Walgreens says locking up products to prevent shoplifting hurts sales

Locking up store merchandise can deter shoplifters and paying customers alike, according to Walgreens.

The pharmacy chain’s CEO Tim Wentworth said in Walgreens Boots Alliance’s first-quarter earnings call Tuesday that “When you lock things up … you don’t sell as many of them. We’ve kind of proven that pretty conclusively.”

Keeping retail products under lock and key is a maneuver designed to thwart rising retail theft. But it also irks — and turns away — would-be paying customers who don’t have the patience to wait for a retail clerk to retrieve goods they wish to buy.

Walgreens and other retailers have had to combat so-called “retail shrink,” or the loss of inventory from causes other than sales, Wentworth noted. The company took steps to secure more products after it found retail theft accounted for a rising share in shrink. However, locking products behind a see-through case has not proved effective, he said. 

The company’s asset protection division is developing “creative” solutions to fight retail theft, Wentworth said Tuesday.

“I don’t have anything magnificent to share with you today. It is a hand-to-hand combat battle still, unfortunately,” Wentworth said.

The company reported an operating loss of $245 million for the quarter, compared with $39 million for the same quarter one year earlier. 

Walgreens plans to close hundreds of stores by the end of 2025 to turn around its flagging sales. It has already closed roughly 2,000 locations over the past decade and has “a lot of experience with store closures,” the company said. 

“Naturally, we expect our future footprint to support stronger performance,” Wentworth said.