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WALMART shoppers have been complaining about the chain’s receipt checking policy on social media.
On top of issues with self-checkout, and items being locked behind glass, shoppers are tired of being subject to extra receipt checks after having to do the work themselves.
Customers are complaining on social media about Walmart’s security measures[/caption]
Retail executives have blamed rising theft losses and inflation for the changes[/caption]
“When did Walmart start itemizing your receipt when you are exiting the store?!,” asked one shopper, Crissy Mobley, on Facebook.
“I understand checking for the item under the buggy but checking each item is crazy!”
“Don’t do self check out if this the case,” she continued.
“They had my kids at the door treating them like they stole something,” her post concluded.
In just over 3 days, Mobley’s post started a fire storm, garnering almost 100 comments from shoppers who feel the same way.
“I didn’t ask to check myself out,” one comment read.
“If they don’t trust me, take away the self checkout!”
“Why is EVERYTHING locked up and I’ve been waiting 10 minutes for someone to unlock DEODORANT for me,” another post on X, formerly Twitter said.
Another asked, “if paying a cashier a living wage will make prices go up, why doesn’t replacing cashiers with self-checkout make prices go down?”
The answer to those questions, as well as why receipt checks have also been implemented among a slew of other new security measures, according to retail executives at least, would be because of a rise in theft throughout their stores since the pandemic.
Businesses have seen an increase in shoplifting losses and theft over the last four years.
In fact, large chains, such as Walmart, are expecting a large bill of $132 billion in combined shoplifting losses this year alone, according to research by Capital One.
So according to retail executives, they simply had no choice in the face of the losses.
Combine these losses with inflation, and retailers had the perfect storm brewing to try and maximize their profits.
Within the same time frame since the pandemic, although shoplifting statistics have skyrocketed nationally, corporate profits also account for the largest share of national income in the last decade, according to the National Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Just one month ago, Walmart reported a quarterly profit of $5.1 billion, triple what they made the same quarter just one year earlier.
But despite Walmart literally tripling their profits, the chain has simultaneously laid off thousands of workers since the pandemic, citing the need to cut costs because of those same losses from theft and inflationary conditions.
At the same time, other chains like Target also saw massive profit increases as well, making over $2 billion more in profits last year than they did the year before, despite an almost 2% drop in sales within that timeframe.
But as both chains continue to cut costs on labor in stores, with Walmart recently announcing they are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into expensive digital price labels that can be changed instantly.
After the news of this change first broke earlier this month, many on social media pointed out how this could possibly allow the chain to implement further lay-offs as fewer floor workers would be needed in the stores.
Although it is not clear how much money Walmart is spending on this change as of now, just 10,000 electronic shelf labels could be anywhere from $60,000 to $100,000, according to Solum, a wireless communication technology manufacturer.
Wendy’s, for example, announced in February it is investing $20 million into high-tech digital menu boards, leading to a similar backlash.
“If it’s hot outside, we can raise the price of water and ice cream,” Phil Lempert, a grocery industry analyst, told NPR about the new change coming to Walmart.
“And if there’s something that’s close to the expiration date, we can lower the price — that’s the good news,” he continued.
“Why is it so much easier to justify investment in technology vs in people?,” asked one person on X.
Top 5 receipt checking tips from a lawyer
Camron Dowlatshahi, a Los Angeles attorney, spoke to The U.S. Sun about receipt checks and customer's rights and options when it came to being asked to show your receipt.
- There has been a lot of debate around the legality of a retailer asking to see your receipt, but if it is within the store, it is completely legal. “There’s seemingly nothing illegal about that. You’re still on the company’s premises and their reason to do it is to prevent thefts,” Dowlatshahi confirms.
- However, if they are chasing you out of the store, that changes things, Dowlatshahi said. “Location matters,” he explained. “If you’re outside of the store you’re in the parking lot and they come and start accusing you of theft and that you have to show your receipt, I think that’s a bit of a different situation because now you’re on your way.”
- While customers are allowed to say no to receipt checks, it may cause issues if you do and the store suspects you of stealing. “You can say no, maybe it creates an unnecessary hassle for yourself because now you may have the police come to your house and follow up,” said Dowlatshahi.
- If you are being barred from leaving a store because you refused a receipt check, you could have a legal case — but the store must have held you for a long time. “Let’s say it’s for hours, that’s certainly false imprisonment, and they didn’t have any impetus for doing so,” Dowlatshahi explained. “If a customer has been emotionally traumatized by being held for false imprisonment, I would definitely encourage [them] to sue.”
- “I would say, show your receipt,” he concluded. “It’s just a really simple thing to do. If you didn’t steal anything, it’s relatively simple to do,” the lawyer advised.
(According to Camron Dowlatshahi, a founding partner at Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP)
