My husband and I went to Target for some casual shopping after 8 PM.
As soon as we walked in, we noticed a woman pushing a cart full of items. My husband commented, “She’s going to leave.” Sure enough, she exited through the front door, passing right by the cashier without any issues.
While we were in the men’s clothing aisle, we heard the emergency exit door shut, which set off the alarm—an obvious sign that someone had left with unpaid items. A Target employee quickly deactivated the alarm.
In the kitchen aisle, we spotted a couple in a rush who grabbed a large box containing a blender. My husband remarked, “They’ll be out too.” Moments later, the emergency door alarm went off again.
During our 30 minutes of shopping, we heard a total of seven alarms, plus the first woman who walked out. That adds up to eight potential shoplifting incidents.
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, Target has locked up essential items for understandable reasons, which is concerning given that some people can’t even afford socks. On the other hand, I don’t want this kind of behavior to become normalized, as it could negatively impact small businesses. It’s quite disheartening.
It’s wild how normal this kind of thing has become.
A friend of mine once genuinely forgot to pay for an item at the Walmart self-checkout, and they immediately caught him—cops and all. They didn’t believe it was an honest mistake, so he ended up having to appear before a judge, even though he hadn’t even left the store. I get that they can’t always have cops around, but when they are, they don’t mess around!
Has anyone else noticed how awful in-person shopping has become? It feels like they’re always out of stock on what you need, even if their website says they have it. And when you manage to find an employee, they usually don’t know either. You end up visiting three different stores, wasting tons of time. It seems like they really just want you to order online and pick it up in-store, probably to help prevent shoplifting. Right now, they push online orders with exclusive coupons, but I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually, it’s the only way to shop.
I was at Target on Sunday and saw a couple stuffing their backpacks with items and casually walking out without any problems. I guess it’s just tolerated now.
The reason businesses don’t allow employees to intervene is to prioritize their safety. I once saw a guy run out of a Target store with a microwave. I informed the security guard, and all he said was, “OK, we’ll check the cameras.” He didn’t do anything more because he’s not allowed to stop people. It makes me wonder why they even have security guards.