Walgreens says locking up products to prevent shoplifting hurts sales
Walgreens says locking store merchandise deters shoplifters and paying customers.
“When you lock in merchandise… … You’re not going to sell as much. We’ve proven that pretty conclusively.”
Locked retail products are a type of product designed to Stop rising retail theft. But it also annoys and turns away potential paying customers who don’t have the patience to wait for a retail clerk to retrieve the items they want to buy.
Wentworth noted that Walgreens and other retailers have had to deal with what’s known as “retail shrinkage,” the loss of inventory due to reasons other than sales. The company took steps to secure more of its products after discovering retail theft was an increasing proportion of losses. However, locking products behind clear casings has not been proven to be effective, he said.
Wentworth said Tuesday that the company’s asset protection unit is developing “creative” solutions to combat retail theft.
“I don’t have anything exciting to share with you today. Unfortunately, this is still a physical fight,” Wentworth said.
The company reported an operating loss of $245 million for the quarter, compared with an operating loss of $39 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Walgreens plans to close hundreds of stores by the end of 2025 in an effort to turn around weak sales. The company said it has closed about 2,000 stores over the past decade and has “extensive experience in closing stores.”
“Of course, we expect our future footprint to support stronger results,” Wentworth said.
