- Shoppers buy used electronics and more expensive toiletries under lock and key
- But now stores are adding extra safety to boxer shorts
- What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen locked in a store? Send us details and a photo to money@dailymail.com
Walmart and Target have started locking down underwear and socks — the latest items to be protected from shoplifters.
Because the number of thefts has increased enormously in the past year, stores are increasingly keeping items under lock and key.
But these were mostly electronics and toiletries.
Shoppers at stores in California’s Bay Area have reacted with surprise to the move of two of America’s largest stores.
“It’s getting to the point of how ghetto it looks that they have to lock up the socks or whatever they have under the key,” shopper Olga Leon said. NBC Bay Area.
Target has locked down underwear and socks at two California stores — as it struggles with annual theft losses of $500 million
Two Target stores in the Bay Area — in Richmond and Pleasant Hill — have locked down underwear, NBC reports.
One customer who wanted to buy boxer shorts waited ten minutes for an employee to open the suitcase inside.
Meanwhile, a Walmart store in the Hilltop area is also locking down underwear. The staff there say they are hit by shoplifters every day.
Richmond City Councilman Cesar Cepeda told NBC: “Costs are going to rise because residents are going to have to pay more, or they’re going to have to commute and travel further to pick up their groceries, pick up their socks, pick up their prescriptions. .
“It’s really going to hurt our community.”
Target is now being forced to lock up its UNDERWEAR as it tries to tackle rampant theft after its CEO said it has lost as much as $500 MILLION to thieves
Products are locked behind glass as someone shops at a Target store in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan on September 28, 2023 in New York City.
Chains like Walgreens, Duanne Reade and CVS have been known to lock higher-end toiletries in plastic cages.
Seven in 10 retailers believe organized retail theft has become more common in recent years, according to a National Retail Federation survey.
Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, outlined a crackdown on theft in the state.
He said: ‘I am calling for new legislation to extend criminal penalties for those who profit from shoplifting and car burglaries.’
Target has already been forced to close nine stores due to rampant thefts that have cost the company $500 million
Locking up items can lead to frustrating waits of up to 40 minutes for shoppers to get their hands on basic groceries like toothpaste, baby food and vitamins, as retailers lock up products to combat rising crime
In November, DailyMail.com reported how Target has resorted to locking down underwear from a brand ironically called ‘Pair of Thieves’ in an effort to combat rampant shoplifting.
Photos show the underwear behind plastic cases under lock and key at Target’s White Plains store in New York. Similar measures can be seen at other facilities in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Orange County, California.
Also in November, Sephora started locking down its products. The billion-dollar beauty chain said all of its fragrances have been removed from store shelves and replaced with tester samples for customers to try. If a customer wants to buy a bottle, he must ask the staff to bring it to him.
The measures come amid a rise in shoplifting at the retail chain, which has closed locations and suffered $500 million in losses due to thefts.