- A TikTok user complained that makeup wipes sold for $6 were locked away
- His video was cathartic for many shoppers, who were angered by the sorry state of retail.
- Walmart was also outraged for forcing shoppers to carry items in locked boxes.
A woman shopping at a Walmart shared her frustration and embarrassment over having to carry locked items, which comes after shoplifting skyrocketed in major U.S. cities.
Esme, whose username is kultruz on TikTok, said she understands that big retailers want to lock in makeup, which can be quite expensive, but she says makeup remover wipes are a step too far.
The brand I was purchasing sells for just over $6 at Walmart.
‘I’m at Walmart and I have to put away makeup and stuff, but you’re telling me you have to put some makeup wipes in this wire compartment?’ she said in a tiktok video.
“I’m embarrassed to carry this around,” he said, showing the product wrapped in a metal wire.
Esme is pictured complaining that her makeup wipes are locked away.
It’s not just Walmart locking up its inventory to prevent retail theft. Target, CVS, Walgreens and many other stores have resorted to chaining items like toiletries and medications.
The frenzy among big retailers to protect their products from thieves has recently expanded to the point of locking up underwear and socks.
Esme’s TikTok, which racked up more than 58,000 likes, served as an outlet for other consumers upset by the sorry state of the retail industry.
One user commented that this was “ridiculous” and that Walmart “might as well ask an employee to walk you through the store.”
Others said in capital letters that every time you look for an employee to unlock the items you want to buy, they either can’t find them anywhere or they take a long time to unlock the merchandise.
The makeup remover wipes that a shopper put in her cart at Walmart are encased in metal wire to prevent theft.
Shoppers can sometimes wait up to 40 minutes to buy essential items like baby formula and body wash at major retail stores in New York and New Jersey.
Esme also filmed a number of toiletries in her cart that were hermetically sealed in a glass case, even after she had put them in her cart.
Typically, if shoppers want something like toothpaste or soap that’s behind closed glass, they can call an employee to bring it out.
But another TikTok user, opie_petsitting, posted a video last week he criticized Walmart for double-blocking the deodorant he wanted to buy.
“So after you get them to open one of these counters, they take the shit you bought and put it in another little box,” he said, filming three sticks of deodorant in an oversized glass display case.
Amid increased store theft and increased competition from online retailers, Walmart closed more than 20 stores in 2023.
Walmart’s war on theft continued in April with two locations announcing they would eliminate self-checkout aisles, which have proven vulnerable to theft.
