locked plexiglass cases -- they showed pictures of practically every personal care item in locked plexiglass cases that one has to summon a store clerk in order to buy. This is the downtown Minneapolis store.
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA139JX3.img?w=620&h=422&m=6
I read in another article that when you have to do that, besides the expense of the cases and the extra store workers, there is a 5 to 25% reduction in sales for anything locked up like that. I'm surprised it's not a lot higher than 5 to 25%.
So much for shopping downtown. Shrug. Trouble is, without a car, and with SEVERE cuts to bus service (due to a SEVERE shortage of drivers), options are limited.
The labor force participation rate has been dwindling from a high point of about 67.3% in 2000 to 62.2% now. (It was 62.2% in January, so there hasn't been any progress in that all year). So solutions to the store security problems that include a lot of extra store workers running around fetching toothpaste and deodorant one item at a time are not sustainable real-world solutions to the problem. Times they are a-changing.
Edited to correct the Labor force participation rate link
Labor force participation rate: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000
Labor force in thousands: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11000000
Meanwhile the population of elderly (such as me) needing more and more service (me not yet but soon) grows.
Target puts toothbrushes, toothpaste behind security glass at downtown store ((and a hell of a lot more -Progree). Bring Me The News, 10/19/22
Other items previously placed behind security glass – requiring an employee to open it – include shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant, shaving cream and other toiletries.
The store has picked up security efforts ever since riots hit the Twin Cities in the wake of George Floyd's killing in 2020. The location was looted after a man shot himself in August 2020, sparking brief rioting during which a St. Paul man committed arson at the downtown headquarters building, located about a block away from the store.
The store has since shortened its hours, operating from 8 a.m.
to 6 p.m. everyday, prompting relatively regular complaints on social media from those who live downtown. The store was open until 9 p.m. before the changes.
More:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/target-puts-toothbrushes-toothpaste-behind-security-glass-at-downtown-store/ar-AA139JX8?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=f2fcf32300a249b994d36c51d1c3b952
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