WALMART shoppers have been shocked to find cheap items locked behind glass in the national retailer’s latest push to stem theft.
Several nationwide chains have announced sweeping changes to their store designs and self-checkout policies as theft has taken a bigger cut of company profits.
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Walmart executives said “shrinkage” — product loss due to theft — was responsible for over $6.5 billion in losses last year.
Customers were left wondering what was next in the shoplifting crackdown when store leadership said earlier this year that it would be pulling self-checkout kiosks from some locations.
Now shoppers have the answer — more products behind lock and key.
Photos of the protected merchandise were shared on X by Alexander Carrillo (@godsmackfan459).
“Bruh they got the pens all locked up here at my Walmart,” he wrote alongside a photo of Bic pens behind glass.
Other customers have taken notice too.
“Even the razors and shaving cream is locked up too… who’s gonna steal pens and shaving cream,” one person replied.
Riana (@coffeeinamug) also took to X to complain about the trend and ask what it says about our society.
“Omggg Walmart done locked up the energy drinks,” she said in the post.
“What has da world come to???”
BYE BYE SELF-CHECKOUT
Walmart, Target, and many national retailers have been fighting an uphill battle against theft for years, leading to locked-up goods.
Now Walmart is closing many of its self-checkout machines in a broader effort to stem profit loss due to theft.
This week two more store locations were added to the list of stores going sans self-checkout in St. Louis, Missouri, and Cleveland, Ohio.
“As part of our announced plans for additional investments and improvements to facilities across the country,” Walmart said in a statement shared by Fox Business.
“We’ve decided to remove self-checkout lanes and replace them with staffed lanes at select locations including at our Shrewsbury, Missouri, store.”
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.
LOVED AND HATED
Many shoppers have felt strongly about self-checkout machines since they debuted at Walmart over the last few years.
Some customers lauded the kiosks for speeding up the checkout process, but many others had complaints.
Social media users have complained about self-checkout causing them to ring up items incorrectly or accidentally forget to scan something.
They said that self-checkout led to receipt-checking, which many people have said is an annoyance and makes them feel like criminals.
So when Walmart representatives began announcing that self-checkout machines would be pulled from some locations, customers were divided too.
Walmart store closures have been in the headlines too.
Store leaders shared that four locations in Ohio, California, and Maryland would lose their Walmarts later this year.
Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
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