Sephora is embracing the most annoying anti-theft policy

• Sephora is locking up its perfumes.
• Stores will display testers on its shelves, but customers must ask an employee for a bottle to purchase.

Sephora is the latest retailer to lock up merchandise in an effort to reduce shoplifting.

The beauty chain removed all perfume stock from its shelves, CNN reported. Only tester bottles remain on display, while customers must ask a sales associate to grab them a new bottle if they want to buy it.

Sephora began implementing this strategy in the summer to reduce retail theft, according to a statement to CNN. On a recent visit to the Sephora in Manhattan's Upper East Side, Business Insider noticed testers on display but no back stock on the shelves.

Sephora did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Much to customers' chagrin, more retailers are taking this approach to curb shoplifting. Locking up aisles of product is common among drug stores like CVS and Rite-Aid and big-box retailers like Walmart and Target.

But locking up merchandise can alienate customers, Business Insider previously reported. Some customers become frustrated when they have to wait for an employee to retrieve a product. Others have turned to online shopping to avoid the hassle altogether.

Shoplifting has been a major issue in retail this year, as many companies, including Lowe's, Target, Macy's, and Ulta, have blamed theft for billions in cumulative lost profits.

When Target closed nine locations this fall, the company blamed retail theft. Before its bankruptcy, Rite-Aid closed stores in "high-shrink areas," its chief financial officer said in an earnings call.

But the shrink numbers retailers reference are more complex than they let on. Shrink, or loss of inventory includes other factors like damages and administrative errors. Some experts say executives have overstated shoplifting's impact and are using it as a scapegoat for other issues.