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This is a popular trope, but companies have already begun walking back their claims of rampant theft[0]. There are increased profits when building in more pros

This is a popular trope, but companies have already begun walking back their claims of rampant theft[0]. There are increased profits when building in more prosperous areas, so one might understand why companies choose to do so given limited resources. But lower profits in inner cities are not always about theft so much as a lack of cash. 0. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/walgreens-may-have-cried-too-much-last-year-about-theft-cfo-says-11673030443 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/walgreens-may-have-cried-t...

WalterBright 4y ago
That isn't what the article says. It says Walgreens is walking back their anti-theft measures because it's costly and ineffective and the customers don't like them.
- pwinnski 4y ago
  It also says that they sounded the alarm when shrink was at 3.5%, but they're back down to the more-normal 2.5% now. That's a decline that undercuts the very-popular trope that open theft is rampant or out of control in certain cites.
  - WalterBright 4y ago
    Their anti-theft measures brought it to 2.5%. They also closed several stores due to unsustainable theft. The 2.5% was overall, not each store.
  - UncleEntity 4y ago
    They also say that shoplifting isn’t as bad as industrialized (organized?) theft. And casual shoplifting becomes a problem when everything, like ice cream, is behind lock and key (also from the referenced article).
prottog 4y ago
The article doesn't support your claim. What it supports is the idea that for Walgreens as a whole, shrinkage isn't a make-or-break issue. It says nothing about whether Walgreens will choose to place or keep a store at a high-theft location or whether a mom-and-pop store can survive in the same. The grocery business is famous for having very thin margins, so anything that cuts in will necessarily cause fewer options for the people of that area. Academic studies have generally shown that this is in fact not a trope but fact.

WalterBright 4y ago

That isn't what the article says. It says Walgreens is walking back their anti-theft measures because it's costly and ineffective and the customers don't like them.

pwinnski 4y ago
It also says that they sounded the alarm when shrink was at 3.5%, but they're back down to the more-normal 2.5% now. That's a decline that undercuts the very-popular trope that open theft is rampant or out of control in certain cites.
- WalterBright 4y ago
  Their anti-theft measures brought it to 2.5%. They also closed several stores due to unsustainable theft. The 2.5% was overall, not each store.
- UncleEntity 4y ago
  They also say that shoplifting isn’t as bad as industrialized (organized?) theft. And casual shoplifting becomes a problem when everything, like ice cream, is behind lock and key (also from the referenced article).

prottog 4y ago

The article doesn't support your claim. What it supports is the idea that for Walgreens as a whole, shrinkage isn't a make-or-break issue. It says nothing about whether Walgreens will choose to place or keep a store at a high-theft location or whether a mom-and-pop store can survive in the same. The grocery business is famous for having very thin margins, so anything that cuts in will necessarily cause fewer options for the people of that area. Academic studies have generally shown that this is in fact not a trope but fact.