Aug 01, 2023
Nikole Hannah
Submit Δ Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission. The author of the “1619 Project” complained that drug stores locking up merchandise is “demeaning” — even as shoplifting continues to
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The author of the “1619 Project” complained that drug stores locking up merchandise is “demeaning” — even as shoplifting continues to skyrocket to record highs.
The New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones whined Tuesday that the safeguards — which aim to stave off theft — make for a “terrible shopping experience.”
“If you’re going to lock up everything in the drug store, an already demeaning shopping experience, at least have enough workers to open up the cases for all the customers who just need a razor,” she tweeted.
“It can’t be a financial winner. I spend a lot less because I’m not waiting every time I need to grab something from a different aisle or even a different shelf in the same aisle. You can’t read labels, etc. I’ve literally walked away. It’s just a terrible shopping experience.”
Other disgruntled shoppers agreed Hannah-Jones, with some complaining that they needed store associates to unlock toothpaste.
“It’s insane,” she responded.
On Friday, The Post reported that retail thefts in New York City hit record levels for the second year in a row in 2022.
The statistics show that the number of shoplifting complaints surged to more than 63,000 last year — a 45% jump over the roughly 45,000 reported in 2021 and a nearly 275% jump compared to the mid-2000s.
Most of the Big Apple retailers that suffered the most significant losses were drug stores like Duane Reade and Target.
Thefts have led many stores, especially chain drug stores, to lock up their valuable merchandise, but Hannah-Jones backed up her complaint by pointing to a January CNCB report in which Walgreens CFO James Kehoe said, “Maybe we cried too much last year” about rising thefts.
Though the executive admitted in the article that hiring private security companies have been “largely ineffective,” Kehoe does not mention whether or not the lock boxes have made an impact.
Hannah-Jones’ Twitter tirade comes just two weeks after she made headlines for landing a massive lecture deal that left Virginia taxpayers fuming.
A local Fairfax library cut the author a $33,350 check — a $555.83-per-minute rate — for her upcoming one-hour lecture.