In a recently uploaded viral video, TikToker Jared (@transittalks) departs from his usual content about New York City’s transit system to speak to a more pressing issue—products being locked up at drug stores.
“New York City, specifically Duane Reade, I’m getting very, very mad,” he says at the beginning of the video.
As he delivers this line, behind him is a photo of a commercial refrigerator stocked with beverages such as energy drinks, sodas, and teas.
“This is a picture I took at a Duane Reades in lower Manhattan yesterday. And what do you notice about these refrigerator doors?” he asks.
He encourages viewers to take a closer look and zooms in on the photo.
As he directs viewers to look at the refrigerator door, he suggests that something is missing.
“There’s no handles. And then I looked up. Right there, the refrigerator is locked,” he shares.
He then zooms into the top right corner of the refrigerator and points to a larger silver lock on the door.
“You locked up the chocolate; you locked up the chips. You locked up the feminine products, the baby products. Everything is behind a locked door,” he explains.
Is this a ‘made-up crisis’?
“Why are we locking the refrigerators?” he asks.
“I think most apartments in New York City have less security than these refrigerators in a Duane Reade in lower Manhattan,” he says.
He goes on to share, “I feel like this is a made-up crisis.”
According to the National Retail Foundation (NRF) this “crisis” is very real.
NRF argues that in 2022, retailers experienced over “$112 billion in industry losses” due to what it calls organized retail crime (ORC).
That same year Forbes reported that “nearly 70% of retailers reported a rise in organized retail crime.”
NRF believes that organized retail crime has gotten more sophisticated, and aggressive, and thus more successful, leaving retailers to use “drastic actions,” such as Duane Reade, and other major drug stores across the country locking merchandise.
As a result of the rampant losses, retailers are “being forced to close a specific store location (28%), reduce operating hours (45%) or reduce or alter in-store product selection (30%) as a direct result of retail crime,” according to NRF.
How do these loss prevention measures affect the customer experience?
Jared’s video received 115,000 views and hundreds of comments.
Many viewers, like Jared, are “over” everything being locked up at stores.
“It’s SO infuriating. I feel so bad for employees too- they’re understaffed and can’t even do other parts of their job because they have to unlock everything,” one viewer shared.
“They HAVE to be losing money from this. I’ve left out of frustration and gone to the dollar store or bodegas instead,” another viewer commented.
Many commented on the long waits to have staff unlock the items.
“You’re waiting for ten minutes because there’s only one person with keys that’s helping everyone in the store,” one shared.
“At this point, they just need to have screens for you to order at and have the attendants get all the products for you. calling attendants over for everything is exhausting,” a viewer suggested.
Another added, “Might as well just order from Amazon because you’ll get it faster than waiting for the guy with the key.”
@transittalks Sorry this isn’t a TransitTalksTok but we are in he11 #greenscreen #nyc #angry #nyctok #newyorkcity #duanereade #sendhelp #conveniencestore #rant #lowermanhattan #mad #confused #fyp #xyzbca ♬ original sound – Jared’s TransitTalks 🚊 🚌
The Daily Dot reached out to Duane Reade and Jared via email.
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