WALGREENS has come under fire from shoppers just weeks after the CEO praised the retailer’s customer-focused approach.
As retailers across the country battle against theft, numerous measures and policy changes have been rolled out that have impacted customer experience.
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Shoppers have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to share their mostly negative experiences with one Walgreens customer admitting that one anti-theft tool has seen them leave the store altogether.
They even questioned if it has helped the retailer save money in the long run.
“I wonder if Walgreens has saved money with those anti-theft locks or lost it when people like me say on minute 11 of waiting for someone to come unlock it ‘Actually I’m not waiting here for a product I could have grabbed myself in what I wanted to be a quick run to the store,'” one X user wrote in a post.
Numerous retailers including Walgreens, Walmart, Target, and CVS have felt that one of the most effective methods to tackle theft is to lock away items behind plexiglass.
This means that if a customer wants to purchase one of these items, they will have to flag down an employee who can unlock the casing.
Often, the worker will then carry the item to the checkout to ensure that it is scanned and paid for.
‘SO OFFENSIVE’
“If they want to lock everything up, they *should* hire more staff to open the cases. But they’re not gonna do that,” another Walgreens shopper said in response to the post on X.
“Exactly! They have the people who work the registers (which always has a line at my stores) do it, so it’s always a long wait,” the original poster added.
“But they don’t wanna hire anyone else! There are so many times I just don’t go because of it and instead pick what I need up at the grocery store.”
A fellow Walgreens customer previously shared how she deals with items that have anti-theft packaging or those that are locked up as she finds the practice “so offensive.”
The frustration of Walgreens shoppers comes after the CEO Tim Wentworth said the retailer’s face-to-face sales approach and human interface is what keeps it competitive with rivals.
“We will beat Amazon because of the human interface that we offer in communities and neighborhoods,” Wentworth said to CNBC last month.
Experts have previously warned stores that such restrictive anti-theft measures could see them lose loyal customers to smaller businesses.
It certainly seems as though large retailers have to re-think their policies as shoppers question their safety in stores that lock up goods.
“If it’s all locked up, it’s probably not a safe place to shop,” an X user wrote about Target locking away items.
Meanwhile, Walmart shoppers have complained that the practice ruins their overall shopping experience and adds extra time at the store.
Anti-theft Tactics Used by Retailers:
Retailers are being forced to turn to traditional anti-theft methods as well as sophisticated technology as shoplifting increases losses and impacts profits and customer satisfaction.
Some have even left stores because no one came to help them retrieve a product from a locked case.
However, it is not just this that has shoppers riled up as retailers also introduce operational hours at self-checkout, receipt checks, and even removing self-checkouts altogether in a bid to tackle theft.
‘INHERENTLY ACCUSATORY’
As a result, retail expert Molly Burke believes that shoppers may start turning their backs on big companies by going to small businesses where the shopping experience is more positive.
According to the senior retail analyst at Software Advice, independent stores and smaller retailers are less likely to implement such “inherently accusatory loss prevention strategies.”
“Part of what we know that customers enjoy about shopping at smaller businesses is that feeling of, ‘You’re shopping to support the community, you’re shopping local,'” Burke previously told The U.S. Sun.
“When the customers encounter these very sterile, almost inherently accusatory loss prevention strategies it kind of takes away that feeling of shopping somewhere where maybe you’re more of a friend or family member than just an anonymous customer.
“I don’t think that it will become the norm for smaller businesses to adopt things like those plastic cases and shields and locking-up inventory.
“I just think that the culture of SMBs (Small to midsize businesses) will kind of prevent that from happening on a large scale.”
The U.S. Sun has contacted Walgreens for comment.
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