Walgreens says locking up products to prevent shoplifting hurts sales [View all]
Source: CBS News
Updated on: January 15, 2025 / 5:52 PM EST
Locking up store merchandise can deter shoplifters and paying customers alike, according to Walgreens. The pharmacy chain's CEO Tim Wentworth said in Walgreens Boots Alliance's first-quarter earnings call Tuesday that "When you lock things up … you don't sell as many of them. We've kind of proven that pretty conclusively."
Keeping retail products under lock and key is a maneuver designed to thwart rising retail theft. But it also irks — and turns away — would-be paying customers who don't have the patience to wait for a retail clerk to retrieve goods they wish to buy.
Walgreens and other retailers have had to combat so-called "retail shrink," or the loss of inventory from causes other than sales, Wentworth noted. The company took steps to secure more products after it found retail theft accounted for a rising share of shrink. However, locking products behind plastic has not proved effective, he said.
The company's asset protection division is developing "creative" solutions to fight retail theft, Wentworth said Tuesday. "I don't have anything magnificent to share with you today. It is a hand-to-hand combat battle still, unfortunately," Wentworth said.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/walgreens-lock-product-up-sales/
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