Walgreens CEO Says Locking up Items to Deter Theft Not Effective

Walgreens
Walgreens logo is displayed on a smartphone screen and in the background. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

*Some retailers, like Walgreens, report that locking items behind displays to deter shoplifting may not be effective. 

Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth recently described theft prevention in stores as an ongoing and challenging struggle. During a recent call with analysts, he said preventing theft in stores “is a hand-to-hand combat battle still, unfortunately,” Business Insider reported.

“When you lock things up, for example, you don’t sell as many of them,” he said. “We’ve kind of proven that pretty conclusively.”

Walmart announced last year it’s set to close around 1,200 stores as the brand, along with other drugstore chains, face challenges in staying relevant to U.S. shoppers who now prefer online retailers or cheaper competitors.

Traditional drugstores have been hit by shrinking prescription profits, rising costs, theft, and the fading impact of their COVID-19 vaccine role, according to The Associated Press. Walgreens’ move follows CVS Health’s closure of 900 stores over three years and Rite Aid’s bankruptcy, leaving it with only about 1,300 locations.

supplies behind locked displays
Anti-theft locked beauty products with customer service button at Walgreens pharmacy, Queens, New York. (Photo by: Lindsey Nicholson/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“They’ve really got to rethink how they do business and, most importantly, what they mean and what value they bring to the customer,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of consulting and data analysis firm GlobalData.

“Consumers are being more wary about where their dollars are being spent and Walgreens’ retail side of the biz is struggling more compared to last year,” Morningstar analyst Keonhee Kim told The New York Post.

During the pandemic, retail theft exploded in the chain, and it continues to be problematic. “It’s not a convenient shopping experience with everything locked up,” Kim said.

Wentworth said Walgreens is working toward “getting to the right number of stores so that we can invest in them properly for the customer experience that needs to be—frankly, in too many of our stores—improved.”

He adde,d “While our turnaround will take time, our early progress reinforces our belief in a sustainable, retail pharmacy-led operating model.”

It was no surprise to shoppers on X that locking up everyday products wasn’t a successful strategy.

“I stopped shopping in walgreens, cvs, and target in nyc because purchasing every single item required that i press a button and wait 10 min for the worker to unlock the case and then redo the same thing until i had everything i needed,” one person wrote.

“I refuse to look for someone to unlock the case,” somebody declared.

READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Walgreens to Close 1,200 Stores Amid Struggles to Compete with Online Retailers

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