How Walmart's Enhanced Anti-Theft Measures Are Causing Customer Dissatisfaction

Concerns over shoplifting have garnered public attention across the 50 states. As a result, companies are forced to take drastic security measures like the intensive use of cameras and staff monitoring. These measures, however, face resistance from people who claim that this has affected their shopping experience to a huge extent.

A lot of these posts circulating online are targeted towards the retail giant Walmart which reportedly shut down 24 stores in 2023 and plans to shut down 20 stores each year, going forward. With the company's 75% of store investor loss attributed to theft, it's no secret that it had to introduce strict security measures that triggered customers.

X user @GrillCheezKilla recently took to the platform and wrote, "Walmart is like a prison. The gates lock behind you when you enter. A bunch of aisles are gated and locked. There’s a camera so your face shows on the self-checkout screen while a guard stands behind you watching. Glad I didn’t drop the soap."

Several others echoed the poster's sentiment. "Most places are relatively the same now but Walmart takes the cake, especially with the amount of theft there," wrote a user while another wrote, "Wallmart stinks. Haven't been in one in close to a decade."

Another X user, @dragonfly66679 added to the same thread saying, "I understand they probably have a lot of thefts, and that is why there are recordings of you entering the store and exiting as well at the checkouts. But don’t hover over my shoulder as I am scanning."

A Reddit user took to the platform to share their unpleasant shopping experience, and wrote, "Went to get undershirts yesterday. All locked up. Asked a nearby worker to get them for me. She told me to ask at the service desk. Waited 30 minutes. Asked another associate. No one has a key. Put back the pants I was going to get. I go to cosmetics for acne cream. All locked up. No one around. Meanwhile, thousands of dollars of pocketable makeup is just sitting out in the open. I imagine it won't be long before everything is behind glass and you'll need a personal shopper to get anything. More reason to order everything online," the post read.

Many in the comment section of the Reddit post seemed to have already given up on the Retail store. "Stopped bothering with Walmart for any skin or hair care a long time ago. I’m just trying to go in and out. Heaven forbid you to have more shopping to do because they’re going to give it to the Customer Service desk until you’re ready to leave. What an inconvenient process for everyone," wrote Toofywoofy, while another user @harfpod simply said, "Forget it, I'll just order it."

Walmart has been struggling with theft for quite some time now. The strict anti-theft measures were implemented soon after the retail giant reported an estimated loss of $6.5 billion to product shrinkage in 2023, up from $6.1 billion in the previous year. The metrics are all the more daunting at the macro level with an astronomical $112 billion lost in shrinkage, per the National Retail Federation. 

"Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been. We’ve got safety measures, security measures that we’ve put in place by store location. I think local law enforcement being staffed and being a good partner is part of that equation, and that’s normally how we approach it," Walmart CEO Doug McMillion told CNBC. "It’s city by city, location by location. It’s store managers working with local law enforcement and we’ve got great relationships there for the most part," he said.