In recent years, Walmart shoppers across the country have encountered an increasing number of locked cases and cabinets, a strategy the retail giant has implemented to combat rising shoplifting rates.
Reports of locked-up merchandise have varied widely by location. Some stores have secured their entire laundry aisle behind plexiglass, while others have gone as far as to place underwear in locked cases.
Toys under lock and key?
Now, it appears Walmart’s anti-theft measures have reached the toys section. A mom’s recent TikTok video has people talking after she showed rows of toys locked up at her local Walmart.
The clip, posted by TikTok user @radotv1029 on Aug. 4, accumulated over 32,500 views on the video-sharing platform. In it, she walks through the store, filming aisles of toys, including popular Lego sets, all secured behind glass panels.
“Y’all let me show y’all what Walmart is now locking up. Y’all done gotten ridiculous,” the TikToker says at the beginning of the video. “Why do they have to lock this up, y’all?”
The shocked mom continues her tour of the locked-up toy section, expressing her disbelief. “Are y’all taking them and reselling them to people? Look at this—all this. Locking up toys. Now y’all know it’s getting wild out here when they start locking up the toys.”
The TikToker also shows a “Press for Associate” button, which she claims is largely ineffective. “And even if you press this button right here, it’s gonna be, like, 40, 45 minutes before they even come,” she explains.
@radotv1029 Walmart Scandal !!!! Yall what are yall doing??!!! #walmartfinds #walmart #fyp #foryoupage #walmart #targetwouldnever #kamala2024 #viraltiktok #shacarririchardson #noahlyles #parisolympics2024 #paris #dallastx #texas #alabamamade #presidentialrace #backtoschool #backtoschoolhaul #legos ♬ original sound – RaDOTV
Walmart shoppers aren’t having it
In the comments section of the video, viewers expressed their frustration with inconvenient anti-theft measures.
One commenter didn’t mince words: “Stores that do this are just communicating that they don’t want me to shop there cuz I’ll go somewhere else before I have to ask someone to unlock half the store for me.”
Another user sarcastically suggested, “So when are they implementing personal shoppers because who is waiting for someone to unlock everything?”
“At this point they need to have someone shop with each customer,” one more commenter added.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Walmart via the media relations contact form on its website and to the TikToker via TikTok comment.
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