A Walmart customer shared her disbelief over a new addition to the store’s beauty aisle—a roll of paper on which shoppers can test out make-up colors. It’s causing significant controversy.
Anti-theft at Walmart
In 2022, Walmart said that rising theft had resulted in almost $400 billion in losses for the company. As a result, it started to lock up products to deter shoplifters.
However, customers did not appreciate the new security measures. Many pointed out that the store was even locking up lower-priced items. Customers also reported that they were made to feel like criminals, which made the entire shopping experience unpleasant.
A federal lawsuit led to Walmart removing barricades from some items like African American products, per the New York Times. More recently, many of the claims about shoplifting have also been shown to be “hype with little evidence.” But now, Walmart seems to have a new problem in the beauty section on their hands.
A Walmart beauty aisle in shambles
TikToker Syakhiah (@flacaybella_khiah) recently posted a video documenting Walmart’s newest attempt to control samplers from making a mess in the beauty aisle.
She first points the camera at several shelves with nail polish. Then, she shows her viewers the floor below, which is badly stained in various colors of polish. It looks like a painter’s studio, with spatters and smudges of different colors.
Syakhiah then pans the camera to Walmart’s new addition to the beauty section—a take-a-number style ticketing kiosk which, instead of numbers, dispenses a sticker with an image of a fingernail on it and the words, “Test your color.”
There are also instructions on the dispenser, which read, “1. Apply polish to color test sheet and tear. 2. Peel and wrap around finger.”
The TikToker is clearly unimpressed by Walmart’s new beauty testing feature.
The video received 723,400 views, with many commenters claiming that Syakhiah’s experience was better than what they go through at their own local Walmart.
“At least you can get to that stuff…my Walmart got it all locked up,” said one person.
“Ooh ours are all locked up literally every down to nail file or lash curler,” shared another.
But many viewers said that Walmart was right to implement the new system, given the mess that shoppers had made on the floor of the beauty aisle.
“What goes thru a persons head to think that it’s okay to do this anyways? How the hell were y’all raised,” asked one viewer.
“Look how messy that is bro Walmart on they last straw,” wrote another.
@flacaybella_khiah They added this but still dont have apple pay 😒 #fyp #viral #walmart ♬ Photoshoot – Gucci Mane
“I mean this looks like dam art class lol,” joked a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Syakhiah via TikTok direct message and to Walmart via online contact form.
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