If you’re in a Giant or Kroger anytime soon and see a store employee looking into a customer’s bag, you might want to pay attention. The word’s out that those two supermarket chains have had enough of in-store theft and have decided to do something about it.
Grocers are battling “shrinkage” (not “shrinkflation”) in areas like bakery, seafood, and self-checkout and both Kroger and Giant have added safety measures, including receipt checks – like Costco – to try and curtail an increase in theft.
Though in the early stages of implementation, Kroger has “received positive feedback from associates and customers,” Mark Bruce, a Kroger spokesperson, said in a statement to GroceryDive.
There are also no longer any suitcases, duffle bags or roller bags allowed in select stores, and the grocer has the right to search bags, Spectrum News 1 reported.
GroceryDive’s Peyton Bigora said Giant Food has also confirmed it’s looking into limiting bag sizes to prevent theft. And just like Kroger, Giant customers are prohibited from bringing suitcases, duffle bags, or any bag larger than 14 inches high, 14 inches wide, and 6 inches deep when shopping in one of its stores.
These added layers of protection are likely to become a trend. Some Safeway stores have removed their self-checkout lanes to reduce theft losses, too. And Walmart is reportedly taking steps to curb theft.
Bigora said that in the case of Safeway, the company has also been introducing receipt-scanning gates at self-checkout areas at select locations, and that company confirmed that the gates are part of “long-planned security improvements” aimed at preventing theft.