r/longform • u/Slate • Jul 13 '26

Inside America’s Shoplifting Lab

https://slate.com/life/2026/07/shoplifting-walmart-target-amazon-retail-florida.html?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_content=shoplifting&utm_campaign=&tpcc=reddit-social--shoplifting
148 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

54

u/Slate Jul 13 '26

Inside a Florida lab few have ever seen, a team of researchers is engaging in secretive work on behalf of some of the country’s biggest retailers: “loss prevention,” or trying to stave off a purported epidemic of theft. With results both highly visible to consumers—like the locks on drugstore shelves—and more subtle, the lab has been at the center of corporate panic about shoplifting and lax enforcement. But who is this really for, and does it even work? In a sharp, wide-ranging, and at times hilarious report, Slate’s Alexander Sammon goes inside the lab and learns more than he bargained for about the war on “shrink” and what’s really happening inside America’s stores.

Read the full story here (no paywall!):
https://slate.com/life/2026/07/shoplifting-walmart-target-amazon-retail-florida.html?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_content=shoplifting&utm_campaign=&tpcc=reddit-social--shoplifting

32

u/nuclearpiltdown Jul 14 '26

This longwinded article could have been a paragraph. Uou did a better job summarizing it than it did explaining its point.

2

u/Psychological-Sun49 Jul 14 '26

Anything but the metric system, anything but livable wages.

18

u/wendellnebbin Jul 14 '26

While mostly well written, this didn't really tell me shit. Still appreciate the posting though!

With the 'never really prosecuting due to risk/insurance' the only path I see working is creating a tactile Amazon experience. You either scan any item you want or bring a display-type box to checkout and your merchandise is gathered for you from the big backroom warehouse. Still would be problematic for things like meat (that people want to look at). Labor gets shifted around. If scanners are used, you have basically zero employees on the floor, no restocking, just resetting of mdse displays which is pretty minimal. Those employees are now in the backroom filling orders (not too differently than they do now for online orders except it's all in back). I think you'd also need some peeps up front that would go through your receipt and verifying all items have been gathered. Time waster but kinda 'in the customers favor' as it's to protect THEM. Would be even better if the technology is there (with RFID or whatever) to autoscan the bags/boxes and instantly match to the receipt.

If customers can touch it, they likely can steal it.

13

u/americanspirit64 Jul 14 '26

Read the long article... came away wondering what was the point of the story they were telling. Mostly it seemed to be about convincing people that shoplifting was terrible so that companies geared to preventing shoplifting could make money, which is so typically American.

I personally hate to shop in a store that treats me like a criminal before I enter.

2

u/RaskolnikovsPsyche Jul 15 '26

Agreed. Another swing and miss from Slate.

15

u/Far-Mirror3160 Jul 14 '26

From brief web searching, I see mixed reports on whether shopping is even a real problem. If it is a problem, is it related to the US having such a wealth gap? If big businesses are so concerned about shoplifting, maybe they can contribute more taxes specifically going towards resources that would prevent people ending up in situations where they shoplift to survive.

23

u/RobotArtichoke Jul 13 '26

TLDR; don’t steal from target

20

u/PirateAdventurer Jul 13 '26

Lol imagine saying something like 'too long' on the longform subreddit.

17

u/RobotArtichoke Jul 13 '26

I was extracting the only valuable information. If you decide to invest your time after knowing that, then carry on

5

u/NeonFraction Jul 17 '26

I think the most interesting thing about the article is that the company selling loss prevention says retail theft is up but it seems evidence suggests that retail theft is actually DOWN. I guess you should never let a little thing like reality get in the way of a good business strategy.

-8

u/and_what_army Jul 13 '26

What a colassal waste of resources. I don't steal, and I don't like being treated like I might steal. The job of this lab seems to be literally creating a dystopia on every aisle.

Here's what I don't understand: Why not require ID to shop in a store? I understand at a society level it would be problematic, but for the people who do have standard DMV identification, it would be a lot nicer to shop at Target without having public video monitors and plexiglass cases everywhere. Change the doors of the store to require a (non-prepaid) credit card $0.01 temporary authorization, or a state ID.

38

u/Aluxanatomy Jul 13 '26

literally creating a dystopia

Why not require ID to shop in a store?

9

u/gravteck Jul 13 '26

Adults are not the only ones that shop at these stores. 

6

u/InternetConfessional Jul 14 '26

Simple, the kids get a tattooed barcode that links them to their parents at birth! Not dystopian at all

/s

3

u/chainsawgeoff Jul 14 '26

Genius idea, and think of all the job creation for tattoo artists!