It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, many of us still shopped the old-fashioned way.
We’d get dressed (typically in pants without elastic waistbands), grab our phone, keys and wallet, and drive the 10-15 minute trip to our local big-box store.
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There, we’d get the usual supplies. Groceries, tech equipment, pet supplies, household products, and school or office materials were most common.
Sometimes, if we were were feeling spontaneous, we’d pick up some fun purchases, like cosmetics, clothing, pool or beach equipment during the summer, or holiday decor during the chillier months.
How times have changed.
These days, many of us shop online for the things we need. A Bank of America survey in late 2023 found that 42% of respondents in the U.S. claim they plan to spend more money online over the next year.
This is partly because it’s just easier to shop online now.
Many of us hold at least one membership to a big retailer. It could be Amazon Prime (which boasts over 220 million members), Walmart+, or Target Circle 360.
All three offer fast shipping, typically low prices, and unbeatable convenience.
And even if you do have to wait a day or two for your package to arrive, at least you didn’t have to put jeans on to get it.
Brick and mortar is shifting
E-commerce providers have made ordering online almost unbeatably easy.
And their services are pervasive.
“Bank of America’s survey also noted that 61% of respondents said they plan to shop for their groceries online. Over a quarter (27%) of respondents said Walmart was their preferred grocery website, followed by Amazon (19%) and Instacart (10%), according to the report,” Retail Dive reports.
Shopping for food and staples online is a relatively new habit, thanks in part to Covid, which saw many supermarkets shut down or severely limit capacity.
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And many of us have stuck with online retailers to procure our daily essentials.
But as foot traffic drops, other issues pervade the retail space.
Theft and organized retail crime have spiked over the past five years. The National Retail Federation says that in 2023, retailers saw a 93% jump in theft compared to 2019 levels.
This is partly because many retailers are operating at reduced capacity. Most retailers employ fewer staff, since labor is costly and harder to come by.
Less oversight often allows theft and other crimes to increase, especially when automated checkouts are used.
Walmart takes a theft prevention measure
So Walmart (WMT) has been taking steps to prevent theft in stores.
TikTok user @LadyLuckk posted a TikTok video reporting her local Walmart had even locked up socks to prevent shoplifting.
“Welcome to Walmart. You can’t even get socks because it’s locked,” she explains in her post.
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The video shows a long wall display of different socks all kept locked up behind plexiglass shields.
Walmart, for its part, says it takes different theft prevention measures on a store-by-store basis, depending on need and incidence level.
In April, a Walmart Supercenter in Shrewsbury, Mo., completely did away with its self-checkouts because theft at the store was hurting business.
The measure worked.
Between January-May 2025, calls to the police reporting theft and shoplifting decreased to 11% of calls overall — about a reduction by half. Arrests were down, too.
Great Job Jena Warburton & the Team @ TheStreet Source link for sharing this story.
