A WALMART customer gave up on shopping and left the store due to anti-theft policies.
The shopper was only 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 for socks,” the customer shared on X.
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“Walmart has all the socks locked up. I went elsewhere for socks,” they continued.
“I can’t be the only one that leaves stores because they don’t want to have to wait for an item to get unlocked to purchase…”
The customer included a gif in their post of Mark Cuban telling a contestant on Shark Tank, “For that reason – I’m out.”
Walmart’s customer service account, Walmart Help, replied to the post, “Can you please send a DM? We’ll take a deeper look into this.”
The customer, @AlwaysEatLast on X, didn’t reply to the comment and it’s unclear if they messaged Walmart about the complaint.
RETAIL LOCKDOWN
Walmart has joined a long line of retailers implementing anti-theft policies.
Target also locks up items behind plexiglass to prevent theft in their stores.
Another shopper expressed a similar grievance after a trip to Target.
“@Target used to be my happy place. It’s miserable now,” they tweeted.
“Half the store is locked up, not enough employees to unlock it when you need it, and it’s twice the price it used to be.
“Almost all of what I used to buy there I get from Amazon now.”
CVS has also locked up items to combat continued theft.
Latest self-checkout changes
Retailers are evolving their self-checkout strategy in an effort to speed up checkout times and reduce theft.
Walmart shoppers were shocked when self-checkout lanes at various locations were made available only for Walmart+ members.
Other customers reported that self-checkout was closed during specific hours, and more cashiers were offered instead.
While shoppers feared that shoplifting fueled 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 stop the fiercely contested receipt checks.
However, that test run has been phased out.
At Target, items are being limited at self-checkout.
Last fall, the brand surveyed new express self-checkout lanes across 200 stores with 10 items or less for more convenience.
As of March 2024, this policy has been expanded across 2,000 stores in the US.
Shoppers have also spotted their local Walmart stores restricting customers to 15 items or less to use self-checkout machines.
A shopper recently documented their experience on YouTube and shared their frustration with the anti-theft policies.
“I hate when I go in stores and everything gets f**king locked up like this,” they said.
Locking up items is just one of the new policies retailers have implemented to combat rising theft.
Some retailers have also employed receipt checks and shut down self-checkout lanes to discourage shoplifting.
A study conducted by the Brennan Center concluded that shoplifting has increased in major cities.
New York is up 64% in shoplifting incidents, while Los Angeles has increased by 61% from January 2019 to June 2023.
Despite the dramatic increases, the study showed that retail crime seems to be on the decline.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Walmart for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
