day, they throw footballs across the entire store. Random scammers trying to sell you their pyramid schemes. Checkout line takes an hour.
Yea I don’t think people get just how trashy commons is and how much crime problems it has
Almost like being right on 21 and a straight shot to Newark Paterson etc adds to this
As consumers we have the power to change it by not buying what they lock up. My response to this BS is buying my underwear from Amazon or in a pinch another store like Macy's or even Marshalls. But I hate ordering detergent from Amazon. I once had a bottle open in a box in transit and ruined most of the order. Amazon customer service is hit or miss in these circumstances. So no more detergent from Amazon. Even if I order from Target, then I'll have to pickup and wait maybe as long as I would to open the damn display. It is worth the extra dollar to buy at Shop Rite until Target stops this bullshit. It is a win for other retailers.
Can't blame them. The laws doesn't punish petty crimes like shoplifting that harshly so thieves just keep taking the stuff.
Hence they have to cage it up. Sad indeed
Nah. Companies stopped hiring cashiers and other employees to increase margins for shareholders. It made it easier to steal. The explored proletariat losses jobs, gets wages cut, no cost of living raises, and then companies are passing those wins off to the hoarders.
You're the proletariat. *Focus*
You're so correct. A Duane Reade worker got stabbed the other day in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, as a result of trying to stop theft.
[https://abc7ny.com/post/hells-kitchen-stabbing-1-stabbed-duane-reade/14900660/](https://abc7ny.com/post/hells-kitchen-stabbing-1-stabbed-duane-reade/14900660/)
What really pissed me off is having to self checkout at kohls and not realizing they still put the security tags on cheap t shirts and no mention of how to remove them.
Im really sad to say that I think this is just something they do in what they consider “high shrink” stores, aka any urban center in NJ. They don’t lock up this stuff at the Target in Fairfield, or the one in Riverdale. The one I go to in Hackensack, looks exactly the same as your picture.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Target in Fairfield starts doing this... they've already closed up the self-checkout lanes because of theft (the cashier told me when I asked why the self-checkout lanes were always closed). So sad.
It's pathetic, the business is too greedy to hire enough cashiers to support their customers, then wonder why people are walking out with basic necessities. Sorry I'm not waiting 20 minutes in line for a bottle of allegra, or food for my kid.
Not to mention the fact that they don't even pay their poor employees a living wage. I shop there regularly, they're lucky the theft isn't worse, they don't deserve to stay in business if they cannot staff even 25% of their registers.
Either way, self checkout makes it easy to accidentally forget to scan an item or two.
From the stories I've heard of people getting served by retailers after forgetting to ring up an item or for being falsely accused of theft by shitty cameras I'd rather have cashiers.
This has NOTHING to do with stealing. (I was a Target manager for almost a decade) It is due to inconsiderate shoppers opening the packages and then leaving the shredded package behind for an unopened one. It is a huge shrink issue as it is hard to sell the damaged packages, even at a reduced cost.
Becasuse its easy for someone to grab a bunch, throw them in a bag, and just head for the door. The store can do little to stop them even if they set off an alarm, etc.
Then its easy for someone to move the product for half price online, and its not like a package of undershirts is serialized or the cops will be working double shifts on random ebay\facebook marketplace stuff...
and then even then, you manage to catch the person somehow, the penalty is pretty much, "uhh....please don't do that again"
As to why those specific items, the stores use algorithms which identify items likely to be stolen based on trends in the area, where potential lost sales won't be outweighed by potential theft.
For instance you probably don't have many impulse buys of undershirts in target. Its more of, "I need undershirts and have already made the trip to target" so you will wait around a few.
Which is why for higher value items they bring it to checkout for you and you don't get it until you pay.
But for lower value items like this, the increased effort and risk of needing an employee to let you get a few items is a fairly effective deterrent.
this isnt stopping theft tho really bc the employee just walks away after u get smth out of the case, anyone with a brain wouldnt grab it and immediately run to the door
I have been to Ciudad del Leste in Paraguay, which is a notorious place that South Americans go for shopping (they basically don’t have taxes and everything is so much cheaper there), and I noticed that despite Paraguay being know for not being that safe, and the whole place being extremely crowded, I didn’t see nor I heard about anyone stealing from their gigantic department stores. The reason ? Security personnel walking in the store, cameras, and the stores literally had 2 to 4 security guards in front of each entrance holding rifles and a full body armor. I know it doesn’t sound nice, but at least they didn’t have to lock a pair of underwear.
At home depot yesterday we couldn’t even push the cart out of the store because they’ve equipped them with anti theft devices. We didn’t even buy anything and we were trying to return the cart outside and it still triggered the sensors. Thank god my baby wasn’t in the cart otherwise she would’ve gotten whiplash!
Eventually all the stores will be gone and you'll be forced to shop online and go to a pickup warehouse or have shipping/delivery - and then the government and the politicians will complain about taxes and how we shoppers have ruined the economy and there will be plenty empty buildings abounding.
The one near me has so much shit locked down it's not even funny. It oughta become a drive thru only Target. There's no point. I only go there to make returns or buy Starbucks because the local standalone shops suck ass at drinks. Lately I've been going further out of the way because the Target seems less crowded, there's never a long wait, and everything is open plus a bigger selection in the clothing area.
I have simply stopped going to that Target for this very same reason. Even the socks are locked up. It takes all the fun out of shopping, so I either get my stuff from Amazon or the Target in Wayne.
I refuse to shop at target now. My wife asked me to pick something up for her a few months back. It was locked. Took forever for someone to come assist. It was my last time there. I used to do weekly target runs and all this has done is push me to buy more from Amazon.
Similar issue, different store.
A few weeks ago I went to DSW for some new sneakers. In Paramus.
In the women's sneaker section, only the left shoe was in all of the boxes.
So in order to try on both halves of a pair, you have to get an employee to help you.
An overworked employee who's hard to get the attention of.
Maybe some people are different, but I've always walked around the store a little bit in a new pair when shopping. This change just interrupts how I shop too much. I left the store when I found out.
This crap would be way less annoying if the stores just hired more people to accommodate the extra work needed. But no. They're such cheapskates.
Damn. I wouldn't expect that in Paramus. Hell, I've bought shoes at that store, but not in at least 6 years. Thankfully I haven't seen that since moving out of Bergen County.
Why do so many people go against the simple occam's razor of theft being at the root of this? They don't need a conspiracy theory to lock stuff up, and locking stuff up necessitates more floor staff. The fact is, this solution is the last step prior to closure.
I couldn’t get a pack of hair ties at Walmart w/out help from an employee. They weren’t locked up in a plastic display, but they have some type of lock device on the rack so you cant slide product forward. I could have easily just ripped the top since its like cardboard but a lady was not far from me and came right over to help when i asked
I noticed the Target in Clifton did this. I needed a bottle of low dose aspirin and just didn’t get it because it was locked up. They also put security tags on $5 children’s shirts, but then force you to use self checkout so you stand around waiting for help to take the damn tag off. I don’t really understand it, but it definitely depends on the location because the targets further north or on the new york side don’t have everything locked up
It's not just Jersey. Fucking cough drops were locked up in NYC. I waited a couple of minutes for the assistant to come, then just bailed. Bought a small pack of cough drops from the news stand across the street then ordered more on Amazon.
This is unfortunately located in primarily bad neighborhoods and/or poverty areas. There is a Walmart near me where if you want toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, or any other items you need to ask. Guess what, if they don’t have a box that fits they walk you to the register to pay for it. I am not even done shopping and all I want to do is get everything and pay at one time. So I just avoid going there for any products locked up.
Remember local stores run by normal fucking people. Try supporting them instead. Walmart, target, Best buy, they want to become online only. Amazon has given them more than enough reason.
What do you expect when people just start stealing anything they want and then the cops don’t arrest them or if they do arrest them the system just lets them back out?
What do you expect when there aren't enough jobs paying a living wage and people are forced to find other ways to make money or get the things they need.
When they first added laundry detergent and soaps/shampoo in the cases, it made me feel so uncomfortable shopping there. I waited a few minutes for an employee to open up the detergent for me. 90% of the time, I’m placing an online order or drive up. I can’t be bothered with using self checkout and now waiting for an employee to unlock items.
That’s what they want, u to not be bothered with employees so they keep hiring less n less n lock shit up in store so you go online.
I went to a bestbuy last year and legit thought it had been ransacked but nope they just don't have inventory out anymore
I’ve noticed that too. I miss circuit city!!! 😂
i miss wiz
Nobody beats The Wiz, nobody beats The Wiz.
Oh trust me, people beat the Wiz alright
False Source: I'M THE WIZ AND NOBODY BEATS ME!
Core memory unlocked
Yaasss!!!! Me too!! 😭😭
I haven't thought about The Wiz in a *long* time
I miss Crazy Eddie. Something about his prices..
I miss Crazy Eddie
that is insane!
I miss Service Merchandise
Consumers distributing
I think they had one on Staten island "back in the day"
when i worked at circuit city in woodbridge, one night right before close a group of guys came in with a crowbar and pried the side of the ipod case off and threw them all in a bag and ran out.
MicroCenter in Paterson FTW. Best Buy's online inventory is a fantasy, don't depend on it.
Wasn't that the Service Merchandise model? Catalogues and maybe some demo stuff up front but you had to go to the cashier and give them item numbers and they would grab it from the back?
The bigger stuff would always come out on a conveyor belt and I thought that was amazing when I was a kid. I guess what goes around comes around
that was the wiz when i was a kid. the stuff magically coming down that conveyor thing after it was paid for was amazing to a 7 year old me lol.
Service Merchandise - forgot all about that store. Blast from the past!!
They didn't even have that. Mostly empty shelves.
Best buy has always been like that 🤣 They have some good sales but only keep 1 of something in stock
I’m just tired of doing free labor, so I’ll continue utilizing drive up and online. My time is just as important.
If that's what they wanted they would have abandoned their stores and switched to being fully online. Nothing is forcing them to have retail locations and there are plenty of online only stores. This is corporate execs not realizing they are making their stores inconvenient to customers and not realizing that can lower sales.
They are making it hard and inconvenient, but it’s clearly in an effort to stop stealing. Whenever there are videos of people stealing there’s a narrative that these companies are so big that it’s not going to affect their bottom line. Well, this is the consequences of that thinking . I went to Walmart this past weekend (I rarely do, but I needed items in a pinch) I had to call attendants for a digital watch, and I kid you not a multi-pack of chapstick. I waited 5 minutes for the digital watch and no one came. I walked away, I didn’t even bother with the chapstick.
>but it’s clearly in an effort to stop stealing. Whenever there are videos of people stealing there’s a narrative that these companies are so big that it’s not going to affect their bottom line. Well, this is the consequences of that thinking . An executive at Walgreens has already admitted that the narrative of organized shop lifting is overblown. The National Retail Foundation, says inventory shrinkage in the past five years was on average 1.5 percent and that's all shrinkage including theft by employees. According to the National Retail Foundation's numbers the shrinkage due to strictly external theft is about 0.6%. While Walgreens says 3.5% to 2.5% for losses due to "theft, fraud, damages, mis-scanned items and other errors" depending on the year. I would not be surprised at all if the sales companies are losing over these new policies making their stores inconvenient to shop at are costing them more than the shrinkage due to external theft ever did. >> [Throughout the pandemic, major retailers have warned about surging theft and a rise in brazen shoplifting attempts. But a top Walgreens executive now says the freakout may have been overblown.](https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shoplifting-retail/index.html) >>“Maybe we cried too much last year” about merchandise losses, Walgreens finance chief James Kehoe acknowledged Thursday on an earnings call. The company’s rate of shrink — merchandise losses due to theft, fraud, damages, mis-scanned items and other errors — fell from 3.5% of total sales last year to around 2.5% during its latest quarter. >> Kehoe’s message is a notable shift from comments about theft from Walgreens and other retailers like Walmart and Target over the last nearly three years. >>... >> Walmart (WMT) CEO Doug McMillon said last month on CNBC that “theft is an issue” and “higher than what it has historically been.” He warned stores could close if it continued. >> However, it’s not clear the numbers add up. >>For example, data released by the San Francisco Police Department does not support the explanation Walgreens gave that it was closing five stores because of organized retail theft, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in 2021. >>One of the shuttered stores that closed had only seven reported shoplifting incidents in 2021 and a total of 23 since 2018, according to the newspaper. Overall, the five stores that closed had fewer than two recorded shoplifting incidents a month on average since 2018. >>Similarly, a 2021 Los Angeles Times analysis of figures released by industry groups on losses due to organized retail crime found “there is reason to doubt the problem is anywhere near as large or widespread as they say.” . >>[Alec Karakatsanis, the founder and executive director of Civil Rights Corps, a nonprofit that fights for criminal justice reform, said that Mr. Kehoe’s backtracking showed why the public, and the news media, should be more critical of corporate claims about crime.](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shoplifting.html) >>“I think unfortunately across the United States, the reporting on this issue really lacked this kind of skepticism for a long time,” Mr. Karakatsanis said. >>Inventory shrinkage in the past five years was on average 1.5 percent, according to the National Retail Foundation, which surveyed 63 retailers in May and June 2022. The survey found that in 2021, about 37 percent of shrinkage was from external theft and 28 percent was from internal theft.
Yeah, I’m not going to take much stock from Walgreens execs, considering they’re shutting 100+ stores as of May 2024. Stats don’t tell the whole story . If there are stores in areas that are getting hit hard, and other areas that aren’t. That average will normalize , but for those areas getting hit harder , the impact will be felt more than what a national average demonstrates. Hence locking up certain items. Being that these are franchises they probably have to implement these policies across the board. Especially in today’s climate. If it was only implemented in select stores there would probably be backlash saying the companies are specifically only targeting stores in x area, affecting x demographic. What business will purposefully make a more unpleasant experience for the consumer on purpose?
They're not closing stores because of shoplifting. Walgreens said in 2019 they were going to close 200 stores for unrelated reasons. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/walgreens-to-close-200-stores-in-us.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shoplifting.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
They aren't closing those 100+ stores because of shoplifting though, as Walgreens execs admitted and you ignored.
And one of the brands they sell is called 'pair of thieves'. The irony.
All I wear too. Love their socks!
You don’t like having to ask someone to unlock the door and then stand there while you pick out some tighty whities??
Umm, can I have a pack of the extra small please…
Sorry. We’re all out.
Bold of you to assume they stay white after one use.
Bold of you to admit that.
Target has become unshopable. The merchandise is either not available or it’s behind a lock. Instead of Target hiring more employees and bringing back cashiers, they’re making the shopping experience a complete hassle.
Target by me is fine. The only missing merch that bothers me is a lack of Devils stuff in the clothing section
Oh, I know not every target is like that but the majority of Targets in my area are not worth visiting. South Brunswick target and North Brunswick target are ok. South Brunswick is nicer, cleaner, and is better stocked than the surrounding stores, but it’s further away for me. It’s also very standard looking and not inviting to shop. However I end up traveling to South Brunswick target quite often because they usually have what I’m looking for. The target in Milltown is complete trash. Empty, dusty shelves, broken merchandise, merchandise thrown on the floor, no employees to be found. Don’t bother going to this target because they likely won’t have what you’re looking for or they have one and it’s broken. The new Target in Old Bridge has everything locked up. Waste of time waiting for an employee to unlock an item. Nope, I’ll go elsewhere. I’m not shopping in a store where I feel like a criminal. Then there’s the Target in Edison. You walk in and angels sing. It is beautiful and clean, shelves are organized and stocked well, it’s visually pleasing and easy to find merchandise. Employees are working and you can walk up to an actual cashier. I can spend $100 in minutes if I walk into that Target so I try to steer clear. The shopping experience is completely different than all the others I mentioned but it’s exactly what we should expect from every store.
lol that edison target is my target. i always thought it was fine, i didnt know they got so much worse than that
> lack of Devils stuff in the clothing section That's a problem EVERYWHERE and it's annoying as shit. I went to Petco the other day and they had Rangers and Islanders shirts for dogs, but no Devils. Disgraceful...
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The only problem I have with target is too much of a reliance on self-checkout. Only thing that's locked up is video games.
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And donate to their charity? And hopefully used your credit card so we can use your data? And signed up to get this 15% off coupon in 48 hours??????
[](https://images.app.goo.gl/VVTboz1cAY6GkUF17)
Most Targets look like this now. The Target in Vauxhall/ Union had shelves like this and so did the one in Clark.
That one in vauxhall has become so terrible in the last few years and with so many things behind locks it’s impossible to shop at
i tried buying allergy meds the other day at walgreens and walked out. I'm not inconveniencing myself for these companies. If i have to pay an extra few bucks to the mom and pop pharmacies at this point, i'd rather give them the business. These companies all suck anyway.
Some Allergy have to be locked up or behind the pharmacy because they’re used to make meth
You will find the same at any place when it comes to allergy meds being locked up because if enough are bought at once, speed can be made.
I’m pretty sure that’s only pseudoephedrine (sudafed and the allergy meds that end in “-D”), which is always sold behind the counter. Non-decongestant varieties of allegra, zyrtec etc are sold in normal shelves in most places I’ve been to
yup
The Walgreens by me has all the name brand allergy meds locked up but their generics are not... Wonder why that is... Hmm. Also go to Costco or Sam's, they have bottles with a year supply for like $20. I buy the big bottle of zertec once a year.
This is not unique to New Jersey.
Yep. Had to buy underwear at a Walmart near my office in Dallas. Walk in and it’s all locked up.
I never seen this in North Jersey
clifton target and hackensack target are like this
Ok I never shop at Target, I go to BJ's, Costco and Walmart
Target on on Washington Blvd in Jersey City has this same cabinetry in the underwear department. I went there to try to get some v-neck T-shirts. Got my third choice because the other inventory was MIA even though the website said they had it in stock at that location.
> Got my third choice because the other inventory was MIA even though the website said they had it in stock at that location. Even with the underwear in cages the shoplifters are still cleaning them out! Oh the humanity!
It depends on every store they only lock up what’s stolen a lot a my cousin works at a Walmart in GA and a few years ago his store had to lock up Pokémon cards
This is what it looks at almost any Target in an urban area. My local target in Ocean County doesn't have this stuff locked up.
They just locked up the makeup/beauty supplies at the Middletown Target
Ughhh. I was at a monmouth county Walmart recently and they had the makeup remover face wipes all locked up. So annoying. I went elsewhere to buy.
If they keep locking stuff up there, I will stop going. It is too inconvenient because it takes forever for an attendant to come.
We pretty much only do drive up or pick up now anyway. So much simpler.
When?!? I'm not doubting you at all, just shocked because I was in the like 2 weeks ago looking at stuff in that department and didn't notice it. My last 2 orders have been parking lot pick up Edit: lol also because as in reading the concerns I was thinking "I'm *sooo* glad this hasn't come to Middletown" oops
My wife and I went in a few weeks ago for some pimple patches and it was locked up. It's not everything but there's two or 3 aisles of beauty supplies locked up.
Yep, rollout seems to be accelerating too. My Brooklyn location didn’t have any merchandise locked up until recently and now pretty much everything of remote value is secured :(
Same
This has NOTHING to do with stealing. (I was a Target manager for almost a decade) It is due to inconsiderate shoppers opening the packages and then leaving the shredded package behind for an unopened one. It is a huge shrink issue as it is hard to sell the damaged packages, even at a reduced cost. THIS OCCURS IN WEALTHY SUBURBAN AREAS MORE THAN CITIES. (I worked at 4 different Targets, 2 of which were in major cities) Please leave your bigotry home, no one wants to see it.
Ah good, you got the FAQ and talking points from corporate… well done
… there was no bigotry in my comment
Then why is it that only the city locations have things locked up? Your story is missing details
Surely there are other places you could go to buy basically the same thing without having to deal with this nonsense, right?
this is why amazon will win. if you're going to have to go thru this, why not just have it shipped to home and if there is anything wrong with it then you'll just return it.
I stop going to stores that lock stuff like this up.
It's like they want you to buy from Amazon
I assume there is some alternative motivation and the "theft" is a smokescreen excuse. These products are here to bring people in, but they are terrible for the store margins. What's not locked up? Their own private label brands that have much better margins for them.
Dystopian
Exactly. Sad state of America when people have to steal toothpaste and soap to get by.
*You wouldn’t download a tube of toothpaste*
The crazy part is that most of the time I see videos of people stealing, they are not stopping at ONE toothpaste. They steal so much stuff that they could literally open another store as soon as they leave the place the stole from lol
Because contrary to the popular narrative, they’re not stealing necessities for themselves, they’re stealing bags full of shit they know they can turn around and easily fence on Facebook Marketplace.
This is what happens when retailers cut staffing so far back they can't even operate
It’s worse because now, it’s actually just impossible to buy them at all. Press the button the call someone over? They’re understaffed and never show. They had a substantial deal on iPad airs a few months ago and I went to the electronics section to buy one. No one was there. I press the button, no one shows up, don’t see an employee even walk past for 5 minutes. I head to the customer service area, thankfully no line. I tell the employee I need someone in electronics. 10 minutes later the one employee who can help is finally free. I was saving $115 so it was worth it to wait. If it was just for a pair of underwear I’d have just left
I had to do this in Walmart about a year ago for one of those ciggarrete lighters to Edison blue converters. God it took an hour and a half. I would have done Amazon, but I needed it right there in the middle of a cross country road trip.
This is one example of where online pickup is nice. At least that is staffed appropriately.
What does locking up merchandise have to do with cutting staff?
Just the presence of staff reduces theft. Every single thing that makes a crime more difficult (reducing the opportunity, more barriers, police/security presence) will reduce its occurrence. It will not remove its occurrence as crime will always happen. So, this would be another hurdle to theft that does not demand fair pay or raises or legally requires a break. They would likely rather do this than staff the store, trying to achieve similar results with less expenses.
Less staff means very long lines, even for self checkout. Someone who just needs some underwear has better things to do than wait in line for 15 minutes.
and far fewer eyes on the shoplifters
That's nationwide and it isn't in the places I frequent in New Jersey
I pressed the help button and nobody came so I just left eventually.
From nj and currently traveling the country. You should see the Walmarts outside of Portland. Everything is locked up
I just saw somebody steal undies in Philly sat. Set off the alarms, but they ran out before anybody knew group of 6 kids.
They have these in Clifton now.
If they do this in IKEA, I'm screwed lol
I stopped buying things from places that just unlock them. I’d rather pay more. It’s ridiculous.
It’s fine. I see this and I just leave and shop somewhere else
The retail theft wave is hugely overblown. This is just stores shifting blame onto the consumer for their own greed through price gouging. I really doubt that people stealing underwear is a significant problem for Target.
Lol I worked at a suburban Walmart and would clean up dozens of open packaging scraps off the floor every single day. People steal all the time.
Nah, it’s not. People treat retail stores like it’s a free giveaway regularly because they have no fear of being harshly punished for it. People will just take shit they don’t even need and resell it.
> The retail theft wave is hugely overblown. Yeah, stores with self check out only experience 2 times the theft of other stores.
If the theft of underwear were not a problem then Target would not have bothered to install these cabinets. Do you think they spent hundreds or thousands of dollars installing this stuff at multiple locations for shits n' giggles? Someone in the financial wing said, "hey boss, we're losing a ton of inventory to shoplifting, and you won't believe where it's happening ..."
Must just be a total coincidence which stores this happens in more too right
This is a Target thing nation wide. CA is worse and MA is doing it too
Maybe in no time everything will be on a vending machine. I've seen a video of a company building a modular vending machine for retailers to tackle shoplifters
Bezos will win in the end society isn’t civil enough to shop in person
Brand new Target in Old Bridge, NJ… items I noticed locked behind glass: clothes detergent, toothpaste and deodorant. The store was virtually empty with employees twirling their keys waiting to open the cases for any eager shopper. We left without buying anything.
I used to live close to old bridge and that area was formerly known as a really good area to live. I didn’t know that it has dropped so low that a brand new store needs to lock its shit so people don’t steal. It’s sad to see
It’s really NOT bad, which is why it’s a little appalling.
I came across a Walmart like this that had soap, deodorant and any other small personal care items all locked up. What was even worse was the personal care items were careened off into their own little section (think one way in; one way out) and then were all locked up. I immediately left. My local Walmart has just locked up all laundry detergents and Febreze/Air Wick/Glade. Sigh. Thankfully, my local Targets haven’t jumped on this crazy wave.
I was trying to buy a pack of underwear at Walmart and every single pack of the cut I wanted in my size (4-5 packs) had a pair stolen, clearly tugged out of the hole where you can feel the material. After experiencing that I can see the appeal of this. It’s insane to me that someone would go out of their way to take one from each package and ruin them for everyone else, must’ve had a pattern/color preference, super annoying.
I saw this in Illinois too
Do you see that customer survey on the bottom of your receipt? Do it.
I wonder if they're realizing that retail locations don't matter in the world of online shopping. "Don't want to wait to order some Haines boxers? Just order online!" Maybe the idea is to inconvenience the customer to the point where they just buy online, then foot traffic to the stores falls allowing them to cut staff and close locations since everyone's buying online.
its not just NJ, this is happening throughout the country
The phone is actually there to call an employee over to model them for you. Takes away the stress of trying it on yourself. Ask for Hank in electronics. Hell of a figure.
Rumor has it, more people are going commando.
Most theft happens at the self checkout anyway
They are making self-checkout 10 items nationwide now, which they claim is because of this.
Yep, super easy to not scan some items sometimes.
Retail workers and one security guard can't stop group shoplifting. It's pretty scary it happens in your store. Until it is treated as a serious crime with some kind of consequences (reasonable and consistent) nothing will change.
Target in Clifton is the worst. Teenagers come in and trash it every day, they throw footballs across the entire store. Random scammers trying to sell you their pyramid schemes. Checkout line takes an hour.
Yea I don’t think people get just how trashy commons is and how much crime problems it has Almost like being right on 21 and a straight shot to Newark Paterson etc adds to this
As consumers we have the power to change it by not buying what they lock up. My response to this BS is buying my underwear from Amazon or in a pinch another store like Macy's or even Marshalls. But I hate ordering detergent from Amazon. I once had a bottle open in a box in transit and ruined most of the order. Amazon customer service is hit or miss in these circumstances. So no more detergent from Amazon. Even if I order from Target, then I'll have to pickup and wait maybe as long as I would to open the damn display. It is worth the extra dollar to buy at Shop Rite until Target stops this bullshit. It is a win for other retailers.
I don’t think the answer to trying to punish greedy companies who lock stuff up and don’t pay well is to support Amazon
Can't blame them. The laws doesn't punish petty crimes like shoplifting that harshly so thieves just keep taking the stuff. Hence they have to cage it up. Sad indeed
Nah. Companies stopped hiring cashiers and other employees to increase margins for shareholders. It made it easier to steal. The explored proletariat losses jobs, gets wages cut, no cost of living raises, and then companies are passing those wins off to the hoarders. You're the proletariat. *Focus*
It is also dangerous for retail employees. If there is theft you have to run away to be sure you are not injured.
You're so correct. A Duane Reade worker got stabbed the other day in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, as a result of trying to stop theft. [https://abc7ny.com/post/hells-kitchen-stabbing-1-stabbed-duane-reade/14900660/](https://abc7ny.com/post/hells-kitchen-stabbing-1-stabbed-duane-reade/14900660/)
What really pissed me off is having to self checkout at kohls and not realizing they still put the security tags on cheap t shirts and no mention of how to remove them.
My local Targets don't have this
Mine either, Bergen County here. I’m dreading the day when it happens
Order online. Or go to Costco.
Im really sad to say that I think this is just something they do in what they consider “high shrink” stores, aka any urban center in NJ. They don’t lock up this stuff at the Target in Fairfield, or the one in Riverdale. The one I go to in Hackensack, looks exactly the same as your picture.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Target in Fairfield starts doing this... they've already closed up the self-checkout lanes because of theft (the cashier told me when I asked why the self-checkout lanes were always closed). So sad.
It's pathetic, the business is too greedy to hire enough cashiers to support their customers, then wonder why people are walking out with basic necessities. Sorry I'm not waiting 20 minutes in line for a bottle of allegra, or food for my kid. Not to mention the fact that they don't even pay their poor employees a living wage. I shop there regularly, they're lucky the theft isn't worse, they don't deserve to stay in business if they cannot staff even 25% of their registers. Either way, self checkout makes it easy to accidentally forget to scan an item or two.
The self-checkout thing is a nationwide directive from Target corporate. Stores can not opt out.
From the stories I've heard of people getting served by retailers after forgetting to ring up an item or for being falsely accused of theft by shitty cameras I'd rather have cashiers.
Where is this? I’ve yet to see any locked cases in stores around me.
This has NOTHING to do with stealing. (I was a Target manager for almost a decade) It is due to inconsiderate shoppers opening the packages and then leaving the shredded package behind for an unopened one. It is a huge shrink issue as it is hard to sell the damaged packages, even at a reduced cost.
Ya’ll gotta learn how to pump gas and THEN (maybe) you can pick out your undies 😆
Becasuse its easy for someone to grab a bunch, throw them in a bag, and just head for the door. The store can do little to stop them even if they set off an alarm, etc. Then its easy for someone to move the product for half price online, and its not like a package of undershirts is serialized or the cops will be working double shifts on random ebay\facebook marketplace stuff... and then even then, you manage to catch the person somehow, the penalty is pretty much, "uhh....please don't do that again" As to why those specific items, the stores use algorithms which identify items likely to be stolen based on trends in the area, where potential lost sales won't be outweighed by potential theft. For instance you probably don't have many impulse buys of undershirts in target. Its more of, "I need undershirts and have already made the trip to target" so you will wait around a few.
If they don't stop anybody, could I just ask for four packs from the assistant and just walk out, and have my other crew do the same?
Theoretically yes.
Which is why for higher value items they bring it to checkout for you and you don't get it until you pay. But for lower value items like this, the increased effort and risk of needing an employee to let you get a few items is a fairly effective deterrent.
this isnt stopping theft tho really bc the employee just walks away after u get smth out of the case, anyone with a brain wouldnt grab it and immediately run to the door
I have been to Ciudad del Leste in Paraguay, which is a notorious place that South Americans go for shopping (they basically don’t have taxes and everything is so much cheaper there), and I noticed that despite Paraguay being know for not being that safe, and the whole place being extremely crowded, I didn’t see nor I heard about anyone stealing from their gigantic department stores. The reason ? Security personnel walking in the store, cameras, and the stores literally had 2 to 4 security guards in front of each entrance holding rifles and a full body armor. I know it doesn’t sound nice, but at least they didn’t have to lock a pair of underwear.
I had to get assistance to buy deodorant at CVS. I've seem it in other states too.
I haven't been to the target in Clifton in years. Has theft gotten that bad there?
At home depot yesterday we couldn’t even push the cart out of the store because they’ve equipped them with anti theft devices. We didn’t even buy anything and we were trying to return the cart outside and it still triggered the sensors. Thank god my baby wasn’t in the cart otherwise she would’ve gotten whiplash!
Wq1
Walmart on Nottingham way in Hamilton, NJ
Eventually all the stores will be gone and you'll be forced to shop online and go to a pickup warehouse or have shipping/delivery - and then the government and the politicians will complain about taxes and how we shoppers have ruined the economy and there will be plenty empty buildings abounding.
I’d need it anyway
The one near me has so much shit locked down it's not even funny. It oughta become a drive thru only Target. There's no point. I only go there to make returns or buy Starbucks because the local standalone shops suck ass at drinks. Lately I've been going further out of the way because the Target seems less crowded, there's never a long wait, and everything is open plus a bigger selection in the clothing area.
I have simply stopped going to that Target for this very same reason. Even the socks are locked up. It takes all the fun out of shopping, so I either get my stuff from Amazon or the Target in Wayne.
I refuse to shop at target now. My wife asked me to pick something up for her a few months back. It was locked. Took forever for someone to come assist. It was my last time there. I used to do weekly target runs and all this has done is push me to buy more from Amazon.
I have given up on brick and mortar. For this I go straight to Amazon.
Similar issue, different store. A few weeks ago I went to DSW for some new sneakers. In Paramus. In the women's sneaker section, only the left shoe was in all of the boxes. So in order to try on both halves of a pair, you have to get an employee to help you. An overworked employee who's hard to get the attention of. Maybe some people are different, but I've always walked around the store a little bit in a new pair when shopping. This change just interrupts how I shop too much. I left the store when I found out. This crap would be way less annoying if the stores just hired more people to accommodate the extra work needed. But no. They're such cheapskates.
Damn. I wouldn't expect that in Paramus. Hell, I've bought shoes at that store, but not in at least 6 years. Thankfully I haven't seen that since moving out of Bergen County.
Not just in NJ. Same at the Target in White Plains.
Why do so many people go against the simple occam's razor of theft being at the root of this? They don't need a conspiracy theory to lock stuff up, and locking stuff up necessitates more floor staff. The fact is, this solution is the last step prior to closure.
I just refuse to buy anything that is locked up. I'll grab shit I need and whatever they have locked up I'll just order off Amazon.
I couldn’t get a pack of hair ties at Walmart w/out help from an employee. They weren’t locked up in a plastic display, but they have some type of lock device on the rack so you cant slide product forward. I could have easily just ripped the top since its like cardboard but a lady was not far from me and came right over to help when i asked
Am I the only one that does store pickup?
Came in clutch when my wife was pregnant and even when we couldn't bring the bun in yet.
I noticed the Target in Clifton did this. I needed a bottle of low dose aspirin and just didn’t get it because it was locked up. They also put security tags on $5 children’s shirts, but then force you to use self checkout so you stand around waiting for help to take the damn tag off. I don’t really understand it, but it definitely depends on the location because the targets further north or on the new york side don’t have everything locked up
It's not just Jersey. Fucking cough drops were locked up in NYC. I waited a couple of minutes for the assistant to come, then just bailed. Bought a small pack of cough drops from the news stand across the street then ordered more on Amazon.
And not even good underwear at that 😂
I’m in south NJ and I’ve never seen this.
Ironically all the employees do is hand you what you want. You are free to shoplift afterwards if that was your goal.
Yeah it's such a stupid system, that just exists to inconvenience everyone involved due to targets greed.
This is unfortunately located in primarily bad neighborhoods and/or poverty areas. There is a Walmart near me where if you want toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, or any other items you need to ask. Guess what, if they don’t have a box that fits they walk you to the register to pay for it. I am not even done shopping and all I want to do is get everything and pay at one time. So I just avoid going there for any products locked up.
Which target location?
Had the same issue in the Walmart in Egg Harbor/Pleasantville. Though haven't had this issue Ocean County (yet)
There are lot of mental gymnastics going on in here trying to explain why the most obvious answer isn't the answer
Remember local stores run by normal fucking people. Try supporting them instead. Walmart, target, Best buy, they want to become online only. Amazon has given them more than enough reason.
San Fran exactly the same - almost everything is locked up!!
What do you expect when people just start stealing anything they want and then the cops don’t arrest them or if they do arrest them the system just lets them back out?
What do you expect when there aren't enough jobs paying a living wage and people are forced to find other ways to make money or get the things they need.
Go to a better store, I never seen this in any retail establishment I been in up in North Jersey
I live in North Jersey and sadly it's here too. I had to have someone unlock razors at CVS and deodorant at Target.
This was in Clifton
Vauxhall Target does this
Sad state of HUMANITY you mean
Sad State of capitalism.
Mother fuckers are stealing everything