Dollar Tree Joins Other Stores, Lock Up Items To Prevent Theft

Author Morty

August 25th, 2023 1:03 PM

Woman walking past the front of a Dollar Tree Store.

Get ready for more fortified Dollar Trees and padlocked glass cases because the executives at multiple retailers are done joking around.

If you go to a pharmacy, you’ll notice a lot of items are locked up. Stores started doing this years ago. Theft was the main reason for items being locked up.

How Much Is It Affecting Stores?

According to CNN, Dollar Tree’s CEO and CFO, Richard Dreiling and Jeffrey Davis, said there was a drop in sales from 32.7% to 29.8% because of stolen items, damages to the stores and more.

Dollar Tree has done a lot of things to prevent theft from happening, but those changes seem to not be working because the problem is getting worse. Due to the increase issues the company is facing, they’ve decided to amp up some of their loss prevention methods.

Taking Drastic Measures

CFO of Dollar Tree, Jeffrey Davis, told CNN that they’re moving certain products from the open shelves to behind the checkout stand. They’re also adding cases to their shelves to lock up items. They’re even discontinuing items from their stores and locations because they can’t keep certain items on the shelves. To them, it’s easier to discontinue selling those items instead of trying to protect them from being stolen.

These few actions they’re hoping will cut down on theft and damages. They know that this change will end up costing them more money in the short run. But, they’re also hoping their sales will increase because of the precautions taken to combat theft.

More And More Stores Adapting This Old Strategy

According to Yahoo Finance, Dick’s Sporting Goods is following as well. They saw a drop in stocks and sales because of theft. In the near future, you will see more and more chain grocery, pharmacy, and retail stores making these changes probably, even if they’re not in loss profits. Everyone is just taking precautions, and it makes total sense.

What have you seen locked up recently? Did it make sense to lock up those items or keep them behind the counter?

We have more on this story in today’s edition of a Few Things You Should Know!

Morty is the Executive Producer of “The Mike And Carla Morning Show” on 96.3 KKLZ. He's been a part of the show and station for 5 years. Aside from producing the morning show, he has served as production director for over 20 years. Those commercials you hear between the music, he produced a lot of them for Las Vegas! He loves music, playing guitar, all things Vegas Golden Knights, the Steelers, and his English Bulldog, Squish! He will talk forever with you on any of these things! Morty writes about peculiar news stories and Las Vegas happenings.

Top Items We 'Accidently' Steal From A Store

What is the last thing you stole from a store “accidently”? We know it happens and most of the time we don’t even realize it. The reason The Mike & Carla Morning Show brought this up this morning is that Carla Rea swiped a peach from a local grocery store and forgot to add it to her “scan & go” list.

We understand this can happen, so that’s what The M&C Morning Show wanted to know this morning…what was it that you have taken from a store without paying for it? Surprised to find out that a lot of listeners have done it…and we’re not talking small items at all!

It’s amazing how many times we’ve gone into a store and have forgotten to ring up something, especially with the innovation of the “self-checkout” now becoming so popular! As you listen to the segment below, you’ll also find out that it’s not always our fault! On the other hand, quite a few listeners said that it’s not that they took something, it’s just that the clerk forgot to ring it up!

It was quite a revealing segment this morning with people coming clean on what they thought they paid for…even the one guy, in a motorized grocery cart, who actually got busted leaving the store! Truth be told, it wasn’t a shock that he got caught, but what it was he got busted for! That you have to hear for yourself…

The other surprising factor was how many people did NOT go back and pay for what they accidently walked away with…feeling like it was their “lucky day”! However, those that just said I “forgot” and kept on with their day didn’t feel any quilt what so ever…WOW!

But if you think about it, what are the easiest things to “accidently” walkout of a store with…based on our conversations this morning and those texting in, scroll down below to see the list and enjoy the segment!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kklz963
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kklz963/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kklz963/

#5. Toilet Paper

Lazy_Bear via Getty Images

Seems like it might be hard to walkout of a store with a bunch of toilet paper, but how many times have we put it under our shopping cart and just forgot about it?
#4. Pack of Gum
AndreyPopov via Getty Images

This might be the easiest item we “accidently” walk out of a store with since it’s small, we take a piece while we’re still shopping and end up just putting in our pocket…so sorry!
#3. Cases of Bottled Water
Nazrul Azuwan Nordin via Getty Images

Once again, one of those items we easily forget that’s under the grocery cart…
#2. Baseball Cap
Yuricazac via Getty Images

We get it, your hands are full, you want the ballcap, so you just put it on your head and before ya know it…you’re walking out of the store without paying for it!
#1. Candy Bars
eternalcreative via Getty Images

This has to be the #1 item we “accidently” steal from a store…and a lot of times it’s not us, but our kids that might lift a snack from around the grocery checkout counter without letting us know to pay for it!