WALMART customers who found cheap toys locked up in their nearest store have accused the company of “overkill.”
One shopper was baffled to find the store’s entire collection of Funko Pops sealed behind a protective display.
A Walmart store[/caption]
One Walmart shopper found Funko Pops locked up at their nearest store[/caption]
Taking to Reddit, the customer shared a picture of the display, writing a post titled simply, “Seriously Walmart.”
They wrote underneath: “My local Walmart recently did this with the Funko Display… I mean I kind of get it but what!?”
Another customer gave a justification for Walmart‘s policy.
They explained how despite living in one of the wealthiest parts of the US, retail theft of Funko Pops was still common.
“We NEED this,” they wrote. “Funkos are annihilated at every store. Wealth doesn’t negate kleptomania – or just being a general **s, smashing boxes around.”
Another wrote: “If people would stop being fools, things like this wouldn’t have to happen. This is not on the company.”
But another Reddit user added: “They’ll likely lose a lot of sales because people hate to wait for an employee to open that up, but they’ll stop some theft and make some patient collectors happy with boxes in better shape.”
Yet another Reddit user bemoaned the general trend of locking up products in stores across the US.
“Eventually they are gonna lock up all products,” they wrote. “I live in a small rural town and even our car air fresheners are locked up. Rather sad nowadays.”
And others accused big stores of overkill in their response to retail theft.
“Stopped shopping at my local Target after they put most of the toiletries behind glass,” they wrote.
“I am not waiting four minutes for toothpaste again.
“It makes sense for Legos to be behind glass, but $3 tubes of toothpaste and something as cheap as Funkos is overkill.”
KEY INSIGHTS: Locked Up Items
In Novmber 2023, WSL Strategic Retail surveyed shoppers about the use of theft-proof cabinets for its How America Shops report.
Here are the key findings:
- 70% of shoppers had faced locked-up goods when hoping to purchase an item.
- 78% of these shoppers said they got help from an employee and waited to buy a product though this number dropped for customers under the age of 26.
- 12% of shoppers said they refused to buy the product and many went online or to another store instead.
- Meanwhile, 10% said they bought a similar product that was readily available in the same store. Again, among Gen Z customers there was a difference with 19% of them saying they did this.
Why did 22% of customers not wait for assistance?
- The majority wanted to avoid the additional hassle.
- Many were unable to find a store associate and those that did said the employee had trouble opening the cabinet.
- One-third were angry about the fact the products were locked up
- One quarter said they did not have the time to wait for assistance.
Source: WSL Strategic Retail
They are the latest shoppers to hit out at major retailers for locking up merchandise.
Recently, one Walmart shopper walked out after being told they had to wait to buy a computer game.
The customer arrived at the grocery store at 6 am to buy a video game.
To their astonishment, they claimed a Walmart staffer told him to return at 8am when the department opens.
“I promptly pushed my entire full cart in the aisle and walked out,” he claimed.
Locked-up merchandise isn’t the only issue plaguing some shoppers.
Recently, a Walmart customer had to go through three receipt checks when trying to buy some common household items.
The U.S. Sun has approached Walmart for comment.
