WALMART shoppers have been left confused after the retailer apparently abandoned one of its anti-theft strategies.
A Walmart patron shared a photo of an aisle of products while asking other customers, “Anyone else’s store give up?”
In the photo posted on Reddit, the doors to glass cases where products are typically locked up were wide open.
“Our shelves have been consistently unlocked for a while,” the person who shared the pic wrote.
“I can only assume it’s because the buttons never work and nobody wants to open them.”
The post was flooded with comments from Walmart staff and customers.
One user mentioned he is employed at a location with both high-theft and high-traffic where only electronics, sporting goods, and flea and tick collars remain secured behind cases.
“They took the doors off the makeup cases last week,” another worker wrote.
“Diabetic case has been unlocked for a month now.”
Some claim it’s not a glitch but a corporate test to measure whether theft losses are outweighed by better sales.
An asset protection team leader reportedly told one employee the doors were left on “so they can just put the locks back if it fails.”
Another commenter said staff are exhausted from constantly opening cases, especially with only one set of keys in the whole store.
“Half your day is helping customers get into cases,” they wrote.
Another user chimed in, “Skeleton staff with 1 set of keys for the entire store. Failure was pre-ordained.”
Some stores now rely on nearby lockboxes, but employees admit no one wants to take time to use them.
One shopper said the whole process is so bad, “I as a customer have given up.”
Anti-theft measures rolled out by retailers
Retailers in the US and Canada have introduced strategies aimed at tackling theft. The U.S. Sun has gathered a list of actions that have been taken at various stores.
- Locking items in cabinets
- Security pegs
- Security cameras
- Signs warning about the impact of theft
- Receipt scanners
- Receipt checks
- Carts with locking technology
Customers also slammed the company for locking up $1.12 facial wipes.
“Customers could never steal enough $1.88 facial wipes to make up for the lost sales,” one user posted, later correcting the price to $1.12.
Walmart didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
In Louisiana, social media users shared images of Walmart steaks encased in steel wire, which was part of a previous effort to safeguard high-theft items such as meat.
Walmart’s move follows rising incidents of creative self-checkout thefts across its stores.
In April, a Florida school principal was busted for a $37 “skip-scan” scam at a Winter Haven store.
Gregory Lewis allegedly rang up cheap goods but skipped scanning others like frozen shrimp and bacon.
He told cops he wanted to try the trick after hearing about it from friends.
He was charged with petit theft and now faces serious career consequences.
Meanwhile, Target has pulled self-checkout from all 2,000 of its stores after a year of fully committing to it.
Back on Reddit, workers said the constant lock-unlock process kills impulse sales and frustrates customers.
“Corporate needs to decide,” one worker posted. “You can’t have it both ways.”
Walmart shoplifting arrests
- Ashley Cross was caught on security cameras using an old watch battery barcode to scan expensive products for just $1
- Ex-officer Mark Leenerts stole $317.88 worth of merchandise from Walmart stores in Topeka, Kansas
- Jeremiah Boyer raked in $52,800 in fees on 874 orders while working for Walmart’s online delivery service Spark
- Brent Adam Brooks, of Sylva, North Carolina, was arrested after trying to steal a $198 Frigidaire ice maker
- Kabreshia Caldwell targeted innocent senior citizen customers at Walmart stores across Northeast Florida, stealing a total of $10,000
- Katherine Gordon allegedly stole $80 worth of groceries by replacing barcodes on certain produce items
