In a drastic move to deal with constant theft, a CVS pharmacy in Washington, DC has put up framed photos of items like toilet paper and kitchen towels instead of the real products.
To buy anything, customers must press a button to have staff bring out the items from a secure area.
“This is how we live in America now?” questioned conservative commentator Joey Mannarino, who drew attention to the situation by sharing images of the store.
Mannarino compared America’s retail plight to his recent experience abroad, stating, “I was in Barcelona, Spain a few months ago and saw Mac laptops sitting out in the middle of the store.”
This dramatic step comes just after a gang of up to fifty teens looted the same CVS location.
Fox 5 reporter Sierra Fox said, “When you walk into this CVS, you’d think the store is closing because there’s barely anything on the shelves.”
She pointed out that a single security guard was no match for the large group of young thieves.
It’s not just one store that’s affected.
CVS plans to close 900 stores across the US by the end of 2024, shifting much of its business online to avoid theft.
This plan is part of a broader issue that’s affecting retailers nationwide.
According to the National Retail Federation, shoplifting is costing the industry a staggering $112 billion a year.
Moreover, the CVS strategy follows a tragic event: the killing of store manager Michael Jacobs in Arizona last September by someone accused of shoplifting.
CVS isn’t alone in its struggles.
Other pharmacy chains like Rite Aid and Walgreens are also closing down stores—more than 1,500 combined in the near future.
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Rite Aid has even filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month, losing millions in stolen merchandise and facing numerous lawsuits linked to the opioid crisis.
Data from CapitalOne Research and analysts at UBS paint a grim picture: U.S. stores lost an estimated $86.6 billion to theft in 2022, and as many as 50,000 stores might close in the next five years due to theft and the rise of online shopping.
Big-box retailer Target is another casualty of this shoplifting wave, announcing last month that it will close nine stores in cities including Oakland, New York, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland.
“We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all,” the company said in a statement.
These closures and anti-theft strategies are causing people to ask bigger questions about community safety, law enforcement, and what these challenges say about American society.
With projected losses possibly topping $115 billion by 2025, the urgency to address these issues is clear.
