Shoplifting Fuels a $94.5B Problem at American Stores

Re:Shoplifting Fuels a $94.5B Problem at American Stores by 8f2ab37a-ed6c on Friday December 23, 2022 @10:22PM (#34113591)

> Brick-and-mortar retail’s indisputable edge over e-commerce is that consumers can get what they want immediately, and can touch and feel the product before buying it. Rising theft—and stores’ measures to prevent it—could dull that edge.

That has not been my experience at all. The number of times I went to a store only to find out that the thing I drove out to get is not in stock is high enough to make me pretty averse to the in-person retail experience.

The bookstore doesn't have the book I want, the shoe store doesn't have the shoe in the size and color I want, the computer store doesn't have the iPhone peripheral I want.

Unless I'm in a desperate situation, I'm better off waiting a couple of days and actually getting the item I would prefer, instead of torching a few hours for nothing.

Add theft on top of that, and I don't see how the physical retail market won't keep shrinking.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Shoplifting Fuels a $94.5B Problem at American Stores by kazinator on Friday December 23, 2022 @10:44PM (#34113734)

Online commerce doesn't have an edge in the area of theft. For instance, delivery people are sloppy and and just leave stuff on house doorsteps or in apartment lobby mailrooms. Those items get stolen. Or else, users can falsely report them stolen, getting a refund and the item.

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Re:Shoplifting Fuels a $94.5B Problem at American Stores by 8f2ab37a-ed6c on Saturday December 24, 2022 @12:47AM (#34114354)

That's a fair observation. I wonder how the numbers compare.

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Re:Shoplifting Fuels a $94.5B Problem at American Stores by SOLAR_FIELDS on Saturday December 24, 2022 @01:30AM (#34114552)

The other side of that coin is that the few businesses who actually do keep good inventory do exceptionally well. I’m talking specifically about Lowe’s and Home Depot. I absolutely love, as a consumer, that I can go and look on their site/app and see that there are X items at Aisle Y Bin Z and it’s almost always perfectly right +- a couple of count. These brick and mortars prove it’s definitely possible to offer that service even if you’re a huge big box store.

There are so many places that are the polar opposite as you imply. One particular annoyance I dealt with recently is Tractor Supply Co. Their online inventory is wrong enough that it can never be trusted - if you don’t want to waste time on a trip to the store you have to call them beforehand to see if an item that is ostensibly “in stock” online is actually in stock.

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Re:Shoplifting Fuels a $94.5B Problem at American Stores by antifa on Saturday December 24, 2022 @11:45AM (#34118504)

I remember one tragic event in my life where the only tractor supply that actually had inventory was the one claiming to have 60+.

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Re:Shoplifting Fuels a $94.5B Problem at American Stores by antifa on Saturday December 24, 2022 @12:02PM (#34118671)

IME buying online from Walmart, they'll find the most banged up box and send it to me. I'll not be able to find a worse looking, more expired product if I had even tried to look for that myself.

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