Target reportedly plans to crack down on theft in its stores by lowering the amount of money shoplifters can steal before store employees have to intervene.
A Minnesota-based megastore chain has blamed retail theft at its stores for squeezing its profits and has instructed store staff to reduce the total value of stolen items from $100 to $50 to stop robbers from making a getaway. Bloomberg News reported Thursday.
“Ensuring the safety of our employees and guests while maintaining the positive experience Target shoppers expect remains our top priority,” a Target spokesperson told Bloomberg News.
The Post has reached out to Target for comment.
The new policy will reportedly come into effect later this summer.
Last fall, Target’s Chief Financial Officer Michael Fidelke told investors that he expected shoplifting to be a “significant financial headwind.”
His comments came just weeks after Target, which owns and operates about 2,000 stores across the U.S., closed nine stores in urban areas, including San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and New York City’s Harlem neighborhood.
The Harlem store was a frequent target of organized retail theft.
“Increasing inventory shrinkage remains a significant financial headwind and we are determined to continue making progress in the coming years,” Fidelke said, referring to industry jargon that refers to inventory losses due to shoplifting, vendor fraud and mismanagement.
Retailers like Target have tried everything from adding security guards to locking everyday items like toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo behind glass cases to curb theft in their stores.
Businesses and law enforcement officials have criticized criminal justice reform efforts, such as California’s move to decriminalize thefts of items under $950, for contributing to a surge in organized shoplifting.
California Republicans are currently trying to toughen shoplifting laws by making theft a felony, a move Democrats oppose.
Other jurisdictions governed by progressive Democrats, such as New York City, have also seen a series of high-profile retail thefts sparking criticism of lax laws.
On March 18, the New York Police Department released surveillance camera footage that showed three women brazenly exiting a Target store on Staten Island with carts filled with approximately $1,500 worth of stolen goods.
The incident allegedly occurred around 1:30pm ET on February 29th at the Target on Veterans Road West.
An NYPD spokesman told The Post that suspect Autumn Asencio, 21, of Brooklyn, was arrested and charged with grand larceny in connection with the Staten Island incident.
In May, a Bay Area woman was convicted of using the self-checkout registers at a San Francisco Target store to steal more than $60,000 worth of merchandise over 100 visits to the retailer.
Target announced earlier this year that it would limit the number of items shoppers could pay for at self-checkout counters.
Dollar General, like another big-box retailer, Walmart, said it would eliminate self-checkout counters in 300 stores that are particularly affected by the “downsizing.”
Dollar General also said it will replace some of the self-checkout counters at 9,000 other stores with traditional cashier-attended checkouts.
Last month, Target reported disappointing profits for its most recent quarter, as inflation-weary customers pulled back on discretionary spending.
The company announced it would slash prices on thousands of products in the hopes of drawing customers back to its stores.
