Locked up: The cost of stopping thieves

From makeup to vitamins to pairs of socks, it feels like everything at stores these days is getting locked up. Many shoppers tell KIRO 7 that “enough is enough.”

“Stuff that you wouldn’t think would be locked up is locked up,” said shopper Isaac Bernal.

Household basics, from toothpaste to laundry detergent, are suddenly under the same security as fine jewelry and new technology.

“I’ve spent up to 20 minutes sometimes,” said shopper Mariah Sand.

“I’m not trying to wait that long if I’m in a rush,” said shopper Angel Krisologo.

Retailers, however, say that the same sentiment helps keep criminals at bay.

“As we got into 2022, 2023, we really found ourselves at record levels of retail theft and shrink,” said Todd Kammeyer, President of Fred Meyer.

A company’s shrink rate measures the amount of inventory unaccounted for, from the moment an item is produced to the moment it’s sold to a customer.

Retail theft is part of shrink, but shrink can also include missing merchandise from processing or administrative errors, waste, employee theft, fraud, and other causes.

Kammeyer said the share of Fred Meyer’s shrink due to retail theft has increased over the last few years.

“Used to be years ago that the estimates were about 30% of shrink was coming from retail theft,” he said. “Definitely, I would say that’s probably more than doubled over the last several years. It depends a lot on the area they operate, too.”

Smash-and-grab robberies and shoplifting crimes have cost retailers, and in turn their customers, billions of dollars. Retail theft crimes have gutted small businesses and forced large retailers to close store locations and reexamine security practices.

“We’ve more than doubled our spend on security,” Kammeyer said. “We’ve put off-duty officers and other other paid services to come and help protect our stores.”

Fred Meyer has also utilized receipt checks to help ensure items are being paid for.

The new security measures have helped level the increases Fred Meyer has seen in retail theft, Kammeyer said.

Like many other large retailers, Fred Myer has also experimented with locking items up behind glass in an effort to stop thieves.

Shoppers and retail experts say that practice turns some away.

“The problem is most retail stores are designed in a way to make shopping convenient and easy,” said Kevin Chase, an assistant professor of marketing at Washington State University. “By locking up the products, a lot of times what ends up happening is it’s no longer easy and convenient.”

Researchers with Consumer World wanted to find out the impact of locking products behind glass. They surveyed over 1,100 Consumer World readers to find out what they would do if a product they’re shopping for is locked up.

Of those surveyed, 55% said they tried to buy the product elsewhere, while 13% said they tried to find an alternative that is not locked up.

“It can have really negative impacts for brands,” Chase said. “If it becomes more difficult for [shoppers] to acquire those brands, they’re going to move on to somewhere else.”

KIRO 7 crews did their own test at a large retail store in Downtown Seattle. It took about 15.5 minutes for our crew to get five items at the store, all behind lock and key.

“Overall, people don’t like it,” said KIRO 7′s Madeline Ottilie. “What is the cost-benefit analysis of that?”

“We definitely prefer not to have to lock things up,” said Kammeyer. “We want customers to have easy access to the items that they’re looking to purchase.”

Kammeyer said the company is often evaluating various kinds of theft deterrents to assess the benefits they bring.

“Are we seeing a dramatic decrease in theft, but also a dramatic decrease in sales?” he said. “Is it better to have it or not to have it?”

Kammeyer said the company will occasionally pivot as it collects that information.

“It’s not always a one-size-fits-all formula,” he said.

Chase warns that ultimately, both retail theft and security measures end up adding costs to consumers.

KIRO 7 asked several major retailers to provide data on their losses due to retail theft, but none could provide concrete numbers.

Until we find a solution to stop theft, consumers will have to bear the costs and adjust to a new normal at the store.

“People coming in and stealing all the time, jacks up our prices,” shopper Jeff Murray said.

“If you go too crazy with it (locking products up), then people aren’t going to want to shop because they’re always going to wait for people to get it unlocked,” said Krisologo.

So how can you speed up your shopping?

Experts recommend doing research ahead of time. Make a list of items you’d like to purchase, but pick out the brands in advance as well.

You could also consider curbside pickup, so your order is already ready when you show up to get it.

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