Frustrated shoppers are forced to wait up to 40 MINUTES at Walmart and Target for basic groceries like toothpaste, baby food and vitamins, as retailers lock up their products to combat rising crime
Shoppers are being forced to wait up to 40 minutes to buy basics such as baby food and body wash, while major retailers are putting products under lock and key to combat rising numbers of thefts.
Inside Edition reporters visited five Targets, five Walmarts and five CVS stores in New York and New Jersey and determined how long it took for employees to remove various products from glass containers.
“Everything is locked up,” said journalist Lisa Guerrero as she entered a Target in Manhattan, where baby formula, razors and cleaning products were kept under lock and key.
“They locked up the underwear,” she joked. “And the socks.”
The camera panned past a line of customers waiting near one of the product cases.
At a Walmart in New Jersey, a manager had to apologize after a 15-minute delay in purchasing baby food
At the same Walmart, a 24-minute wait for a toothbrush followed
It took the Inside Edition team a whopping 40 minutes to checkout with just three items
The Inside Edition team pressed the help button three times while trying to buy toothpaste. An employee showed up after seven minutes, only to find her key didn’t work.
In another aisle, the team waited more than 10 minutes to purchase vitamins.
A customer standing outside the store said he waited 13 to 14 minutes for help before “giving up.”
At a CVS in Manhattan, the wait time was much shorter: just 30 seconds for body wash and 30 seconds for razors.
However, at a Walmart in New Jersey – where the team requested help with baby food three times – a manager had to apologize after a 15-minute delay.
This was followed by a 24 minute wait for an electric toothbrush, bringing the total to 40 minutes just to purchase three items.
People on social media have reacted just as strongly since retailers started locking down dozens of products.
Earlier this month, a Boston doctor took to TikTok to blast Target for the policies it implemented in an effort to crack down on theft.
Emily Long claimed that $8 worth of body wash was kept behind glass, even though more expensive items were left outside.
“So while you could get La Roche Posay or $40 makeup, my $8 body wash was locked up, as was my deodorant and my husband’s body wash and his razors and the basic things I went to Target for to get,’ Long said.
Walmart is just one of several major retailers that has introduced new methods to combat rising theft rates, including stocking basic necessities
Products sit behind plexiglass in a Target store in Harlem. This location was permanently closed last week
In April, a Target spokesperson told DailyMail.com that organized retail crime is a concern for the company
In April, a Target spokesperson told DailyMail.com that organized retail crime was a concern for the company.
“We are taking proactive measures to protect our teams and guests while deterring and preventing theft,” the spokesperson said.
“These mitigation efforts include hiring additional security guards, adding third-party security services at certain locations, and using new technologies and tools to protect merchandise from theft.”
In late September, the retailer announced its plans to close nine stores across the country, citing an increase in crime and other safety concerns.
Just last week, two locations in Seattle, three stores in the San Francisco-Oakland area, three stores in Portland and one store in Harlem, New York closed for good.
“We cannot continue to operate these stores because theft and organized retail crime threaten the safety of our team and guests and contribute to unsustainable business performance,” Target said in a news release.
“We know our stores play an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for everyone.”
Other companies are taking creative steps to combat theft, such as a Walmart in Atlanta set to open in May 2024.
A Target employee locks a cabinet of men’s deodorant in Queens, New York
Emily Long, a Boston doctor, shared a video on TikTok criticizing Target for locking up her $8 body wash and forcing her to spend an hour buying a few items
The video then cuts inside the store as Long walks through the aisles to show off the products locked behind glass enclosures
The location will include a police station or on-site mini-precinct that will serve as a deterrent to shoplifters and a work area for officers.
Concerns about theft are an ongoing problem for the supermarket giant. In December last year, CEO Doug McMillon admitted that theft had become a major problem for the chain.
He said the company had been forced to implement new security measures at several locations, but emphasized that he saw local law enforcement as the main solution to the growing problem.
“I think having staff and being a good partner with local law enforcement is part of that equation, and that’s normally the way we approach it,” he said.
“It’s store managers who work with local law enforcement, and for the most part we have good relationships there.”
In May, Target CEO Brian Cornell admitted that theft cost the chain millions.
The company forecast another $500 million in losses from theft this year, on top of the $750 million in losses it incurred during the last fiscal year – meaning losses could reach $1.2 billion by the end of 2023 exceed.