Walgreens CEO says locking up products hurt sales

Walgreens’ plan to combat increasing theft by locking products up at their stores has hurt sales, the company’s CEO said in a recent earnings call. 

According to FOX Business: executives reported a 52% increase in "shrink," or a loss of inventory that can’t be accounted for through sales, on an earnings call Jan. 10. That’s despite the pharmacy giant’s efforts to crackdown on shoplifting, which included placing items in plastic enclosures under lock and key. 

Why is Walgreens locking everything up? 

Vitamin and supplement aisle in locked cabinet to prevent theft, Walgreens Pharmacy, Queens, New York. (Photo by: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The backstory: Walgreens started placing some products under lock and key in response to a rise in shoplifting and other retail theft. 

In November, San Francisco police said they arrested eight retail suspects as young as 12 years old, who they believe are responsible for 23 incidents at various Walgreens' stores totaling more than $84,000 in stolen merchandise, according to KTVU.

RELATED: Police release statement after mind-boggling Walgreens theft: 'Yes, you read that right'

In June, police in Delaware said a man was wanted for stealing more than $11,000 worth of cigarettes from a Walgreens store in Wilmington. An employee was busy in another section of the store when the man walked behind the counter and grabbed the haul, police said.

Dig deeper: Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said the move may have backfired. 

"I don't have anything magnificent to share with you today," Wentworth said Friday, according to a transcript published on the Motley Fool website. "It is a hand-to-hand combat battle still, unfortunately, but it does impact how sales work through the store because when you lock things up, for example, you don't sell as many of them."

In July, Walgreens announced that it would close a "significant" number of under performing stores across the U.S. due to ongoing challenges with profitability and declining margins.

Americans admit to shoplifting

By the numbers: According to a June 2024 LendingTree survey, more than 1 in 5 Americans admitted to shoplifting, and, of those, 23% admitted to doing so within the past year. 

RELATED: Here's how many Americans admit to shoplifting, and where they do it most often

Notably, 6% said they do it regularly. Of those shoplifters, 90% said they were motivated to do so because of inflation and the current economy. More than half of shoplifters (52%) were older than 16 at the time.