This article was written by Alex Mayyasi , a Priceonomics staff writer. But baby formula, shampoo, and soap are all protected by locked display cases. But why soap? Managers at Walgreens have concluded that it is. If you go to a store and ask, retail assistants will explain that the locks prevent thefts. Understanding why pharmacies lock up soap—rather than more expensive and appealing items—requires an appreciation of the market for stolen goods.
In other words, thieves want a liquid asset. This principle, along with the dynamics of thefts, are ably explained by an article in the Journal of Criminology based on a U. The main markets for humble, shoplifted and stolen goods are in low-income, urban areas where people shop primarily at corner stores and street vendors.
Thieves and burglars are very aware of the markets for stolen goods—and what sells in those markets. Thieves may even steal to order. Then he stole it and sold it to him. Generally, though, thieves steal what is popular on the illicit market. Thieves can sell items for around a third of their retail value, according to the report, or for roughly half their value if they sell them to second hand shops.
For expensive electronics, that means some solid, quick cash. But price is not the only consideration. Not only do prolific thieves want the certainty of knowing exactly where they can sell their loot, but thieves want to get rid of it fast.
One house burglar said that he took about an hour to sell stolen property. Most others said they sold off their loot in as little as 5 minutes. The best way to ensure that loot is easy to sell is to steal products with consistently high demand.
A hot electronic, like an iPhone, may fit the bill. Is this a new thing? The two highest-theft items at grocery stores are makeup and baby formula. Been that way for decades. I've never heard that one. Ultra-Conservatives like their stuff unlocked? I would think everyone finds locked up stuff to be a PITA. My Walgreens in Lakeview has those things but they're usually unlocked.
When you open them they say "Thank you for shopping Walgreens" or some such really loud. I guess it's so the lady at the cosmetics counter can look over and see if I'm putting them in my coat or something. We used to have that type of thing in s back when cigarrettes were accessible by everyone. Several of the stores around here lock up razor blades.
They're small, easily stolen, rather expensive, and there's a huge market for them on places like eBay. Makes them prime theft targets.
No, but they need to protect themselves and their families from dirty thieving carpet-bagging liberals that slink through town. Maybe one of the bodywash ingredients is a methamphetamine precursor. Polysorbate 60, a gateway preservative! That is really ridiculous. It sounds like a push for the generic to me. I'd like equal access to products so I can compare them, please. Most of the stores you mention are here as well.
Even in the ghetto-est part of the city, I've not seen this sort of thing locked up. It can't be as simple as theft rate. It must also have something to do with regional manager's philosophy. Create the impression your store is ghetto and people will treat it that way I was just in the Walgreens down the street from me yesterday, only the razors are locked up. But that's been pretty common at a lot of drug stores for a few years now. No worries Technically a snooty area of the South Side, but there are some parts that are a little sketchy and some that are mixed.
This drugstore was in the zone between sketchy and snooty. I'll stop by one of those and post back. Until then I'm reserving judgement, but I'm not too optimistic. Emu oil? Don't ask how they get that special 'emu oil'. A friend of mine manages a CVS out here, I'm gonna ask her if she's ever heard of anything like this. Update says it all. Plus it was on the opposite side of oncoming traffic. The only thing I saw locked up was the perfume.
Unfortunately, the update doesn't say it all. I know that Chicago my home town has had its share of race issues, but this is not one of them.
The security measures that you see have nothing to do with race, are nationwide, are implemented at the discretion of the corporate, regional or store management level and are in place to mitigate not only external but internal theft. As another example, CompUSA has its processors, motherboards and memory under lock and key. Best Buy uses the wrap-around security alarms. Videocards are on the shelves, but have security tags, and one Best Buy has a warning sign on the front door that lets people know that some items have dye bombs on them.
Circuit City uses another method where you pull a tag on the shelf that has a non-functioning display and you take it to the pickup window. All this is not in reaction to black or minority thieves, it's in reaction to thieves, internal and external, period. So we support terrorists and republicans if we use our own cars, but thieves if we pay for a bus system? We just can't win. Can't someone develop an economically viable mode of transport that runs on the pain of thieves, terrorist, and republicans?
Maybe Monsters, Inc was a clue.. My walgreens doesn't lock up any of these products, though the razords are in clear plastic shelf-boxes that make a very noticable electronic "bing bong" sound when the door is opened to remove a package of razor blades.
Yeah, in some stores, they've switched to a "devil's compromise". Damned if they do, damned if they don't. The yellow dots note Safeways where the liquor is locked behind glass doors, and the red dots show Safeways that lock liquor and wine both. California retailers across the board say shoplifting is on the rise, and many blame the surge on the passage of Prop.
Only top-shelf liquor is locked at the Taraval Safeway. The January Sonoma News article Grand Theft Wine Strikes Sonoma Safeway makes for a very entertaining read, the tale of a fellow who cleverly pilfered dozens of high-end wine bottles from a Sonoma Safeway.
But it also suggests something larger may be afoot. They connect this with the infamous French Laundry wine heist and a counterfeit wine scam that bilked thousands of dollars from victims like William Koch of Koch Brothers fame.
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