Over the past few years, Walmart has been ramping up its anti-shoplifting measures. But one shopper thinks it has gone too far with its new policies after having to pay in the aisle.
Keana Marie Carr (@keana.carr) documented herself as she shopped at the store and posted the short video to TikTok. She lamented in the caption that these anti-shoplifting policies “ain’t fair to the people who actually pay for stuff.”
Carr claims in the text overlay of the post that new anti-theft measures at Walmart include not allowing shoppers to bring their shopping carts into the makeup aisle. They also allegedly include having customers pay for certain items, like razors, right in the aisle.
In the video, Carr waits with her shopping cart. Her companion appears to put a receipt in a shopping bag and brings the bag back to her at the cart.
Anti-theft measures in retail stores
In the past few years, retailers have been sounding the alarm about a concerning rise in theft. CapitalOne reports that in 2022, shoplifting losses grew 19.4% year-over-year. A number of stores started enforcing various types of anti-theft measures.
Many started to eliminate self-checkout kiosks, as they can present the opportunity for customers to “forget” to scan items. Stores like Target and Walmart also started to lock up items. But over the years, this has ramped up from locking items like Sudafed and laundry detergent to now locking up nearly everything in the store, including cosmetics, batteries, and socks.
The anti-theft measures might be unwarranted
Stores continue to put more and more items behind protective barriers. However, data suggests that shoplifting hasn’t exploded in the way that retailers claim it has. A study cited by CNN states that shoplifting remained below pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Additionally, retailers’ reports about shoplifting have reportedly been “inflated.” The claim that shoplifting resulted in “nearly half” of all inventory losses is not founded on actual data, according to CNN.
Carr’s post received 2.7 million views. Many viewers echoed her frustration about the ongoing security measures in place for shoppers. Many of those shoppers are just trying to buy household items like a tube of toothpaste.
“They had to unlock the deodorant for me, then carried it to the register and told me which one to go to when I was ready to check out. I haven’t been back,” one person complained about one anti-shoplifting policy.
“Literally!!! Had to put my eyebrow pencil in a plastic box,” said another.
“I grabbed a nail file and they made me pay for it there, I couldn’t put it in my cart. It was 97 cents,” a third shared.
@keana.carr Just Stop It Ain’t Fair To The People Who Actually Pay For Their Stuff 🫣 #walmartproblems #ughhh #dumb ♬ Titanic flute fail – kate dwyer
Many also complained that anti-shoplifting initiatives often result in them having to wait for store workers to unlock items for them.
“Literally have to wait forever because no one is even back there half the time to unlock stuff,” one person commented.
“We had to call the store and argue with a manager for someone to actually come over and unlock it,” another claimed.
“Made me start going to Target so I don’t have to wait for baby formula to be unlocked and get walked to the checkout every time,” said someone else.
The Daily Dot reached out to Carr via email and to Walmart via contact form.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
