More shelf items in suburban stores are getting locked up behind antitheft glass to deter shoplifters. Customers have noticed and aren’t pleased, writes Erin McCarthy for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Bryan Calhoun of Broomall, for example, avoids the Wynnewood Target a few miles away from his house and drives to Wayne or Malvern, where fewer items are behind glass.
When even mundane things like socks, body wash and detergent are behind a case, “it takes the fun out of the experience,” he said.
Earlier this year, Marcus Philpot was going to buy a car air freshener at a Delaware County Walmart, a $2 item.
It was behind lock and key. Philpot decided he didn’t want the product enough to call an employee over.
“It just took away from the convenience,” he said.
And it made him uneasy.
“It just makes me feel like, ‘Damn, crime must be increasing,’” said the 32-year-old Collingdale resident. “People will steal anything if they need air fresheners behind glass.”
State data on retail-theft arrests show cases actually decreased slightly in Delaware and Chester counties between 2018 and 2022, according to the most recent data available.
Read more about the impact antitheft glass is having on shoppers in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
