From this angle, the self-contained setup of the cosmetics department is more obvious. It's not quite as separated off from the rest of the store as I've seen elsewhere, but still, the only way in and out is by passing by the checkout. (There isn't anyone at the checkout in this picture, but there definitely was at some point when I was here -- perhaps the employee was helping customers or something.) Having to buy some items separately from everything else you're buying seems like it would be rather inconvenient, and I often wonder if security measures like this discourage shopping more than they discourage shoplifting!
This is very odd. It's possible our Walmarts have something like this, but I have not seen it. But, yeah, this does seem like an odd setup and something which might discourage potential cosmetics shoppers from buying things from this store.
ReplyDeleteI know that when the Midtown Sears was still open in Houston, they did have the majority of their tools behind locked cabinets. I think they were the only Sears in the area like that. My understanding is, but I have not personally seen it, is that some power tools at Home Depot have to be activated before they work. It's some kind of anti-theft strategy.
But, of course, tools are a bit different than cosmetics. That said, I can see how cosmetics might be easily stolen so I suppose I don't blame Wal-Mart for upping their security, but I'm guessing this is causing some customers to go elsewhere.
Interesting -- this seems to be pretty much the standard around here. Even Port Angeles, which I can't imagine has too bad of a theft issue, has the separated cosmetics department, and has had it for many years now. (I can say for sure that my parents now buy cosmetics stuff that they used to buy at Walmart elsewhere because the separate checkout process is an added layer of frustration on top of all of the other annoyances that come with shopping at Walmart!)
DeleteOh no! Do you remember how I said a few weeks back that I went to a Walmart that had older Project Impact decor and that it looked pretty decent by Walmart standards? Well, I went to their Google Maps page to see if I could find any cosmetics area photos and I saw this pop up in the latest images feed: https://goo.gl/maps/D41pMtq8gnCLjo1r9
DeleteIf that image is from that store (sometimes things get uploaded to the wrong location), it looks like it's been remodeled in the last few weeks since I visited it! I'm sure the remodel won't be for the better either. Also check out how they forgot to paint the inside part of the 'a letters' blue, lol.
Anyway, here's an image I could find of that store's cosmetics department (pre-remodel if there is a remodel, but this is from 2020 so it is pretty recent): https://goo.gl/maps/pizyBm1iNGxQ9YGg7
Some things are behind a locked case, but a lot is out. Also, say what you want about the fake wood there, but it looks better than the bare concrete! Of course, if that store is being remodeled, there's a good chance that fake wood is gone as well.
Oh Walmart, you always find a way to disappoint, eh?
Here's the link to that store. Notice that it has a 4.0 rating. Not too many Walmarts rate that high that I've seen. It seems customers might like the white tile floor and fake wood combo that this store has...or had at least. Oh Walmart, you always find a way to disappoint, eh?
Link: https://goo.gl/maps/ZowNquPAgbtjKBhS9
Based on that image, I'm fairly certain that store hasn't remodeled, actually! If it had, it most likely would have switched to the vertical/stacked logo arrangement, plus that stupid thing with the inside of the letters being the wrong color is super common with stores that have been repainted but not remodeled (remodels, even before the change to the new logo arrangement, almost always included a new outside sign, even if it's identical to the old one). But yeah, that store does look pretty nice, even if it has Cheap Impact rather than original Project Impact.
DeleteOn a side note, I hope all is OK with you after the hurricane that may have been in your area! I'll admit that I don't know much about Houston-area geography, but I heard that it was somewhere in that region.
Huh, well, hopefully just the exterior was painted battleship grey and interior will be left mostly untouched. It can only go downhill even if that store has Cheap Impact (I'm not really an expert on anything Wal-Mart decor after the 1990s or early 2000s...I still feel like Wal-Mart decor has progressively gotten worse since the 1980s with the orange carpets and such with the exception of some of the Project Impact era stuff that was sometimes okay).
DeleteIt looks like another store in my area is in the middle of a remodel that does involve some interior changes based on the 'Latest' images tab of Google Maps. It looks like for sure the white tile floor is being removed here: https://goo.gl/maps/CmnETpBzcqyvEzmm7
About the hurricane, thanks, things seem to have gone about as well as one can reasonably expect given the situation. The rain wasn't as bad as expected, but perhaps the winds were a bit stronger than expected. The coastal areas did get some damage. I did see a Circle K/Valero combo where the gas station canopy collapsed near the coast, but up on the northside where I live, the biggest problem was/is power outages. I lost my power for about 10 hours, but it's back and things should be fine now. Some people still might have to wait a day or two to get their power back.
Oof, 10 hours without power isn't fun (at least by northwest standards -- I'm sure stuff like that is more common in places with actual weather), but glad to hear that things are good otherwise with you!
DeleteI remember hearing about this cosmetics setup, but haven't ever seen it myself, not even in the Southaven store which I believe has higher shrink. Very strange that it seems to be the norm in your area -- maybe there's a lot of theft at Walmart in your region? And if so, maybe that's even a part of why Walmart doesn't have a huge presence??
ReplyDeleteInteresting! It could well be, but hard to say for sure. Retail businesses around here complain about theft a lot, but that seems to be the case everywhere.
DeleteMy Walmart still has a similar cosmetics set up, but has no one manning the counter most of the time. Another Walmart I went to lacks this completely, which makes me think that this might be only a thing in high shrink stores.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I wouldn't be surprised in the least if this is a high-theft store, but this sort of thing is frequently done even in stores around here that I wouldn't expect to be high-theft. But who knows.
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