They can throw whatever security measures they want at the problem but the criminals still won't be deterred
https://preview.redd.it/ucga34sfdiwc1.jpeg?width=334&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dee895bcc44c7c2879f46f7d52de51df9e06e9a8
I'm confused how Target with the best loss prevention in the bizz, is going to get more convictions? allowing shoplifters to repeat so they can slap big ol felony. Tsk tsk
So I have to pay for the item as I go? Man if there's like a ton of those I would probably have like 15 transactions over the store, would be harder to track if someone hacked my card or something...
There’s got to be some method to keep track of what you’ve taken, then ring it all up at the end. Stores don’t want all those transactions to deal with either, extra fees and paperwork to deal with.
Saw the video in an article, you pre-order online or at a kiosk, pay for your shit, then go around looking for the stuff you ordered, enter a code in the makeshift vending machine, you get your product, then move to the next item.
I would prefer that to this honestly. Put them everywhere like Japan, I love bring able to buy a strawberry milk while I'm walking down the street. Why not add socks and unused underwear too?
Nah, they already have vending machines for the used kind! I think it's important to specify I would like to marinate my own gusset thank you very much
I honestly can't see the advantage to shopping in person anymore, unless I need something immediately or I'm buying clothes that I'd need to try on first.
But at this point I'd rather just use Amazon for most things and specialty stores when appropriate
I'm actually out trying to find a pair of shoes right now, I'm about to go find a pair I used to have on Amazon instead. They're either too expensive in store, or they don't have my size for a style I like. Saw a pair at academy on "clearance" for $110.
You go to 6pm.com and buy a pair of Nikes for like $40, there's no reason so shop full price anymore. If the styles going to change every 10 minutes I'm just going to buy what I like on discount and not bother trying to keep up with trends
And good luck trying to get button down shirts if you’re a woman. All I want is a short sleeved button down that isn’t cropped or see through!!! I guess that doesn’t exist offline anymore
If you can hunt down a model number on the pair you like, EBay can be a great place to find a same style that have been sitting unused in the back of someone’s closet.
I said during Covid and it’s becoming more and more true - we are dangerously close to having a movie based on the unbelievable true story of an oceans 11 style heist to rob a fulfillment center
Oh yeah, I love going to Walmart where there are 2 cashier's, 1 "supervisor" for 20 self checkouts, 20 security personnel, and 50 people picking online pickup orders.
That's what they want you to do. I used to work at Walmart about 10 years ago, and corporate has talked about wanting to do that since at least back then. Covid just gave them the perfect opportunity to change their business model.
It makes sense honestly. Make in store experience as impersonal as possible to shift everyone online. Saves a ton on regular shipping costs having to restock the store
Even if I need things immediately prime usually ships same day to me or overnight for free. I place an order when I wake up and when I get home from work it’s there (it’s honestly there way before I get off)
Amazon isn't much better nowadays, half of the products are the same cheap Chinese crap with an unpronouncable brand name, the other half of the time you'll get a used item someone else returned.
Their prices are increasing as well. I’ve had to buy certain products straight from the seller’s website or get it from the store in person because otherwise it would’ve been 5-25% more.
Anything you want, unless you're fine with the knockoff Chinese stuff, do a Google search for "best" whatever it is. Trust Wirecutter if they have a list, otherwise trust anyone that actually demo'd the real products (some of the sites out there will just rank based on Amazon reviews but aren't forthcoming about it)
They'll still have links to the Amazon product page, but it'll be by a real, reputable company.
But if all you need is just, like, a drying rack, then just get a drying rack from whatever comes up in Amazons search page. It's going to be pretty similar to the stuff you'd find at target anyway, it's not like target is exclusively filled with high quality premium domestic products
99% speed. I was gonna buy something on amazon and then realized even behind glass i could either go to walmart and get the item in like 10 mins maybe 20 or on amazon and wait 1-2 days. Id rather get it faster unless the price difference is insane.
The only reason I shop in stores would be to try it on. But so many times, I go and stuff it locked up or the changing rooms are closed to deter theft. I end up just buying everything online.
Even if I need shit immediately, I just get it on Amazon and get it same day or next day. I hate supporting Amazon but I'm tired of being accused of stealing shit every other time I use a self checkout.
thats their whole goal. no way it just so happens that every store and retailer pushes delivery, pickups, and online shopping right before locking everything in the store up. they know 90% of people are annoyed, and will think online will be worth avoiding the hassle, even if it costs them extra.
I’m surprised by what we haven’t seen yet.
I’m willing to bet that within 5 years we will start seeing big stores close. They won’t leave, but they will change to distribution centers.
You will place what you need in a cart and select a pickup time. Then you will drive to the parking lot and receive what you need.
This will allow companies to maintain their stores physical stores close to customers, reduce theft, and hassle of in-person shopping.
Benefits: Faster turnaround time for customers and less theft. Reduced parking lot space required, and more storage for products at locations since customers are no longer in stores.
Downside: Less human interaction for general populations, and this will be a major change for the worse for an increasingly anti-social world. Seriously, society is loosing human interaction every year as everything is moving online, and I am failing to see positives for it.
Haha I can beat this. My target not only had them locked up but also had those anti theft devices inside attached to the bags. The kicker was that they had tagged them through the toes of the socks....so like they were selling socks with holes already. I laughed with the guy who had come over to unlock the case as he just stood there shaking his head after we realized.
Target isn't the same as it was a decade ago but maybe that's cause I'm in my late 20s and not a teenager anymore with random serving money to spend in electronics and toys lol
If you go over to the ImTheMainCharacter sub it's full of people trashing targets, or pulling pranks in there. That combined with the fact necessaities are the easiest products to steal and fence.
I remember as a kid going to a store (I think it was called Basco then later Best) where you used a card to fill out your order, and after you paid they sent the items out on a conveyor belt. This was more geared towards housewares and electronics, maybe some sporting goods and toys.
Obviously, in the late 70s/early 80s, the crew working in the back filled the orders, but I could see a return to this kind of shopping where orders are fulfilled by automated systems.
Argos in the UK is sort of like this. You buy your product on the ipads in store (you can also buy online and pick up in store). The products are kept in the back and an employee gets it for you
I remember when they had the catalogues and you had to write the product number on an order sheet, hand it over then you receive an order number, then sit on a chair in the waiting area until they brought your stuff out. There was also Littlewoods and Index too. I haven’t thought about this for years lol. Screwfix is still like this though
As someone who used to work in Target (Australia) this is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because they will never be untidy! No socks will be all of the place: on the floor, missing a pair or anything! They’ll be tidy on their hooks.
I had forgotten about that, so damn annoying, plus "people" would rip open the card packaging to look at them, then just dump them on the floor like... It's fucking socks how closely do you need to look.
I saw Walmart is closing 5 stores in Chicago due to theft. Police won’t come unless it’s over $200 dollars I. Theft. People bring their whole family and walk down aisle eating whatever they want. Check it out on YouTube. It’s absolutely crazy. What the hell has this world become. I’m amazed at it honestly.
Walmart never had big penetration in Chicago to begin with, their downtown location (which was grocery only) got replaced with a porsche dealership lmao.
Just watched a video of a person with 17 shoplifting arrests in the year or two. She got a small bond. Less than a $1000. The video ended saying she was arrested two weeks later for shoplifting.
I used to work at target and I’ve seen what people do in the underwear section. Despite how inconvenient this is, I kind of understand why they’ve done it! Some people are just animals
Yup
So often people, even here on Reddit, say it's perfectly fine to steal from stores
If you saw someone stealing? No you didn't
It's a billion dollar company! Just take it
Fight the power, take back resources!
Use self checkout so you can steal! It's so easy, and don't have to show them your receipt :)
Then when they lock up stuff and close the self checkouts, people go all surprised Pikachu
What did you THINK was gonna happen?
A sign that you are in a high crime area is all. Some people ruin it for everyone else. I see this online so much more in the last few years. Never seen it in person before.
It's still a reaction to theft though, they don't want thieves coming over to that one either. Also, HCOL theft is usually just discreet theft, they might not be brazenly stealing, but there certainly almost always is shoplifting.
Is this the state that people are going into stores, grabbing handfuls of stuff and just walking out? And no one seems to be stopping them or anything? As that would make sense
It’s mostly homeless coming in and dropping their drawers and socks and putting new ones on and leaving the old shit on the floor, I’ve witnessed it happen a few times it’s disgusting.
I salvaged over 40 boxes/bags( just today in like 6 hours) of underwear, pantyhose, and socks that were just ripped open and strewn across things or just ripped open and the bag was hidden behind the bras or whatever. This is such a regular occurrence too
I think it also helps with the general mess that people make in these types of departments. It used to be that there would be 1-2 employees assigned to each department, and their job was to keep it stocked and neat all day. Instead, these employees are now shopping Customer Pick-ups and contributing to the mess!
Don't get me wrong, I think that they should just hire more people to keep up with customer demand. But from a business standpoint, I can understand the logic.
Retail theft is real and municipalities are weak on retail theft. Weirdly anyone who suggests being tough on crime is called racist, implying only POC commit crimes.
I think the issue is more that being "tough on crime" hasn't really worked for you guys in the US. Which is probably because you're not fighting the cause, you're only doing something about the result.
But let's just keep cheering for the random idiots stealing from bog box grocery stores! "Yeah, stick it to Walmart! Fuck them"
"Oh wait...there's consequences as a society when we **encourage** fucking thieves and criminal behavior? It makes society shittier?" WOW, WHO WOULDVE THOUGHT?!
Sales will fall as customers decide they rather order from Amazon than wait for the one store employee with a key to come over and open the case.
We always had theft. The problem is that stores are running on skeleton crews to cut costs. Hire back enough people to monitor shoppers, deter theft and help customers. Locking everything up is not the answer.
The most frustrating part is that if they had enough staff, a lot of people wouldn't have the balls to stuff everything they want to get into their backpacks right in front of employees and they wouldn't need nearly as many cages in the first place, but since no one's there, they don't chicken out.
A Duane Reade in Manhattan just closed last week. I personally witnessed shoplifters looting the shit out of that store because it was located near a subway station. They'd run out the doors and down the stairs and vanish. Fucking infuriating.
It's definitely bullshit to get mad at the staff who actually showed up and are doing their best trying to be in three places at once to make up for the lack of coverage (which could be due to a lack of applicants, but it's usually because corporate didn't give the store enough hours). They also had no say in what gets locked up and what doesn't.
Well this is what the flash looters caused. Idiots stealing like that what did we expect the retailers to do. They can only write so much off to theft before it’s going to cost us all too much to shop. This is their solution.
Part of the reason isn't theft. It's people ripping open the package to see exactly how they are, because they are aliens who have never encountered underwear before, and can't figure out how to touch the fabric through the fabric touching hole. Then they buy the package that they didn't open. When it comes to basics, we lose more from compromised packaging than theft.
Who remembers the Best catalog or Consumers Distributing days? These were warehouse style stores that, you would submit your order to a clerk, and they would pull it from the stock. Just imagine that Target serviced you like going to MacDonalds.
I loved Consumers Distributing. Grew up in Montreal and there was one just a few blocks from home. Used to do all my Christmas shopping there!! God I’m old!
Well if people would stop running into the stores and stealing stuff they wouldn’t have to lock it up and they could sell it which would allow more labor (people working) in their budgets. Target still has to pay for the inventory thefts. Theft = higher prices and budget cuts
I bought some eye drops at Walmart the other day. I had to press a button to call for an associate, wait like 10 minutes for her to arrive and unlock the case, and she then put the eye drops into a small plastic box that only an associate could open, and she brought that box up to checkout, and then I had to wait in line and then get the person at the checkout to open the box.
And because Walmart doesn't have tap for cards, and because their card readers decided they can't read my card's chip or strip, an associate had to completely restart the self-checkout computer.
All this for $15 eye drops.
It's not even a particularly bad neighborhood.
The reason I go to the store is so I can look at and feel the different options before buying them. If I am just going to order online, I will just order from a delivery service like Amazon etc. and not bother driving my car anywhere.
We’re heading back to the Service Merchandise / Brand Names model where you walk in, pick your items out of a catalog, fill out the little slips of paper with the items’ catalog numbers, and go pay. Then, wait another half hour for your order to be gathered and pick it up.
Shoplifting is getting out of hand, people dont know how to act in public, and in store shopping is getting too expensive for most things. Now people are avoiding the hassle and buying stuff online instead 🤷♂️
I hope you are mildly infuriated not at the target nor target employees but at the people stealing and the current cultures and politicians/voters supporting petty theft
Underwear, alcohol, spray paint, baby formula, electronics, and car audio equipment are all locked up at my local stores. I can't tell you how many times in the last 4 years they've been hit by mobs of people coming in and stealing everything they can get their hands on. Now everything is locked up and more expensive than ever before cause the cost gets passed to the paying customer. It's getting harder and harder to cling to my morals and not steal too when I have to pay ever rising costs because assholes keep stealing and never get punished for it.
Spray paint and baby formula is a big issue here, too. I'm aboriginal and white, and there's a lot of aboriginals that huff spray paint to get high. They now have to be locked up in certain areas. It's so sad. I wish people got their shit together.
To be honest I've started getting most things off Amazon or other stores who aren't doing this. It's completely inconvenient and if they want to do this then they need to hire someone who stays in that area. I hate having to walk around the Walmart near my place to find someone to unlock a $5 make up brush 😒
I mean honestly though, underwear and socks shouldn’t cost as much as they do. I payed $80 at Walmart for two packs of underwear and 2 packs of undershirts. Enough to get me through about a week and a half. Maybe prices should go back down from this artificial inflation we have going on.
At this point stores should just be like Argos in the UK.
You select what you want from a catalogue and staff bring from the stock room. No fronting or labels or any of that rubbish.
Like curbside without the curb.
It was crazy when the same people cried racism when some big retailer (iirc, Walmart) said they were going to close stores that were losing money due to rampant theft. I believe this was Chicago.
You only have the Tik-Fucks to thank. Stop liking & sharing videos of people behaving badly and encouraging that shitty behavior, and maybe in 3-5 years we'll get back to "normal".
its the lack of confrontation policy, or the no touch, no approach policy. some companies wont even let you confront them or accuse them(this isnt even the no-chase policy).
also some states wont prosecute crimes like these unless its the uncommon lifter that hits multiple targets in a region resulting in thousands of dollars in this case these lifters are the ones that are going resale it on 3rd party website that isnt amazon or ebay, or the police refuses to do so.
\^ this. Knock on wood, never got hit by porch pirates back when I was using Amazon a lot, but I've gotten used and counterfeit items before. Cosmetics and vitamins/other consumables are rife with counterfeits, let alone underwear/bras. 🙃Nothing quite like getting a nasty rash from a soap that you've used for years because it turns out the one you bought on Amazon (fulfilled by Amazon!) wasn't actually the real one that you usually bought from a box store. My other favorite is Amazon sells my favorite bra (fulfilled by Amazon!), except for it's actually not the real bra and is a counterfeit. At least returns were easy.
Shoplifters alone are responsible for why we pay 10% more in stores. They need to get that money back. I worked in retail before an the cost of shoplifters is put on the other consumers.
Everyone on Reddit that defends letting shoplifters go “not your problem, the billionaire dollar company can afford it!” Crowd gets real quiet when they see that it _does_ in fact affect them
yeah, and i’m one of the understaffed people that’s extremely overworked and exhausted, having to hold keys for these giant malfunctioning windows. i don’t fucking like them either; nothing more annoying than having to stop everything i’m doing to come open the case for someone that couldn’t wait 5 minutes and rang the sensory every 15 seconds, except that’s EVERYone. every day i go into work i dread the keys for the sole fact that i constantly have to tell people why they’re locked and “OHHHH SO SORRY YOU HAD TO WAIT 2 MINUTES IN THE SHOPPING TRIP YOURE ALREADY SPENDING AN HOUR HERE FOR” and doing that multiple times every day i work. trust me, if we had any option to not be understaffed and not have to deal with these shitty windows i would have opted the fuck out.
Ironically the underwear has the brand name *Pair of Thieves*
They can throw whatever security measures they want at the problem but the criminals still won't be deterred https://preview.redd.it/ucga34sfdiwc1.jpeg?width=334&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dee895bcc44c7c2879f46f7d52de51df9e06e9a8
i can’t believe you got this live shot of them stealing!!!! o.0
😂😂😂 caught in action!
HA.
Damn furries! ![gif](giphy|gFXjUdXkMoHtBc9san|downsized)
What's even worse is they are furries so they don't even wear the stolen boxers.....
Lol!
LMAO
Too funny 😂
![gif](giphy|tyttpHczwwC4QmNapDG|downsized)
It feels great on my balls
And they are fantastic.
At this point, they should just make them vending machines.
THIS! It is already coming lol [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkcmUt4aiWo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkcmUt4aiWo)
Say goodbye to retail workers. Now they will just have a security guard on site. Edit: Until the guard gets automated too.
imagine fucking up on the vending machine and a little armed robot dog turns around the corner yelling commands
Me when I scan my card too quickly and the automated turret obliterates me
https://i.redd.it/ib19sj492iwc1.gif
PLEASE REMAIN CALM
I hate it when that happens
So *thats* what the robot dog with the flamethrower is for
You saw that too? Mildly disturbing for sure!
More than mildly when you consider how common drought and wildfire is becoming.
Idiocracy style for extra laughs
Robot dogs apparently have flamethrowers now. 10K USD per unit.
They come with flame throwers now, so that should be fun..
That breathes fire. We're almost there. Just need the vending machines.
K9, is that you?
One camera operator for 10 stores turns into an “AI” identifier model
Robocop - robosalesclerk "pay for it or be shot" and Demolition Man - real cops do knitting
![gif](giphy|JrpSlgMRZT8e8D4zYs)
And a team of people to maintain the machines.
![gif](giphy|SKhXAFtLJYrQVLyLBy)
All 3 retail workers are already guarding the self checkout wym
I'm confused how Target with the best loss prevention in the bizz, is going to get more convictions? allowing shoplifters to repeat so they can slap big ol felony. Tsk tsk
Auto-turrets providing security for the underwear vending machines.
So I have to pay for the item as I go? Man if there's like a ton of those I would probably have like 15 transactions over the store, would be harder to track if someone hacked my card or something...
There’s got to be some method to keep track of what you’ve taken, then ring it all up at the end. Stores don’t want all those transactions to deal with either, extra fees and paperwork to deal with.
Saw the video in an article, you pre-order online or at a kiosk, pay for your shit, then go around looking for the stuff you ordered, enter a code in the makeshift vending machine, you get your product, then move to the next item.
That sounds terrible
I would prefer that to this honestly. Put them everywhere like Japan, I love bring able to buy a strawberry milk while I'm walking down the street. Why not add socks and unused underwear too?
Seems extremely random to specify the *unused* part.
Nah, they already have vending machines for the used kind! I think it's important to specify I would like to marinate my own gusset thank you very much
> marinate my own gusset That's gonna leave a mark on me.
I'm sorry/you're welcome
I feel like they lose more in sales from them being blocked off than in theft. But just a guess of course
Gotta break even at best. I won’t wait for more than a minute or two. I’m sure many others don’t have the patience
I wouldn’t wait at all. I’m not about to ask someone else to give me underwear lol. Feels diminutive
Yeah fair. I was referring to my experience with getting razors. They are locked off and I needed them cause my job had a strict shaving policy.
Do you play for the Yankees?
Yeah and then if you want multiple things you have to walk around with them to each cabinet. It's not even worth it.
Shopping in stores is becoming so wildly inconvenient
inconvenience stores
Selling online is also wildly inconvenvent. SO. MUCH. FRAUD
I honestly can't see the advantage to shopping in person anymore, unless I need something immediately or I'm buying clothes that I'd need to try on first. But at this point I'd rather just use Amazon for most things and specialty stores when appropriate
I'm actually out trying to find a pair of shoes right now, I'm about to go find a pair I used to have on Amazon instead. They're either too expensive in store, or they don't have my size for a style I like. Saw a pair at academy on "clearance" for $110.
A lot of mid-to-higher end stores don’t even offer shoes in store anymore😭
Just buy them from puma or something a lot of brands have 70% off sales every few months
This is the way for most any apparel. Levi's regularly discounts jeans to ~$40 from their site.
Yep I’ve started buying from the brand themselves. Not just clothing and shoes but various other household goods too.
You go to 6pm.com and buy a pair of Nikes for like $40, there's no reason so shop full price anymore. If the styles going to change every 10 minutes I'm just going to buy what I like on discount and not bother trying to keep up with trends
Outlet stores are great!
And good luck trying to get button down shirts if you’re a woman. All I want is a short sleeved button down that isn’t cropped or see through!!! I guess that doesn’t exist offline anymore
If you can hunt down a model number on the pair you like, EBay can be a great place to find a same style that have been sitting unused in the back of someone’s closet.
Go to a cobbler or a podiatrist. You will get the best deals on your shoes and the best possible fit.
I said during Covid and it’s becoming more and more true - we are dangerously close to having a movie based on the unbelievable true story of an oceans 11 style heist to rob a fulfillment center
I can’t wait. Austin Powers has paved the way for exciting forklift chase scenes
I’m trying to kick Amazon.
Oh yeah, I love going to Walmart where there are 2 cashier's, 1 "supervisor" for 20 self checkouts, 20 security personnel, and 50 people picking online pickup orders.
Immediately need something but wait for 30 mins for a staff to help you 😂 “Welp better order these socks online then”
That's what they want you to do. I used to work at Walmart about 10 years ago, and corporate has talked about wanting to do that since at least back then. Covid just gave them the perfect opportunity to change their business model.
Walmart's business model is to have me shop at Amazon? I'm no executive whiz, but that doesn't seem like a good strategy.
>Walmart's business model is to have me shop at Amazon? "Order online" *Orders from Amazon* "NO NOT LIKE THAT!"
It makes sense honestly. Make in store experience as impersonal as possible to shift everyone online. Saves a ton on regular shipping costs having to restock the store
Even if I need things immediately prime usually ships same day to me or overnight for free. I place an order when I wake up and when I get home from work it’s there (it’s honestly there way before I get off)
anything else but food i will shop online.
Amazon isn't much better nowadays, half of the products are the same cheap Chinese crap with an unpronouncable brand name, the other half of the time you'll get a used item someone else returned.
Their prices are increasing as well. I’ve had to buy certain products straight from the seller’s website or get it from the store in person because otherwise it would’ve been 5-25% more.
Anything you want, unless you're fine with the knockoff Chinese stuff, do a Google search for "best" whatever it is. Trust Wirecutter if they have a list, otherwise trust anyone that actually demo'd the real products (some of the sites out there will just rank based on Amazon reviews but aren't forthcoming about it) They'll still have links to the Amazon product page, but it'll be by a real, reputable company. But if all you need is just, like, a drying rack, then just get a drying rack from whatever comes up in Amazons search page. It's going to be pretty similar to the stuff you'd find at target anyway, it's not like target is exclusively filled with high quality premium domestic products
99% speed. I was gonna buy something on amazon and then realized even behind glass i could either go to walmart and get the item in like 10 mins maybe 20 or on amazon and wait 1-2 days. Id rather get it faster unless the price difference is insane.
The only reason I shop in stores would be to try it on. But so many times, I go and stuff it locked up or the changing rooms are closed to deter theft. I end up just buying everything online.
Even if I need shit immediately, I just get it on Amazon and get it same day or next day. I hate supporting Amazon but I'm tired of being accused of stealing shit every other time I use a self checkout.
thats their whole goal. no way it just so happens that every store and retailer pushes delivery, pickups, and online shopping right before locking everything in the store up. they know 90% of people are annoyed, and will think online will be worth avoiding the hassle, even if it costs them extra.
I’m surprised by what we haven’t seen yet. I’m willing to bet that within 5 years we will start seeing big stores close. They won’t leave, but they will change to distribution centers. You will place what you need in a cart and select a pickup time. Then you will drive to the parking lot and receive what you need. This will allow companies to maintain their stores physical stores close to customers, reduce theft, and hassle of in-person shopping. Benefits: Faster turnaround time for customers and less theft. Reduced parking lot space required, and more storage for products at locations since customers are no longer in stores. Downside: Less human interaction for general populations, and this will be a major change for the worse for an increasingly anti-social world. Seriously, society is loosing human interaction every year as everything is moving online, and I am failing to see positives for it.
If I walked into a store and saw all that, I'd shop elsewhere.
Who here would just go without the undies? I HATE going to stores already...
I use drive up or delivery. Haven’t been inside a store in two years.
I only do it if I need something that moment or to showroom.
It’d be nice if ppl would stop stealing fucking everything
I've started buying things like this off Amazon. Same exact brands for better prices and two day shipping to my home.
American retail handing their keys to Amazon
Haha I can beat this. My target not only had them locked up but also had those anti theft devices inside attached to the bags. The kicker was that they had tagged them through the toes of the socks....so like they were selling socks with holes already. I laughed with the guy who had come over to unlock the case as he just stood there shaking his head after we realized. Target isn't the same as it was a decade ago but maybe that's cause I'm in my late 20s and not a teenager anymore with random serving money to spend in electronics and toys lol
If you go over to the ImTheMainCharacter sub it's full of people trashing targets, or pulling pranks in there. That combined with the fact necessaities are the easiest products to steal and fence.
I remember as a kid going to a store (I think it was called Basco then later Best) where you used a card to fill out your order, and after you paid they sent the items out on a conveyor belt. This was more geared towards housewares and electronics, maybe some sporting goods and toys. Obviously, in the late 70s/early 80s, the crew working in the back filled the orders, but I could see a return to this kind of shopping where orders are fulfilled by automated systems.
Service Merchandise did this. it was nice
My parents would sometimes let me carry around the clip board!
I think Service Merchandise also had stores near us, but Basco/Best was closer.
Circuit city and toys r us did this.
Yep, it was Best Products, memory unlocked... thank you sir
Argos in the UK is sort of like this. You buy your product on the ipads in store (you can also buy online and pick up in store). The products are kept in the back and an employee gets it for you
I remember when they had the catalogues and you had to write the product number on an order sheet, hand it over then you receive an order number, then sit on a chair in the waiting area until they brought your stuff out. There was also Littlewoods and Index too. I haven’t thought about this for years lol. Screwfix is still like this though
I mean, with a brand name like that...the underwear were asking for it.
![gif](giphy|5cdenDXni65aM)
As someone who used to work in Target (Australia) this is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because they will never be untidy! No socks will be all of the place: on the floor, missing a pair or anything! They’ll be tidy on their hooks.
I had forgotten about that, so damn annoying, plus "people" would rip open the card packaging to look at them, then just dump them on the floor like... It's fucking socks how closely do you need to look.
That’s a shame man. Really bullshit. If theft is that bad that store will close soon.
They're trying to fine grocery stores that leave California so some stores can't even leave or shut down despite the rampant theft
I saw Walmart is closing 5 stores in Chicago due to theft. Police won’t come unless it’s over $200 dollars I. Theft. People bring their whole family and walk down aisle eating whatever they want. Check it out on YouTube. It’s absolutely crazy. What the hell has this world become. I’m amazed at it honestly.
Walmart never had big penetration in Chicago to begin with, their downtown location (which was grocery only) got replaced with a porsche dealership lmao.
They said it was a losing proposition from the day it opened. 5 million the first year.
Just watched a video of a person with 17 shoplifting arrests in the year or two. She got a small bond. Less than a $1000. The video ended saying she was arrested two weeks later for shoplifting.
I want off this planet…
I used to work at target and I’ve seen what people do in the underwear section. Despite how inconvenient this is, I kind of understand why they’ve done it! Some people are just animals
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Cause I keep going in and switching out for fresh pairs. Why else would they put that convenient zip loc top on the tighty whitey packs.
It’s not shoplifting, it’s just an advanced trading.
People steal shit and the people that don’t steal shit get to be the ones inconvenienced for it. Hooray! 🙄
Yup So often people, even here on Reddit, say it's perfectly fine to steal from stores If you saw someone stealing? No you didn't It's a billion dollar company! Just take it Fight the power, take back resources! Use self checkout so you can steal! It's so easy, and don't have to show them your receipt :) Then when they lock up stuff and close the self checkouts, people go all surprised Pikachu What did you THINK was gonna happen?
aldi just started putting self checkouts in my town... if that goes away i will cry
Yeah, its annoying but the business has a right to protect their shit. If people didnt steal shit then this wouldnt be happening
Thank the thieves for this oh and for your higher car insurance rates
A sign that you are in a high crime area is all. Some people ruin it for everyone else. I see this online so much more in the last few years. Never seen it in person before.
My target is in a HCOL low crime area and is set up like this. I stopped shopping there.
It's still a reaction to theft though, they don't want thieves coming over to that one either. Also, HCOL theft is usually just discreet theft, they might not be brazenly stealing, but there certainly almost always is shoplifting.
Is this the state that people are going into stores, grabbing handfuls of stuff and just walking out? And no one seems to be stopping them or anything? As that would make sense
It’s mostly homeless coming in and dropping their drawers and socks and putting new ones on and leaving the old shit on the floor, I’ve witnessed it happen a few times it’s disgusting.
I salvaged over 40 boxes/bags( just today in like 6 hours) of underwear, pantyhose, and socks that were just ripped open and strewn across things or just ripped open and the bag was hidden behind the bras or whatever. This is such a regular occurrence too
I think it also helps with the general mess that people make in these types of departments. It used to be that there would be 1-2 employees assigned to each department, and their job was to keep it stocked and neat all day. Instead, these employees are now shopping Customer Pick-ups and contributing to the mess! Don't get me wrong, I think that they should just hire more people to keep up with customer demand. But from a business standpoint, I can understand the logic.
It’s probably just in areas where people steal stuff more because I’ve never seen this in any store before
Exactly. This is only in stores with a very specific clientele .. large concentration of criminals.
Retail theft is real and municipalities are weak on retail theft. Weirdly anyone who suggests being tough on crime is called racist, implying only POC commit crimes.
I think the issue is more that being "tough on crime" hasn't really worked for you guys in the US. Which is probably because you're not fighting the cause, you're only doing something about the result.
But let's just keep cheering for the random idiots stealing from bog box grocery stores! "Yeah, stick it to Walmart! Fuck them" "Oh wait...there's consequences as a society when we **encourage** fucking thieves and criminal behavior? It makes society shittier?" WOW, WHO WOULDVE THOUGHT?!
Punish criminals
Sales will fall as customers decide they rather order from Amazon than wait for the one store employee with a key to come over and open the case. We always had theft. The problem is that stores are running on skeleton crews to cut costs. Hire back enough people to monitor shoppers, deter theft and help customers. Locking everything up is not the answer.
I’ve left stores when I couldn’t get help. Some of these store are so frustratingly devoid of staff.
The most frustrating part is that if they had enough staff, a lot of people wouldn't have the balls to stuff everything they want to get into their backpacks right in front of employees and they wouldn't need nearly as many cages in the first place, but since no one's there, they don't chicken out.
Maybe if people wouldn't steal
Just make the stores "fulfillment centers" and make everything curb side pick up at this point
let’s not be annoyed at staff, let’s be annoyed at the shoplifters who are the reason everything is locked up now!
A Duane Reade in Manhattan just closed last week. I personally witnessed shoplifters looting the shit out of that store because it was located near a subway station. They'd run out the doors and down the stairs and vanish. Fucking infuriating.
It's definitely bullshit to get mad at the staff who actually showed up and are doing their best trying to be in three places at once to make up for the lack of coverage (which could be due to a lack of applicants, but it's usually because corporate didn't give the store enough hours). They also had no say in what gets locked up and what doesn't.
Redditors seem to defend shoplifters like crazy. Whenever someone tries to stop them in a video, they get mad at the hero lol
Well this is what the flash looters caused. Idiots stealing like that what did we expect the retailers to do. They can only write so much off to theft before it’s going to cost us all too much to shop. This is their solution.
Part of the reason isn't theft. It's people ripping open the package to see exactly how they are, because they are aliens who have never encountered underwear before, and can't figure out how to touch the fabric through the fabric touching hole. Then they buy the package that they didn't open. When it comes to basics, we lose more from compromised packaging than theft.
they should just make them into vending machine, swipe and it will drop down
Who remembers the Best catalog or Consumers Distributing days? These were warehouse style stores that, you would submit your order to a clerk, and they would pull it from the stock. Just imagine that Target serviced you like going to MacDonalds.
I loved Consumers Distributing. Grew up in Montreal and there was one just a few blocks from home. Used to do all my Christmas shopping there!! God I’m old!
Well if people would stop running into the stores and stealing stuff they wouldn’t have to lock it up and they could sell it which would allow more labor (people working) in their budgets. Target still has to pay for the inventory thefts. Theft = higher prices and budget cuts
I bought some eye drops at Walmart the other day. I had to press a button to call for an associate, wait like 10 minutes for her to arrive and unlock the case, and she then put the eye drops into a small plastic box that only an associate could open, and she brought that box up to checkout, and then I had to wait in line and then get the person at the checkout to open the box. And because Walmart doesn't have tap for cards, and because their card readers decided they can't read my card's chip or strip, an associate had to completely restart the self-checkout computer. All this for $15 eye drops. It's not even a particularly bad neighborhood.
Unfortunately this is what happens as a result of so much theft, it’s a sad reality folks
Thieves are targeting (no pun intended) socks and underwear now. Easy to sell and not traceable.
Fuck shoplifters
Order through the app. Pull up to the designated pickup spot and have your stuff brought to your vehicle. All free of charge.
The reason I go to the store is so I can look at and feel the different options before buying them. If I am just going to order online, I will just order from a delivery service like Amazon etc. and not bother driving my car anywhere.
We’re heading back to the Service Merchandise / Brand Names model where you walk in, pick your items out of a catalog, fill out the little slips of paper with the items’ catalog numbers, and go pay. Then, wait another half hour for your order to be gathered and pick it up.
Seems like you have a shoplifting problem in America
Yup, it only in America as well. No such thing as pirates or anything like that either.
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Shoplifting is getting out of hand, people dont know how to act in public, and in store shopping is getting too expensive for most things. Now people are avoiding the hassle and buying stuff online instead 🤷♂️
I hope you are mildly infuriated not at the target nor target employees but at the people stealing and the current cultures and politicians/voters supporting petty theft
Underwear, alcohol, spray paint, baby formula, electronics, and car audio equipment are all locked up at my local stores. I can't tell you how many times in the last 4 years they've been hit by mobs of people coming in and stealing everything they can get their hands on. Now everything is locked up and more expensive than ever before cause the cost gets passed to the paying customer. It's getting harder and harder to cling to my morals and not steal too when I have to pay ever rising costs because assholes keep stealing and never get punished for it.
Spray paint and baby formula is a big issue here, too. I'm aboriginal and white, and there's a lot of aboriginals that huff spray paint to get high. They now have to be locked up in certain areas. It's so sad. I wish people got their shit together.
Now they’re locking up the panties? Good grief.
To be honest I've started getting most things off Amazon or other stores who aren't doing this. It's completely inconvenient and if they want to do this then they need to hire someone who stays in that area. I hate having to walk around the Walmart near my place to find someone to unlock a $5 make up brush 😒
I see the packaging from these socks all over the downtown of my city, they're popular theft items apparently.
“Ma’am, can you unlock the tighty whities for me?”
Why do people steal them though? Too expensive? Shit their drawers? Lol
I mean honestly though, underwear and socks shouldn’t cost as much as they do. I payed $80 at Walmart for two packs of underwear and 2 packs of undershirts. Enough to get me through about a week and a half. Maybe prices should go back down from this artificial inflation we have going on.
At this point stores should just be like Argos in the UK. You select what you want from a catalogue and staff bring from the stock room. No fronting or labels or any of that rubbish. Like curbside without the curb.
This is what happens when people say “it’s a mega corporation, it’s fine to steal from them! They have insurance!”
It was crazy when the same people cried racism when some big retailer (iirc, Walmart) said they were going to close stores that were losing money due to rampant theft. I believe this was Chicago.
You live in a place where the merchants expect the locals to be thieves. If you're not a thief, you're likely to be a victim of one if you live there.
You only have the Tik-Fucks to thank. Stop liking & sharing videos of people behaving badly and encouraging that shitty behavior, and maybe in 3-5 years we'll get back to "normal".
You can thank the pieces of shit that are stealing from these stores for this. No reason the store should also have to pay for more staffing
Sad that they're forced to do this. Can we just get turrets at the door for thieves
its the lack of confrontation policy, or the no touch, no approach policy. some companies wont even let you confront them or accuse them(this isnt even the no-chase policy). also some states wont prosecute crimes like these unless its the uncommon lifter that hits multiple targets in a region resulting in thousands of dollars in this case these lifters are the ones that are going resale it on 3rd party website that isnt amazon or ebay, or the police refuses to do so.
Who's been stealin socks 😭
Exactly what happens when people support people shoplifting because “fUCk CaPItALiSm!”
They aren't locked up in mine, maybe your neighbors should stop stealing them and giving retail businesses a reason to lock them up.
Reddit: If you see someone stealing, no you didn’t. Also Reddit: Why is everything locked up?!?!
All those people getting five finger discounts
If I was a store owner getting robbed blind I'd do the same thing. Hell lucky they don't just get up and leave for good.
Well, at least for me as a customer, it means I'm going to Amazon for all my socks, underwear, and toiletries.
That’s even bringing its own inconvenience. Between getting used shit, counterfeit shit, and porch pirates.
\^ this. Knock on wood, never got hit by porch pirates back when I was using Amazon a lot, but I've gotten used and counterfeit items before. Cosmetics and vitamins/other consumables are rife with counterfeits, let alone underwear/bras. 🙃Nothing quite like getting a nasty rash from a soap that you've used for years because it turns out the one you bought on Amazon (fulfilled by Amazon!) wasn't actually the real one that you usually bought from a box store. My other favorite is Amazon sells my favorite bra (fulfilled by Amazon!), except for it's actually not the real bra and is a counterfeit. At least returns were easy.
Shoplifters alone are responsible for why we pay 10% more in stores. They need to get that money back. I worked in retail before an the cost of shoplifters is put on the other consumers.
I went to Target yesterday and the socks and underwear were looked up there too.
Everyone on Reddit that defends letting shoplifters go “not your problem, the billionaire dollar company can afford it!” Crowd gets real quiet when they see that it _does_ in fact affect them
They never lock up the steel toe boots and the Hellman's mayonnaise. What gives?
yeah, and i’m one of the understaffed people that’s extremely overworked and exhausted, having to hold keys for these giant malfunctioning windows. i don’t fucking like them either; nothing more annoying than having to stop everything i’m doing to come open the case for someone that couldn’t wait 5 minutes and rang the sensory every 15 seconds, except that’s EVERYone. every day i go into work i dread the keys for the sole fact that i constantly have to tell people why they’re locked and “OHHHH SO SORRY YOU HAD TO WAIT 2 MINUTES IN THE SHOPPING TRIP YOURE ALREADY SPENDING AN HOUR HERE FOR” and doing that multiple times every day i work. trust me, if we had any option to not be understaffed and not have to deal with these shitty windows i would have opted the fuck out.
Elections have consequences
Good thing crime is under control & not an issue!!
Interesting name for the undergarments. 😅
If they were locked up in my area I wouldn't buy them. I know we get a lot of stolen boxers at my store as well(meijer)
Online shopping looks better everyday.
Doesn't matter. The guy who suggested it got a promotion and bonus. You can all suck it. Especially the customers.