‘Ordered from Amazon instead,’ says Walmart shopper leaving over ‘underwear policy’ – they walked out on the spot

A WALMART shopper revealed the final straw that had them leaving the store without buying anything and why they turned to Amazon instead.

Like several other retailers , Walmart has turned to using multiple anti-theft measures to stop crime .

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Theft has cost the retail industry billions in losses year after year, prompting companies to resort to locking up items behind glass.

However, shoppers have frequently criticized this method, saying it makes it harder to make a quick and simple purchase.

Items locked behind anti-theft glass can be anything from electronics to shampoos to even intimate products such as undergarments.

The cases are made of clear plastic or glass and can only be opened by an employee with a key or a code.

Because of this, customers have to flag down a worker and wait for them to get the items.

One shopper said they left the store after having this experience.

“I walked out of Walmart here in Tucson, Arizona when I saw they had men’s underwear locked up behind glass,” wrote user @ShotokuTech on X , formerly known as Twitter.

“We [went] home and ordered from Amazon instead.”

The user was responding to a video , showing a store aisle that had dozens of cereal boxes locked behind anti-theft glass.

“We should be locking up criminals, not our food,” wrote one person.

“It’s ridiculous that you can’t even look at the ingredients in a box of cereal,” wrote another person.

A third person said it was a sad sight but a business has to make a profit to survive.

“Can’t make profits if half your inventory is being wiped out from theft,” they wrote.

THEFT CRISIS

Retail theft cost stores more than $121 billion in losses in 2023, according to a study by Capital One .

However, by 2026, that number is expected to jump to about $150 billion.

But that hasn’t stopped shoppers from expressing their frustration with constant anti-theft measures.

US stores that lock shelves to combat theft

Retailers have started to lock shelves to combat rising theft.

• Walmart
• Target
• Walgreens
• CVS
• Duane Reade
• Rite Aid
• Dollar Tree
• The Home Depot
• Sephora

“Honestly I think it’s a pretty fun new game to go to Walmart and see another thing locked behind glass that I’m now just gonna buy from Amazon,” wrote one person.

“Gotta be losing way more money from making the experience miserable than whatever fake numbers from shoplifting.”

In a 2022 interview with CNBC , Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said shoplifting could increase not just security policies at stores but also store prices.

“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it historically has been,” he said.

“We’ve got safety measures, security measures that we’ve put in place by store location…if [shoplifting] isn’t corrected over time, prices will be higher and/or stores will close.”

In addition to using plexiglass to prevent theft, major retailers have begun implementing new checkout policies .

Walmart previously announced they would be removing self-checkout registers from some locations .

“We continually look at ways to provide our customers with the best shopping experience and that includes adjusting the checkout area in stores,” Walmart spokesperson Josh Havens told Business Insider last year.

Customers complained about the change online, with one shopper even going as far as to say the retailer was “trash” for closing most of their self-scan lines .

Another shopper shared their frustrations with Walmart after having to ask an employee to unlock a product that was only $1 .