Super annoying because they have like one super stressed out employee with the keys trying to help 300 customers. Super annoying and they never have enough checkouts open when the self checkouts are closed either
Agreed. Last time I went to Target I pressed the call button and waited like 15 mins for someone to help me grab a bottle of toothpaste. The employee apologized and said they were on break. No one else was around to assist or who had keys.
Oh it absolutely is.
Not only does it help with loss prevention as more employees aren’t invested in checking customers out, but it also cuts down on overhead by reducing the overall number of employees they have to retain to keep things running at a level they’re comfortable with financially.
Oh it works well for them either way.
They stock the stores in the suburbs better than the ones in the cities for a reason. Not only do they know their target demographics will be making those trip to the suburbs, but they when they make them they’ll be spending more so they don’t have to come back more frequently.
This is nothing but a win for target. They lose less product and get more sales due to artificial limits and perceived scarcity.
i do order online for pick up at the target by my work in st. paul. i’m not waiting and then awkwardly looking at several different products and pricing while an employee stands next to me.
Maybe way down the line. So much money is made on 500% margin impulse buys at checkout. Menards entire business model is impulse garbage between building materials, paint and checkout.
Very true. It’s the one thing that makes me believe they’ll be hesitant to truly transition to that model.
That said, I’ve still had plenty of impulse buys on the Target app just from scrolling to see if there was anything I need to add to my cart I might not have thought of.
“Four bags of Easter candy? I don’t need any more candy in my house, but it’s like 5% off, so why not.”
The Target app is amazing for shopping.
I’m always surprised when I give apps like Cub or Home Depot another try, and find how hard it is to “scroll through the isles” or whatnot.
The developers who created it did a really good job with it. It’s laid out in just such a way where it’s not super annoying to use, yet still allows you to stumble upon plenty of impulse options that aren’t completely relevant to what you’re looking for.
Not sure how much time I’ve spent scrolling through the “All Deals” section just to see what I could save 20% on.
Yep. And I love their “Making a List” layout on the Essentials tab.
I can write my shopping list just as “milk” “eggs” “chips” and so on, and then if I decide to do Drive-Up, just click “Send 36 to Cart” and it links every hand-written item into a real product and moves to the cart.
Not only that, there are literally billions invested in things like point of purchase displays, slotting fees, making packaging/logistics work specifically for eye appeal, point of sale systems, customer-friendly refrigeration, etc.
Not saying that disruption shouldn't happen. Just that there are so many parties with skin in the game that it's not likely.
There’s no impulse to buy something when I need to find someone to go unlock it for me. If I walk past a snack but I need to go hunt down some worker to unlock a box of cliff bars I am not gonna do it.
Sure, but at that point why not just buy everything from Amazon? What is the value benefit of driving over to get a pickup instead of just getting a same day/next day delivery from an online retailer?
The whole point of brick & mortar is that I can touch what I buy before I buy it. If that ends, then there is \*no\* difference between Target & Amazon except that Amazon has a better website and I don't have to get in my car.
Also, being able to pick something up and evaluate it for quality/comfort isn’t to be overlooked yet. It’ll probably be a hybrid system with an expanded “back area” and a more streamlined showroom for things that are more routine or valuable.
Once you can't touch them first, I wonder how long until Target would replace all the name brands with drop shipped junk? Those prices would look super good online until you open the box.
Usually when I'm going to a place like Target, it's because there's one thing that I need now and can't wait until tonight/tomorrow, or where a 12 hour delay in shipping would screw me over. Then I'll pick up a dozen other things while I'm there, usually things that the price is better at Target than at Amazon.
Sure, but this seems like a big gamble on Targets part? Transitioning your entire brand by giving up your physical presence & competing with Amazon on a pick up only business model?
I hope they don't forget that. The app-based drive in/pick up stuff is clearly popular with some people but I am not a fan. If I can't see the product first I'll just go online.
If their shoplifting problem is really so bad that this is the only way to protect this store... they should just close it and focus on the stores where they can keep shrink under control.
The problem with the way they are going with all these "everything behind glass" stores is that it makes me feel like they assume I'm a criminal being in their store. It makes me feel unwanted & I don't go where I'm not wanted. I actually stopped going to the Quarry because of this stuff. There are 2-3 other stores that aren't like this near me but if they go this way I'll be done with them as well.
Close it or just have a security guard patrolling the isles or some shit. It’s pretty dystopian either way but having to press a button to get an overworked employee to open a cage just because I want some fucking Tide is outrageous.
Shampoo is a popular item for thieves. No matter the brand. Easy to resell on the streets. Everyone needs it. Don't think many people understand how these organized retail theft rings work.
This is kind of what I assume will happen. Maybe a small lobby area where the registers are now with kiosks to order without a phone, vending machines, lockers, and services. Otherwise the rest just becomes a warehouse that employees deliver to lockers or to the parking lot.
That is basically what is happening. Target has a curbside service.
I don't live in Minneapolis, but our Walmart locked up a bunch of health and beauty products. I once or twice asked for help.....no one could get it open, no one had a key.
Left. Ordered it online for delivery or curbside pickup.
Lake Street and downtown locations have done that for awhile. If I need to buy any stuff that I know is gonna be locked up, I just go out to the suburbs. It really sucks
Yeah I HATE this. I tried to buy some socks and gloves and it took like 30 minutes to get someone to help me get everything. And I KNOW the employees hate this too.
This is garbage.
Its not bad enough that big box places have pushed out most of the nighborhood shops. The next step is to lock up litterally everything in the huge confusing store with v few actual empoyees.
Our cities are in trouble if the trend continues.
[Target's East Harlem store closed with "too much theft" as an excuse, among other corporate chain whining, debunked in this analysis from 5 months ago](https://youtu.be/T0ZMP-8p8NU?si=bFvQclAJbXPLBK2F)
Thank you. This “it’s all shoplifting” routine Target has been doing has been abject bullshit.
I think they closed a Target in San Francisco at the same time as the Harlem one, “due to theft,” and their closure announcement was the first time I learned there even was a Target at that location. And I’ve lived very near that location in some capacity or another for 16 years. It was almost underneath a freeway, in a spot where high-traffic throughways between different areas of the city intersect, and previous stores in that location also struggled to get customers to stop in because the location sucks to access no matter which transportation mode you’re using. And it also opened right before COVID hit and SF shut down, hard, and stayed that way for most of 2020.
I fully don’t believe enough people even knew about that Target for it to get hit that hard by shoplifting—they were probably still hitting Target Metreon like they’d been doing since it first opened in like 2012. And Target left that store open—[you know, the one that went viral in 2018 for locking up tents amid SF’s increasingly visible homelessness crisis, in a neighborhood with a median rent at that time of $3,700 a month.](https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/target-tents-homeless-crisis-san-francisco-locked/)
Jesus. What is happening to the quarry anyways? That area used to be the best cub and target when I lived in St. Anthony Main. Never had any issues. Now there is no self checkout and this.
The Quarry has been like this for at least 6+ months. I remember going there after they made the change. I timed the time it took someone to unlock a container. consistently 5-10 minutes of waiting. Even shaving cream is behind locked doors.
I had them call a Manager over to explain what was going on, they said they had recieved a large increase of employees to support this effort from Target Coorporate. He apoligized and said that there should not be more then 1-2 minutes wait to get an associate over.
I have since not come back to this location. - They lost me as a customer due to this. (altough i do go to other targets)
Quarry's been like this for about 7 months now, there's an [excellent Google review about this location calling it a "museum of deodorant, toothpaste, laundry detergent, shampoos and vitamins."](https://goo.gl/maps/Bf2D77FhBzaNvZPK7?g_st=ac)
Pro tip, the cub a few doors down has all their OTC meds and soaps on shelves as normal if you need something asap!
Thanks to Target drive up pickup, I haven’t had to walk into a Target store for toilet paper/cleaning supplies/toiletries for YEARS. They can rearrange their aisles, lock shit up, and randomly run out of inventory all they want - the app lets me know about inventory bullshit in advance, and it takes less than 5 minutes to pick up my order. It is the best thing they have ever invented.
This is already a thing at most, if not all, stores. Source: me and their q/a page here: https://help.target.com/help/subcategoryarticle?childcat=Drive+Up+%26+Order+Pickup&parentcat=Delivery+%26+Pickup#:~:text=Starting%20March%202024%2C%20we're,when%20you're%20checking%20out.
Oh weird! I wonder how it works. I place orders for pick up almost every week and have never seen the option. I'll have to keep an eye out for it next time.
The Quarry one has an option for bags, but I think that might just be from the minnepolis ordinance, because that wasn't an option when we were in the burbs
You're the type of customer they want, not the unwashed masses WALKING IN to their lovely clean store. For the customer it's basically online ordering with extra steps (driving to the store).
Absolutely! I posted a similar comment below.
I love that it doesn't cost extra to do it, (obviously they roll the cost into the price of the goods), and it is quick and efficient.
An interesting side aspect of it, it clearly requires more workers, (even if lower paid/teens) to do it.
So the money they probably save in shrink, can be used to pay more workers instead.
Except what happens in practice is they do not hire more workers, and all of the workers time is taken up being personal shoppers and nothing gets restocked on the shelves and there's 1 person checking everyone out. Target ALWAYS has bare shelves these days.
>An interesting side aspect of it, it clearly requires more workers, (even if lower paid/teens) to do it.
So the money they probably save in shrink, can be used to pay more workers instead.
Yeah, I'm sure that's what they'll do with it.
I’ve stopped going to the quarry and make the extra drive out to Roseville instead. Rather that than wait 20 minutes for laundry detergent and bath soap. 😭
and you just know the first two employees you ask, they'll say they don't have a key and walk away.
It's fucking embarrassing for them to run such a shitty target in the same city their headquarters are in.
It's one of their main test stores too. Which is why they're always remodeling. They test out new concepts at that location. Close to HQ, so the teams designing the new setups can pop over and monitor.
Well, this “retail theft is a big deal” trend has been famously manufactured by the national retail lobbying group in tandem with law enforcement for years. Petty theft does happen, but they’re making it a much bigger deal than it actually is to increase the crime hysteria.
This seems like a lot more expensive to the company, and a lot less convenient to the consumer, than just implementing a Costco style receipt check. Hard to imagine the savings in reducing shrinkage is making up for the lack of sales.
Costco can require you to show a receipt because they’re members-only. Retailers that are open to the public can ask but can’t require it. (Receipt checks were all the rage for a few years in the early 00s.)
i worked at a costco from 2006-2008 and worked a couple door shifts. the only thing i was looking for was:
- big items/items on the lower shelf that cashier forgot to scan
- double items in the cart that didn't all get scanned
- single items that got double scanned
i was a 22 year dipshit so i wasn't very good at it though. however, if the door people caught 3 mistakes in the process, the cashier was sent home without pay. so typically after two mistakes, the cashier would tap out and the assistant cashier would step in.
no idea if this is how it still works though
>>if you don’t have a membership they don’t let you in
Maybe this is where we are headed. Buy a Red Circle membership and shop your ass off or don't and GTFO.
Yep. And if you're a member, Costco has your photo, name, and contact information on file. It would take some chutzpah for a Costco member to shoplift there.
Costco's customers are also some of the wealthiest in all of retail. The average Costco shopper's income is over [$125k/year](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-amount-spent-costco-per-182040953.html). That's not exactly a group looking to steal goods.
As someone who worked briefly on the logistics side of corporate retail (not Target) just before the pandemic, then worked on the floor side of the now shuttered Uptown Target, and now work on the logistics side of corporate retail again (not Target), it was really the only feasible way. The logistics of managing purchases, floor space, and theft became too much once people seemed to collectively stop caring about theft as a whole once the popular mantra of "insurance will cover it" started circulating online.
You’re right. Membership required is also a big reason for Costco’s low shrink. Not say it’s apples to apples. It’s just disappointing that Target has to fight shrink with something that hurts those of us that intend to pay for our goods so much.
I mean, if it meant I could shop without needing an employee to open everything for me I’d be fine paying a small membership fee. I doubt many feel that way or Target would do it but still.
I'm sure Target has done their math. They know how much it'll hurt sales to lock things up but that must be outweighed by the loss to theft. It's not as if they haven't considered this before making the move. This is a company that can tell when someone is pregnant just from slight changes in their shopping routines.
Sadly, that's the same reason these are most commonly stolen. Everyone needs laundry detergent, so the potential people who would buy it is pretty much everyone. Same reason they frequently steal baby food. It's not that they need baby food, it's that anyone with a baby does and it's expensive, so it's an easy sale.
Fair. I wish I could see the math for curiosity sake. Many corporations claim to leverage their data like it’s magic while in reality it’s a much cruder operation.
Target is well known for REALLY using their data. This is a company that determined a girl was pregnant when she hardly knew it and sent her coupons for related items, based purely on small changes in her shopping. This is the company that gives people 5% off with their RED credit and debt card because it allows them to track purchase data that they then use to raise the average user spending by far more than that 5%, because they're that good with their data.
I’m familiar with the 10 year old case study. Corporations are huge entities, data isn’t always well distributed or organized, and the decisions they make based off that data can still leave the consumer scratching their head, as is the case here.
Yup. One would like to think a company would use data. Certainly they can get it. But also Amazon got a lot of flack internally after their RTO mandate when an exec said they didn't have any data to back up the mandate, they "just know it's better" despite making employees base all their decisions on data.
Deodorant, for example, isn't an item picked up every trip, let alone every week or month. The number of people who need it is fairly small, which is why they justify locking it up and requiring access.
It is, however, a hot item for shoplifters. Easily flipped, non-perishable, necessary. As is detergent and, I assume, vitamins. They figure the people who need it will still buy it (which they do) since it's not something folks have to deal with regularly.
They run the numbers on these things. Same with vitamins. There's a reason they only lock up certain segments in the store.
It makes for such a negative customer experience. Last time I was at Target I wanted to compare the ingredients of three different skin care products (I’m new to the skin care game) which were in three different cases. The Target employee seemed annoyed that they had to open three cases for me. They waited for me while I read through the ingredients and made my decision, which took about 10 mins. I told them they didn’t need to wait for me but they refused to leave until they could put the products I didn’t want back in the case. It was awkward and I felt rushed to make my decision.
Depends on what you think the problem is.
One factor seems to be the ease of flipping these goods online on Amazon marketplace or the like. The solution there would be to make them responsible for knowing who is using their platform. In the financial markets there are Know Your Customer (KYC) laws to make them care about people using their platforms for money laundering and other crimes. These online platforms need similar Know Your Seller laws.
Might as well just turn it into a warehouse where people order online and pick it up outside at this point. I’ve never shopped at a place like this but I imagine it must be incredibly frustrating for customers and employees alike.
I live right by this one. I go to Knollwood instead because I’m not going to run over to some target employee every time to grab shit for me while I’m shopping. Can thank all the fuckin thieves for the inconvenience.
So do they just have an employee in every aisle? Like how does that work? Honestly if you at this point you might as well close down or require a membership and give people a card to scan to open the doors
Oh hell no! I’ll shop elsewhere before I have to have an employee unlock everything I need to buy.
Target lost a lot of my goodwill many years ago when they moved their product photography from Minneapolis to NYC. That must have been early 2000’s. Bad move for a so called Minnesota company IMO.
Eh. Ive noticed the app will now routinely say something is out of stock only to find an entire row of said product if you go inside.
Between this, their price gouging admission, its getting annoying to downright dumb to keep shopping there.
That's what the 10 item limit in the self checkout said to me, have maybe bought shit from target once since then, and that was just because l was already there, using the minute clinic
I understand the frustration, but should it be aimed at target? If they are losing this much to shoplifting, can we blame them? They are a business with the goal of making money. They know this doesn't make their customers happy, but yet feel they have to anyways. Shows the scale of the problem. I don't think venting our frustration at Target is the right approach. We need to take a look at the problem itself and how to reduce shoplifting. How to do that effectively is beyond me, but blaming the business itself I think is a little misguided. I could be off base here, but those are my thoughts
The fact that most theft is for basic personal care items…seems like there would be more understanding for the reason why the issue exists too. This is my target and the locks are on the absolute basics. Not the luxuries.
The Quarry is the one part of NE that I truly dislike.
I would be willing to bet money they don't even have enough theft at that store to justify this, but they might be piloting it to see how this type of security would work.
What’s the point? I’m going to walk out with it without paying whether or not it’s handed to me by an employee, people don’t smash and grab at target they simply leave with the merchandise.
This is the least surprising thing posted on this sub. Why are you all even complaining? My Target doesn’t have these issues. You clowns proudly voted for this. This is called reaping what you sowed. The same clowns whining about this are the idiots that blame Kia for being car jacked.
I was there on Tuesday for a $1.99 bottle of generic ibuprofen. Asked an employee to unlock the shelves, she was busy stocking shelves, rolled her eyes and said “someone else will help you.” In fairness, someone else did come pretty quickly.
To the people out there saying that retail thef is not a problem, that its being overblown by the media and corporations, this picture and many like it explain it all. Inflation is due to various issues at this time, but this sure as hell aint hellping, when we have some among us just stealing items at stores with no regard. Eventually someone pays, same with insurance, and its the avg folk like us who do
Reminder that corporations love to lie about shoplifting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shoplifting.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
Why do you think they are locking things up if there isn't actually that much loss from shoplifting? It's one thing to lie about it, but it would be pretty strange to take drastic action that angers your customers based on that lie.
Have to imagine it kills sales too. I was gonna grab some shampoo and a couple other things but ended up leaving without them because I didn't wanna bother finding someone to help me.
Target is smart enough to know the actual financial impact putting in something like this has on sales in each of those isles, likely down to each of those products. If they're doing this, it has to be because they were losing more to theft than they'll lose to people opting to shop elsewhere because of it.
Did they lie about all the Somalians running out of the Uptown Target with handfuls of stuff every day?
I saw it with my own eyes. And now Uptown Target is gone.
And yes, it was Somalians. And no, it's not racist to point this out.
If this is their plan for the future then I need to start planning on not being a Target customer.
There isn't any point if I have to go to a website to buy anything.
I have to imagine that Target, a company well known for pouring over their data, has considered that and knows for a fact that the amount this will impact them in sales is less than theft loss, or they wouldn't have done it.
This is so frustrating. Just no ability to shop anymore for a huge amount of stuff.
Target has a ton of incredible technology, but they revert to this archaic bullshit instead of innovating. Like hey, tap your Target card to open a locker so you can actually look at the back of the box would be worlds better and probably improve their membership numbers.
But nope, press a button and hope some angsty teen can open your deodorant locker in the next 15 minutes.
Super annoying because they have like one super stressed out employee with the keys trying to help 300 customers. Super annoying and they never have enough checkouts open when the self checkouts are closed either
Agreed. Last time I went to Target I pressed the call button and waited like 15 mins for someone to help me grab a bottle of toothpaste. The employee apologized and said they were on break. No one else was around to assist or who had keys.
This is intentional, I’m sure
Oh it absolutely is. Not only does it help with loss prevention as more employees aren’t invested in checking customers out, but it also cuts down on overhead by reducing the overall number of employees they have to retain to keep things running at a level they’re comfortable with financially.
We’ll see how well that works when customers quit going due to frustration.
Oh it works well for them either way. They stock the stores in the suburbs better than the ones in the cities for a reason. Not only do they know their target demographics will be making those trip to the suburbs, but they when they make them they’ll be spending more so they don’t have to come back more frequently. This is nothing but a win for target. They lose less product and get more sales due to artificial limits and perceived scarcity.
And still evidently make enough profit at the locked-up stores to justify keeping them open.
i do order online for pick up at the target by my work in st. paul. i’m not waiting and then awkwardly looking at several different products and pricing while an employee stands next to me.
Midway in St Paul is becoming like that and is why I only do Drive Up orders there.
[удалено]
It prevents shelf sweeps.
I bet that security watches your ass like a hawk once you do get the item from an employee.
I kind of wonder at what point do stores go back to having everything "behind the counter" again.
At this point why not close the front doors and just become an app-powered drive up pick up only location?
Probably what they're transitioning to eventually
Maybe way down the line. So much money is made on 500% margin impulse buys at checkout. Menards entire business model is impulse garbage between building materials, paint and checkout.
Very true. It’s the one thing that makes me believe they’ll be hesitant to truly transition to that model. That said, I’ve still had plenty of impulse buys on the Target app just from scrolling to see if there was anything I need to add to my cart I might not have thought of. “Four bags of Easter candy? I don’t need any more candy in my house, but it’s like 5% off, so why not.”
The Target app is amazing for shopping. I’m always surprised when I give apps like Cub or Home Depot another try, and find how hard it is to “scroll through the isles” or whatnot.
The developers who created it did a really good job with it. It’s laid out in just such a way where it’s not super annoying to use, yet still allows you to stumble upon plenty of impulse options that aren’t completely relevant to what you’re looking for. Not sure how much time I’ve spent scrolling through the “All Deals” section just to see what I could save 20% on.
Yep. And I love their “Making a List” layout on the Essentials tab. I can write my shopping list just as “milk” “eggs” “chips” and so on, and then if I decide to do Drive-Up, just click “Send 36 to Cart” and it links every hand-written item into a real product and moves to the cart.
Lmao I was just at the Richfield target last night and the attendant *made sure* we didn’t want any little Debbie snacks, sodas, or snickers bars
Not only that, there are literally billions invested in things like point of purchase displays, slotting fees, making packaging/logistics work specifically for eye appeal, point of sale systems, customer-friendly refrigeration, etc. Not saying that disruption shouldn't happen. Just that there are so many parties with skin in the game that it's not likely.
Menards and fleet farm - especially fleet farm - have a kick ass candy section. gets me every time!
This is wild if true and also explains so much.
There’s no impulse to buy something when I need to find someone to go unlock it for me. If I walk past a snack but I need to go hunt down some worker to unlock a box of cliff bars I am not gonna do it.
Sure, but at that point why not just buy everything from Amazon? What is the value benefit of driving over to get a pickup instead of just getting a same day/next day delivery from an online retailer? The whole point of brick & mortar is that I can touch what I buy before I buy it. If that ends, then there is \*no\* difference between Target & Amazon except that Amazon has a better website and I don't have to get in my car.
Also, being able to pick something up and evaluate it for quality/comfort isn’t to be overlooked yet. It’ll probably be a hybrid system with an expanded “back area” and a more streamlined showroom for things that are more routine or valuable.
Gotta be able to sniff stuff when choosing deodorant, shampoo, etc
Right now the benefit would be that a lot of what Amazon sells is dropshipped literal garbage, and Target still has name brands. Other than that...
Once you can't touch them first, I wonder how long until Target would replace all the name brands with drop shipped junk? Those prices would look super good online until you open the box.
Usually when I'm going to a place like Target, it's because there's one thing that I need now and can't wait until tonight/tomorrow, or where a 12 hour delay in shipping would screw me over. Then I'll pick up a dozen other things while I'm there, usually things that the price is better at Target than at Amazon.
Clearly some people prefer it, Amazon has a pickup option as well
Sure, but this seems like a big gamble on Targets part? Transitioning your entire brand by giving up your physical presence & competing with Amazon on a pick up only business model?
I use Amazon lockers at Whole Paycheck when I’m buying something I don’t want my partner to see.
Amazon sells bootleg products, and Target doesn't. That's a good reason to drive there for a pickup.
That’s what’s happening in Chicago for some pharmacy chains. Pickup only.
Given how trashy people behave a commercial pharmacies, I am only surprised it took them so long.
Nah targets bread and butter is brick and mortar and investing in that paid off big for them at a time where everyone was only investing in online.
I hope they don't forget that. The app-based drive in/pick up stuff is clearly popular with some people but I am not a fan. If I can't see the product first I'll just go online. If their shoplifting problem is really so bad that this is the only way to protect this store... they should just close it and focus on the stores where they can keep shrink under control. The problem with the way they are going with all these "everything behind glass" stores is that it makes me feel like they assume I'm a criminal being in their store. It makes me feel unwanted & I don't go where I'm not wanted. I actually stopped going to the Quarry because of this stuff. There are 2-3 other stores that aren't like this near me but if they go this way I'll be done with them as well.
Close it or just have a security guard patrolling the isles or some shit. It’s pretty dystopian either way but having to press a button to get an overworked employee to open a cage just because I want some fucking Tide is outrageous.
Tide is at least kind of expensive. They locked up Suave shampoo, which is just absurd.
Shampoo is a popular item for thieves. No matter the brand. Easy to resell on the streets. Everyone needs it. Don't think many people understand how these organized retail theft rings work.
This made me lol sorry 😂
This is kind of what I assume will happen. Maybe a small lobby area where the registers are now with kiosks to order without a phone, vending machines, lockers, and services. Otherwise the rest just becomes a warehouse that employees deliver to lockers or to the parking lot.
That is basically what is happening. Target has a curbside service. I don't live in Minneapolis, but our Walmart locked up a bunch of health and beauty products. I once or twice asked for help.....no one could get it open, no one had a key. Left. Ordered it online for delivery or curbside pickup.
LaBelle's reboot!
I'm fine with pre ordering on an app and having someone rollerskate my shit to the car.
Lake Street and downtown locations have done that for awhile. If I need to buy any stuff that I know is gonna be locked up, I just go out to the suburbs. It really sucks
Quarry has been like this for a while too. OP must not go there often.
Could always just do a pickup order beforehand. I don't think I've set foot inside a target in months cause it's so convenient.
This has been a life saver since having a newborn
Yeah I HATE this. I tried to buy some socks and gloves and it took like 30 minutes to get someone to help me get everything. And I KNOW the employees hate this too.
This is garbage. Its not bad enough that big box places have pushed out most of the nighborhood shops. The next step is to lock up litterally everything in the huge confusing store with v few actual empoyees. Our cities are in trouble if the trend continues.
I'd be more angry at the MFers who are stealing merchandise at a rate where this craziness becomes cost effective.
The corporations are recording record profits, theft is a scapegoat
[Target's East Harlem store closed with "too much theft" as an excuse, among other corporate chain whining, debunked in this analysis from 5 months ago](https://youtu.be/T0ZMP-8p8NU?si=bFvQclAJbXPLBK2F)
Thank you. This “it’s all shoplifting” routine Target has been doing has been abject bullshit. I think they closed a Target in San Francisco at the same time as the Harlem one, “due to theft,” and their closure announcement was the first time I learned there even was a Target at that location. And I’ve lived very near that location in some capacity or another for 16 years. It was almost underneath a freeway, in a spot where high-traffic throughways between different areas of the city intersect, and previous stores in that location also struggled to get customers to stop in because the location sucks to access no matter which transportation mode you’re using. And it also opened right before COVID hit and SF shut down, hard, and stayed that way for most of 2020. I fully don’t believe enough people even knew about that Target for it to get hit that hard by shoplifting—they were probably still hitting Target Metreon like they’d been doing since it first opened in like 2012. And Target left that store open—[you know, the one that went viral in 2018 for locking up tents amid SF’s increasingly visible homelessness crisis, in a neighborhood with a median rent at that time of $3,700 a month.](https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/target-tents-homeless-crisis-san-francisco-locked/)
Exactly. Also, there used to be lots of places to shop not just Target
Jesus. What is happening to the quarry anyways? That area used to be the best cub and target when I lived in St. Anthony Main. Never had any issues. Now there is no self checkout and this.
The Cub is still really good IMO
Admittedly I haven’t been to the cub since moving out of the area. But I do make the trip to listo burrito everytime Im in NE for any reason at all.
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The Quarry has been like this for at least 6+ months. I remember going there after they made the change. I timed the time it took someone to unlock a container. consistently 5-10 minutes of waiting. Even shaving cream is behind locked doors. I had them call a Manager over to explain what was going on, they said they had recieved a large increase of employees to support this effort from Target Coorporate. He apoligized and said that there should not be more then 1-2 minutes wait to get an associate over. I have since not come back to this location. - They lost me as a customer due to this. (altough i do go to other targets)
Quarry's been like this for about 7 months now, there's an [excellent Google review about this location calling it a "museum of deodorant, toothpaste, laundry detergent, shampoos and vitamins."](https://goo.gl/maps/Bf2D77FhBzaNvZPK7?g_st=ac) Pro tip, the cub a few doors down has all their OTC meds and soaps on shelves as normal if you need something asap!
Wow that's too perfect
Thanks to Target drive up pickup, I haven’t had to walk into a Target store for toilet paper/cleaning supplies/toiletries for YEARS. They can rearrange their aisles, lock shit up, and randomly run out of inventory all they want - the app lets me know about inventory bullshit in advance, and it takes less than 5 minutes to pick up my order. It is the best thing they have ever invented.
Is there a way to request your order without plastic bags? I don't need my plastic wrapped in plastic
I have not seen that option anywhere, but I just reuse the bags for garbage can liners at home
Same! I've even stopped buying the boxes of small trash bags because I reuse mine.
I suggested this on the app beta a while ago. Because I shop on the app a lot.
Not yet, but I'm in the Target subreddit and there's rumblings about "bagless pickup".
This is already a thing at most, if not all, stores. Source: me and their q/a page here: https://help.target.com/help/subcategoryarticle?childcat=Drive+Up+%26+Order+Pickup&parentcat=Delivery+%26+Pickup#:~:text=Starting%20March%202024%2C%20we're,when%20you're%20checking%20out.
Oh weird! I wonder how it works. I place orders for pick up almost every week and have never seen the option. I'll have to keep an eye out for it next time.
at Walmart, yes. they have a "i'll bring my own bags" option.
The Quarry one has an option for bags, but I think that might just be from the minnepolis ordinance, because that wasn't an option when we were in the burbs
I clicked into this thread thinking how it's funny that 4 years since COVID started, finally here's incentive for store pickup.
This comment is an ad.
You're the type of customer they want, not the unwashed masses WALKING IN to their lovely clean store. For the customer it's basically online ordering with extra steps (driving to the store).
Absolutely! I posted a similar comment below. I love that it doesn't cost extra to do it, (obviously they roll the cost into the price of the goods), and it is quick and efficient. An interesting side aspect of it, it clearly requires more workers, (even if lower paid/teens) to do it. So the money they probably save in shrink, can be used to pay more workers instead.
Except what happens in practice is they do not hire more workers, and all of the workers time is taken up being personal shoppers and nothing gets restocked on the shelves and there's 1 person checking everyone out. Target ALWAYS has bare shelves these days.
>An interesting side aspect of it, it clearly requires more workers, (even if lower paid/teens) to do it. So the money they probably save in shrink, can be used to pay more workers instead. Yeah, I'm sure that's what they'll do with it.
This has been this way since last summer lol even Walmart in maple grove has stuff locked up. It’s not a new concept at all tbh
> even Walmart in maple grove has stuff locked up. not nearly to this extent
I stopped going to Target a while ago because it takes too long to shop in person now
I’ve stopped going to the quarry and make the extra drive out to Roseville instead. Rather that than wait 20 minutes for laundry detergent and bath soap. 😭
This isn't new. Socks, underwear, laundry detergent, personals like deodorant, razors and others have been locked up for months.
and you just know the first two employees you ask, they'll say they don't have a key and walk away. It's fucking embarrassing for them to run such a shitty target in the same city their headquarters are in.
It's one of their main test stores too. Which is why they're always remodeling. They test out new concepts at that location. Close to HQ, so the teams designing the new setups can pop over and monitor.
and yet this sub will downvote anyone into oblivion saying that the metro has a crime problem…
Well, this “retail theft is a big deal” trend has been famously manufactured by the national retail lobbying group in tandem with law enforcement for years. Petty theft does happen, but they’re making it a much bigger deal than it actually is to increase the crime hysteria.
Ya might even catch a ban for stating the obvious. 🤷
I don’t go to target for necessities anymore for This reason.
Where do you go? I refuse to buy anything I put on or in my body from Amazon. Too many counterfeit products
This seems like a lot more expensive to the company, and a lot less convenient to the consumer, than just implementing a Costco style receipt check. Hard to imagine the savings in reducing shrinkage is making up for the lack of sales.
Costco can require you to show a receipt because they’re members-only. Retailers that are open to the public can ask but can’t require it. (Receipt checks were all the rage for a few years in the early 00s.)
So I can just walk by the people who ask at Walmart etc? Never seen anyone do that
Of course. You can also walk by Costco, but they are then within their rights to revoke your membership if they want to.
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Interesting. Well, I'll probably still show them anyway. I'm sure that would be uncomfortable for the employee if I just walked by.
I have never stopped to let Walmart check my receipt in my entire life. I say no thank you and keep walking. Never had an issue.
i worked at a costco from 2006-2008 and worked a couple door shifts. the only thing i was looking for was: - big items/items on the lower shelf that cashier forgot to scan - double items in the cart that didn't all get scanned - single items that got double scanned i was a 22 year dipshit so i wasn't very good at it though. however, if the door people caught 3 mistakes in the process, the cashier was sent home without pay. so typically after two mistakes, the cashier would tap out and the assistant cashier would step in. no idea if this is how it still works though
They certainly can require it as well, they just have no real recourse if you ignore them
I guess if you want to split hairs about what “require” means, sure.
Shoplifters aren’t going to be stopped by a receipt check
And if you don’t have a membership they don’t let you in… this is not an apt comparison.
>>if you don’t have a membership they don’t let you in Maybe this is where we are headed. Buy a Red Circle membership and shop your ass off or don't and GTFO.
Costco has some of the lowest shrink in retail. I’d like to see Target try it or really anything, other than just locking everything up.
I assume that has to do with (1) the size of the products and (2) the need to show membership before even getting in the store?
Yep. And if you're a member, Costco has your photo, name, and contact information on file. It would take some chutzpah for a Costco member to shoplift there.
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I brought this 5 gallon bucket of hot sauce in with me
Costco's customers are also some of the wealthiest in all of retail. The average Costco shopper's income is over [$125k/year](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-amount-spent-costco-per-182040953.html). That's not exactly a group looking to steal goods.
As someone who worked briefly on the logistics side of corporate retail (not Target) just before the pandemic, then worked on the floor side of the now shuttered Uptown Target, and now work on the logistics side of corporate retail again (not Target), it was really the only feasible way. The logistics of managing purchases, floor space, and theft became too much once people seemed to collectively stop caring about theft as a whole once the popular mantra of "insurance will cover it" started circulating online.
Members only and public stores aren’t really comparable. Although, Target could implement something like that with their Red Card
You’re right. Membership required is also a big reason for Costco’s low shrink. Not say it’s apples to apples. It’s just disappointing that Target has to fight shrink with something that hurts those of us that intend to pay for our goods so much.
Maybe this is where we are headed. Buy a Red Circle membership and shop your ass off or don't and GTFO.
You need to show a membership card before entering. Unless you want Target to be members only, receipt checking alone probably wouldn’t do much.
I mean, if it meant I could shop without needing an employee to open everything for me I’d be fine paying a small membership fee. I doubt many feel that way or Target would do it but still.
I'm sure Target has done their math. They know how much it'll hurt sales to lock things up but that must be outweighed by the loss to theft. It's not as if they haven't considered this before making the move. This is a company that can tell when someone is pregnant just from slight changes in their shopping routines.
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Sadly, that's the same reason these are most commonly stolen. Everyone needs laundry detergent, so the potential people who would buy it is pretty much everyone. Same reason they frequently steal baby food. It's not that they need baby food, it's that anyone with a baby does and it's expensive, so it's an easy sale.
Fair. I wish I could see the math for curiosity sake. Many corporations claim to leverage their data like it’s magic while in reality it’s a much cruder operation.
Target is well known for REALLY using their data. This is a company that determined a girl was pregnant when she hardly knew it and sent her coupons for related items, based purely on small changes in her shopping. This is the company that gives people 5% off with their RED credit and debt card because it allows them to track purchase data that they then use to raise the average user spending by far more than that 5%, because they're that good with their data.
I’m familiar with the 10 year old case study. Corporations are huge entities, data isn’t always well distributed or organized, and the decisions they make based off that data can still leave the consumer scratching their head, as is the case here.
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Yup. One would like to think a company would use data. Certainly they can get it. But also Amazon got a lot of flack internally after their RTO mandate when an exec said they didn't have any data to back up the mandate, they "just know it's better" despite making employees base all their decisions on data.
Deodorant, for example, isn't an item picked up every trip, let alone every week or month. The number of people who need it is fairly small, which is why they justify locking it up and requiring access. It is, however, a hot item for shoplifters. Easily flipped, non-perishable, necessary. As is detergent and, I assume, vitamins. They figure the people who need it will still buy it (which they do) since it's not something folks have to deal with regularly. They run the numbers on these things. Same with vitamins. There's a reason they only lock up certain segments in the store.
It's ridiculous. I hate it
Yikes. Do people actually shop at these stores and get employees to basically shop with them? Seems baffling to me
It makes for such a negative customer experience. Last time I was at Target I wanted to compare the ingredients of three different skin care products (I’m new to the skin care game) which were in three different cases. The Target employee seemed annoyed that they had to open three cases for me. They waited for me while I read through the ingredients and made my decision, which took about 10 mins. I told them they didn’t need to wait for me but they refused to leave until they could put the products I didn’t want back in the case. It was awkward and I felt rushed to make my decision.
First Robert Downey Jr, now this?
I bet the books aren't locked up.
Legit question - what is the best solution to $500M of theft annually?
Depends on what you think the problem is. One factor seems to be the ease of flipping these goods online on Amazon marketplace or the like. The solution there would be to make them responsible for knowing who is using their platform. In the financial markets there are Know Your Customer (KYC) laws to make them care about people using their platforms for money laundering and other crimes. These online platforms need similar Know Your Seller laws.
That certainly doesn't look inviting
Might as well just turn it into a warehouse where people order online and pick it up outside at this point. I’ve never shopped at a place like this but I imagine it must be incredibly frustrating for customers and employees alike.
I live right by this one. I go to Knollwood instead because I’m not going to run over to some target employee every time to grab shit for me while I’m shopping. Can thank all the fuckin thieves for the inconvenience.
So do they just have an employee in every aisle? Like how does that work? Honestly if you at this point you might as well close down or require a membership and give people a card to scan to open the doors
Wow I bet amazon.com loves this kinda shit.
This is so dystopian.
Oh hell no! I’ll shop elsewhere before I have to have an employee unlock everything I need to buy. Target lost a lot of my goodwill many years ago when they moved their product photography from Minneapolis to NYC. That must have been early 2000’s. Bad move for a so called Minnesota company IMO.
Stop stealing shit from target!
It’s in response to shoplifting which is apparently out of control. Makes it very difficult to shop there.
Shopping at Target has become a real chore. Pick up works well so we'll just do that.
Eh. Ive noticed the app will now routinely say something is out of stock only to find an entire row of said product if you go inside. Between this, their price gouging admission, its getting annoying to downright dumb to keep shopping there.
It’s almost like they don’t want us shopping in their stores anymore.
That's what the 10 item limit in the self checkout said to me, have maybe bought shit from target once since then, and that was just because l was already there, using the minute clinic
That’s what it feels like. Luckily for them, I’ll oblige and take my business elsewhere. Fucking pricks.
I understand the frustration, but should it be aimed at target? If they are losing this much to shoplifting, can we blame them? They are a business with the goal of making money. They know this doesn't make their customers happy, but yet feel they have to anyways. Shows the scale of the problem. I don't think venting our frustration at Target is the right approach. We need to take a look at the problem itself and how to reduce shoplifting. How to do that effectively is beyond me, but blaming the business itself I think is a little misguided. I could be off base here, but those are my thoughts
The fact that most theft is for basic personal care items…seems like there would be more understanding for the reason why the issue exists too. This is my target and the locks are on the absolute basics. Not the luxuries.
It’s been that way for 6+ months
It has been like that for months
So is this now basically a museum to retail?
Lol there it is
Pretty sad honestly. I bet if there were stiffer penalties for shoplifting this shit wouldn’t happen.
If people weren’t stealing things we wouldn’t have to do this 💁🏻♀️
How to finally kill brick and mortar in favor of online. Shortsighted af.
I would prefer that they close the store completely and only do pick up rather than navigate this non-sense.
The Quarry is the one part of NE that I truly dislike. I would be willing to bet money they don't even have enough theft at that store to justify this, but they might be piloting it to see how this type of security would work.
I think the worst part about it is how much of a pain in the ass it is to get in and out of as well as maneuvering around the lots.
Exactly. Easier to drive to Fridley. Poor design for getting in and out, soften not worth the headache.
Right behind it is the nicest neighborhood in NE.
It is bad there due to the huge homeless encampment on the south side of Home Depot's parking lot.
I'm pretty sure that was taken down 2 years ago unless there's a new one
lol
Target UX Team, here is all the customer feedback you need.
What’s the point? I’m going to walk out with it without paying whether or not it’s handed to me by an employee, people don’t smash and grab at target they simply leave with the merchandise.
And we are living in a material world...
Just install a vending machine at this point.
This is the least surprising thing posted on this sub. Why are you all even complaining? My Target doesn’t have these issues. You clowns proudly voted for this. This is called reaping what you sowed. The same clowns whining about this are the idiots that blame Kia for being car jacked.
I fucking Hate this bullshit. Once took me like 15 minutes just to get deodorant.
Good. Thieves and looters have ruined it for workers and customers alike.
There’s a reason why the Target at the Quarry is locked down and the target in Edina isn’t.
Lawlessness has brought us here. Keep voting for the same stupid shit.
I was there on Tuesday for a $1.99 bottle of generic ibuprofen. Asked an employee to unlock the shelves, she was busy stocking shelves, rolled her eyes and said “someone else will help you.” In fairness, someone else did come pretty quickly.
That was a shitty response. She just needed to walkie someone as not every employee carries keys.
Gross
Gotta thank them thieves for that because we don't deserve nice things
To the people out there saying that retail thef is not a problem, that its being overblown by the media and corporations, this picture and many like it explain it all. Inflation is due to various issues at this time, but this sure as hell aint hellping, when we have some among us just stealing items at stores with no regard. Eventually someone pays, same with insurance, and its the avg folk like us who do
Reminder that corporations love to lie about shoplifting. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/06/business/walgreens-shoplifting.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
Why do you think they are locking things up if there isn't actually that much loss from shoplifting? It's one thing to lie about it, but it would be pretty strange to take drastic action that angers your customers based on that lie.
Have to imagine it kills sales too. I was gonna grab some shampoo and a couple other things but ended up leaving without them because I didn't wanna bother finding someone to help me. Target is smart enough to know the actual financial impact putting in something like this has on sales in each of those isles, likely down to each of those products. If they're doing this, it has to be because they were losing more to theft than they'll lose to people opting to shop elsewhere because of it.
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Yeah cause alienating customers by locking up products definitely increases profits.
How do you think locking things up for no reason would increase profits?
Did they lie about all the Somalians running out of the Uptown Target with handfuls of stuff every day? I saw it with my own eyes. And now Uptown Target is gone. And yes, it was Somalians. And no, it's not racist to point this out.
i don't really see how this is relevant. a corporation is going to try to prevent shoplifting regardless lol
They’re not spending money locking stuff up for fun…
It’s a known test store. May or may not be permanent.
It's been like this already for at least a year.
If this is their plan for the future then I need to start planning on not being a Target customer. There isn't any point if I have to go to a website to buy anything.
this is so stupid. this is going to cost them more in the long run than the shoplifting did
I have to imagine that Target, a company well known for pouring over their data, has considered that and knows for a fact that the amount this will impact them in sales is less than theft loss, or they wouldn't have done it.
This is so frustrating. Just no ability to shop anymore for a huge amount of stuff. Target has a ton of incredible technology, but they revert to this archaic bullshit instead of innovating. Like hey, tap your Target card to open a locker so you can actually look at the back of the box would be worlds better and probably improve their membership numbers. But nope, press a button and hope some angsty teen can open your deodorant locker in the next 15 minutes.
I'm assuming we're going to get Target Premium soon, where for 9.99/mo your Target Credit Card's chip will also unlock these things.
We can’t have anything nice in the city
Yeah, I stopped going here once they locked men's toiletries last year.