the shoplifting tantrum was a press operation to make older white americans terrified via breathless media reporting in order to achieve electoral goals. with those goals achieved, they're winding it down. this entire shoplifting panic has been a social experiment, thank you for your participation - ThreadSky

theturtleman.bsky.social • 126 days ago

the shoplifting tantrum was a press operation to make older white americans terrified via breathless media reporting in order to achieve electoral goals. with those goals achieved, they're winding it down. this entire shoplifting panic has been a social experiment, thank you for your participation

Reposted from Matt T. Wood

Is this satire

fortune.com/2025/01/14/w...

Comments

howdoipants.bsky.social•126 days ago

Hey dont rule out that they also made a scapegoat boogie man to explain decreasing profits and raising expenses instead of analyzing management's compensation in context it's failure to keep pace with a changing market. They worked on layers.

lastbutnotleast.bsky.social•126 days ago

All you have to do is scratch Target's earnings to see that retail theft wasn't the problem. As Americans spent less and less discretionary $, Target increased the amount of pillows and whatnots in stores. But instead of copping to bad strategy, they screamed "theft." Also too many stores.

lastbutnotleast.bsky.social•126 days ago

Here in Manhattan, they had a gigantic location in East Harlem...nowhere near a subway that was always empty. Theft conveniently became a problem as soon as 10 years worth of city incentives ran out and the neighborhood was so bad that they moved...less than a mile away, nearer to the subway.

keithdonovan.bsky.social•126 days ago

I still think this is the main reason and the other stuff is the strategy they chose to take advantage of

birdpoof.bsky.social•126 days ago

I mean, a retail group ADMITTED THIS and still people were permanently swayed

seeyouinnj.bsky.social•126 days ago

It was also a scapegoat for companies to excuse poor financial performance that had nothing to do with shrinkage.

magnumweight.bsky.social•126 days ago

Also, speaking from experience both in the electronics department and loss prevention of a major retailer, they coupled a lot of the increase in merchandise protection with a decrease in staffing so it was harder for customers to even get help to get the merchandise out to make the purchase

sixtytriggers.bsky.social•126 days ago

There's a walmart in my city that has the entire toy section locked up to prevent shoplifting.

There were two G.I.Joe swapped returns behind the glass 🙃

atomickimdog.bsky.social•126 days ago

People are less likely to buy something if they have to hunt down an employee in an already understaffed store? S h o c k e r

ryanhisbest.bsky.social•126 days ago

Well, at least it also allowed them to jack up prices and blame imaginary shoplifting numbers instead of corporate greed

helps.bsky.social•126 days ago

I saw someone steal a puppy from Petco. Stores spent a lot of effort to change shit around in the response, this insisting it wasn't a problem is real weird

helps.bsky.social•126 days ago

Leftist version of Qanon wisdom

chillmun.bsky.social•126 days ago

Yeah it’s real weird how everyone else bases their opinion on actual data instead of a single one-time extreme case anecdote like you do

aozorasf.bsky.social•126 days ago

Look, I lean pretty far left, but I live in downtown SF and shoplifting skyrocketed here. It’s not helpful to pretend it wasn’t a thing. I personally witnessed multiple incidents of people brazenly stealing armloads of stuff at the Walgreens in my hood.

orca7-sf.bsky.social•126 days ago

Insurance companies don't want confrontation. You see how well that worked at the store on Market.

The parent company was closing "underperforming" stores anyway. Shoplifting didn't matter.

Meanwhile, they just settled a class-action suit over wage theft and will pay those employees for it.

aozorasf.bsky.social•126 days ago

I’m not wading into the reasons for the store closures. I’d have to see store-by-store P/L to have any kind of opinion on that. But I think it’s dishonest to deny that there was a surge in shoplifting. When the left ignores this reality, it nudges frustrated residents into the arms of the right.

kaiten9653.bsky.social•126 days ago

This is statement is coming in the wake of harsh financial restructuring and store closures. Walgreens wanted an excuse not to pay employees, instead they antagonized customers to such a degree the future of the company has been imperiled.

untitledpng.bsky.social•126 days ago

My nearest Morrisons locked alcohol behind glass doors with a buzzer system to notify a member of staff to come open it so you could get your bottle of choice. It lasted a week before they just left the doors open 😂

mazew.bsky.social•126 days ago

I worked for CVS for many years. Each and every year, our budget for staff shrank and our expected sales grew...by about 10%. I wondered how long til they figured out it was unsustainable. What a tidy solution 🙄 soulless bastards

storyslug.bsky.social•126 days ago

While I definitely think that plays a part, I think the "shoplifting epidemic" was a convenient way for various retail outlets to close locations and lay off staff without it affecting share price. An acceptable scapegoat to avoid admitting mismanagement.

spaceshipgary.bsky.social•126 days ago

They couldn’t actually lie to the shareholders. That’s why it was so aggravating about how stupid anyone was being buying it as they were literally on shareholdercalls admitting the shoplifting was being exaggerated as they were releasing PR statements about the “shoplifting epidemic”.

jbucks.bsky.social•120 days ago

when you have to do your own check out you don't buy as much.

tmbhmltn.bsky.social•126 days ago

Turtleman, shoplifting is real

raddledoldtart.bsky.social•126 days ago

I've never seen any, and neither should anyone else.

tmbhmltn.bsky.social•126 days ago

theturtleman.bsky.social•126 days ago

was it effective? well, we'll have to see the position papers on it. certainly got some reform platform DAs booted out of jobs and coincided with the re-ascension of a guy these CEOs love to the big chair. was it worth the inconvenience in their stores? yes they don't care about any of that

kategodart.bsky.social•126 days ago

they're gleefully closing down stores left and right everywhere cuz they get more of a payout of they liquidate this shit

we're going back to local stores whether we like it or not cuz apparently corp stuff is unsustainable anymore lol

shuchancellor.online•126 days ago

I think consumers hated it but tbh it seems like manufacturing consent has broken down in the last year and a half and I'm not sure why the capitalist overlords are ignoring that bc historically that's how you get extremely violent unquellable rebellions

waluigiyaoi.bsky.social•126 days ago

They’re so insulated from reality now it’s bordering on Chinese emperor. Would be very funny if a military conflict with the frigid north causes the collapse of the dynasty

kbenjaminstone.bsky.social•126 days ago

250 year expiration date on the American Experiment, perhaps.

waluigiyaoi.bsky.social•126 days ago

The problem is that the founders expected us to over throw and reform the system every now and then

shuchancellor.online•126 days ago

They literally experienced factionalism in their own lifetime lol

shuchancellor.online•126 days ago

As long as (1) poster gets the bit I'm doing I've succeeded

Total cultural victory

gallowaygolf.bsky.social•126 days ago

This is basically the mission statement of posting, well done

shuchancellor.online•126 days ago

Over a year in the making and I will continue until the bit ceases to amuse me or???

k3ymast3r.bsky.social•126 days ago

It was effective in the sense that they effectively encouraged me to buy those things elsewhere so I don’t have to deal with it. 😁

orca7-sf.bsky.social•126 days ago

Exactly.

denniswatson.bsky.social•126 days ago

“We don’t need to close as many stores as we thought, and the job market offers too much mobility to our exploited workers.” - CEO comments translated from corporate speak.

eilrach.bsky.social•126 days ago

Yeah, not signing up for this narrative.

halcragin.bsky.social•126 days ago

If you ever leave a TV on all afternoon with the sound off w some Sinclair network, you will notice that they just replay surveillance footage from any convenience store that submits of people shoplifting

, it’s the cheapest thing to throw on the air

Grandma in Kentucky doesn’t realize

katarjin.bsky.social•126 days ago

Also probably was use as ammo to fight any public transportation expansion/improvements.

taltondrumbo.bsky.social•126 days ago

Know what other panic just dissolved into thin air?

Drones over New Jersey.

atomickimdog.bsky.social•126 days ago

A problem solved by a laser pointer?

aoihana.bsky.social•126 days ago

consent printer go brrrrrr

benhebert.bsky.social•126 days ago

I still think it was just a way to have fewer workers in stores.

junqueiraliv.bsky.social•126 days ago

That too. And "investing" in not having many full time employees, offering few hours of work for part timers...it has become a revolving door when it comes to retain workforce. And the companies, up to know, don't seem to care to change.

artisanrox.bsky.social•126 days ago

And they built all those locked shelves in the stores in order to do that. They spent so much, to lose so much $ to convince people to be terriified.

It's the American Way to spend $10K to lose $5K but convince another lil old lady the people who don't look like her are going to take her Medicare

bikeengineer.bsky.social•126 days ago

📌

pensandlighters.bsky.social•126 days ago

It also helps Walgreens executives save their jobs.

They can say “Well, what do you expect when we have woke DAs all over the place” instead of “Look, having 14 stores in a 4-block radius and locking our high value items behind a fire field might’ve been a dumb idea, sorry about all that.”

whitchyprincess.bsky.social•126 days ago

Of course locking things up makes it harder to sell things! Duh!!!! I’ve walked out of stores without buying items that were locked up because there is also no staff available to unlock the items! Shoplifting is real but to a minor degree. Kids on a dare etc. Overblown bullshit!

blametag.bsky.social•126 days ago

I don't know, man, the NRF has recently started ramping up the fear mongering on this again.

Granted, most people can see through their bullshit, but unfortunately most people don't run the industry.

jnork.bsky.social•126 days ago

Walgreens Rediscovers What Piggly Wiggly Figured Out More Than A Century Ago

One of the defining characteristics of humanity is the ability to pass down learning to later generations. Apparently Walgreens management hasn't reached that stage of evolution.

jaredlipof.bsky.social•126 days ago

To whatever extent shoplifting is happening these days, it's largely due to customers taking their own employee discounts when they're asked to be their own checkout clerks.

junqueiraliv.bsky.social•126 days ago

Loved it! 🤣🤣🤣

jonocarpenter.bsky.social•126 days ago

In 2023 in AoNZ it was ram- raids. Exact same play otherwise, with media stories drying up a month after the election.

djuschka.bsky.social•126 days ago

Performing MAGA terrorism

badwolfcgp.bsky.social•125 days ago

To Walgreens… No shit Sherlock-Marketing 101.

bleuchat.bsky.social•126 days ago

“When you lock things up you don’t sell as many of them…” These jokers. Modern-day Einsteins. Brilliant 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

maziemae.bsky.social•126 days ago

It started off by only locking up black hair care products but once that lawsuit came into play they started locking up everything…. … see how well that worked out.

pretefunkera.bsky.social•126 days ago

They certainly flooded YouTube shorts with video of people just walking out with merch

mfriedmannola.bsky.social•126 days ago

Walgreens should try two things:

1. Have more than two people working in a store outside the pharmacy.

2. Stop opening stores within 1/2 mile of an existing one. I used to be able to walk from my house to about 10 Walgreens in San Francisco.

cinnamoogoo.bsky.social•126 days ago

3) Stay out of women’s reproductive business

ampallanguk.bsky.social•126 days ago

They started to go very quiet on the whole thing when it turned out that the "Mr Bigs" of the shoplifting to order/gangs world were actually white middle class women in their late 40's. Didn't have quite the same story when they couldn't blame black people.

embrrrrrrr.bsky.social•126 days ago

It’s been super fucked up going into stores lately and seeing those jaggy “recording in progress” screens everywhere, I hope that goes away, but I doubt it will.

kittenbitten.bsky.social•126 days ago

Never seen the media shift so fast after election season either.

It's like they say all this shit with their whole chest. Gaza is another example that so many media orgs are now finally admitting there might be a little genocide going on.

wissewords.bsky.social•126 days ago

That's giving way too much credit to these people considering how dumb they are.

deathdrive.bsky.social•126 days ago

Swear to god my local grocery store had an ARMED security guard last time I was there. We are truly so beyond the pale with this fake shoplifting crisis.

nerd7132.bsky.social•125 days ago

Seeing armed guards at the grocery store doesn't make me confident about the short-term stability of our society. It makes us look like we're one price hike away from food riots

jasonsteakums.bsky.social•126 days ago

Hy-Vee? Hy-Vee was putting security guards in tactical gear with a gun and a hilarious little Hy-Vee patch on the uniform, it was so embarrassing to see, ultimate mall cop dreams. They recently said they'd tone it down with security because it was so off-putting

reneepatrice.bsky.social•126 days ago

I hadn't thought of it from this perspective before but it makes complete sense.

griffithlawtax.bsky.social•126 days ago

Meanwhile, their remaining stores are empty.

goodluckgoodnight.bsky.social•126 days ago

their entire idea was "lets lock stuff up" made everybody feel like thiefs. Having to ask to the overworked and busy retail employee thats probably doing 9 peoples jobs to stop what their doing and help you sucks too. I can guarantee you they dont compensate the employees enough either.

location3.bsky.social•126 days ago

The manager at my local CVS deals with shop lifting daily. She and I have chatted about it. It’s why I have to ask for a basket from behind the counter when I don’t want to use a cart but need several items. She said people fill up the baskets and run out the door.

ishfery.bsky.social•126 days ago

You should ask about wage theft next time

location3.bsky.social•126 days ago

She’s very chatty but that hasn’t come up. She does hate having to deal with shoplifting though.

ishfery.bsky.social•126 days ago

Hrm, I wonder why that hasn't come up. Wage theft is a much larger crime across the country than shoplifting

location3.bsky.social•126 days ago

You’d have to ask her. I mostly listen.

sammyzorba.bsky.social•126 days ago

When you have to walk through a turnstiles to get out of a store that screams - I don't trust you. And I will never, ever walk into one of those stores screaming 'we don't trust our customers.'

knowunreally.bsky.social•125 days ago

I lived in SF for 7 years, and in the last 2 years I must have seen at least 10 people shoplifting. Some with large trash bags. It was commonplace.
It happened.

lynperkinsart.bsky.social•126 days ago

Also the much much bigger problem of wage theft doesn't make interesting visuals.

orca7-sf.bsky.social•126 days ago

Got that right. Graphs wouldn't do it, either...

remiri.bsky.social•126 days ago

Worked at Wal-Mart as a Dept Manager for a couple years, and the biggest contributor to loss/theft were internal employees stealing electronics from the back warehouse.

Shoplifting pales in comparison to the money lost from their own workers.

airiq.bsky.social•126 days ago

It's more because of a mindset around asset protection where yes the losses due to shrink have increased but it has harmed their overall sales in the locked up products. This applies to more than just Walgreens but every retailer had higher ups in AP push this narrative.

dsyb1985.bsky.social•126 days ago

Wasn’t it also a pretense to close some stores in areas where the real estate was simply too valuable to justify keeping it a pharmacy?

shuchancellor.online•126 days ago

Yeah, if you read even just write ups about their reports, this was clear and what they themselves said

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cvs-closing-hundreds-stores-end-121200619.html

thechrisglass.bsky.social•126 days ago

Yup. Once that Target CEO mentioned they planned to remove them in 2025 it clicked in my head instantly why they did it.

deshaunweinstein.bsky.social•126 days ago

What electoral goals? White people were voting for Trump anyway

the-george.bsky.social•126 days ago

The shoplifting panic did loads to lead the Chesa Boudin (San Francisco DA) recall campaign to success. I expect the same dynamic played out in other local elections across the country as libs joined their conservative counterparts in capitulating to “tough on crime” ideology

johnwmccarthy.bsky.social•126 days ago

had a small part in electing Eric Adams in NYC

annmariepisano.bsky.social•126 days ago

It's interesting for him because he wanted to be reelected, but the manufactured tough-on-crime campaigning doesn't work nearly as well the second time around. Luckily it's the least of his problems now!

johnwmccarthy.bsky.social•126 days ago

tough to campaign on "there's too much crime we need to do something!" when the reply is "but you've been in charge the last four years"

twobuckchuck.bsky.social•126 days ago

"Also, you yourself are a criminal"

pensandlighters.bsky.social•126 days ago

Sure, but to what extent?

A shift in like 1% is probably decisive. That’s why you do this stuff.

wellsbe.bsky.social•126 days ago

It’s all moral panics, all the way down. Trans athletes, shoplifting, means testing, satanic cults, etc.

jgriffingraham.bsky.social•126 days ago

Evidence that this has all been a soft but deliberate coup deepens

malihoy.bsky.social•126 days ago

But I legit won’t buy anything I have to go find an employee to open up a case for. Just order online.

thedaddyotaku.bsky.social•126 days ago

Wasn't there a bunch of "organized looting" in NYC last year? There was a lot of YouTube about it.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply