Target and Walmart stores in the Bay Area are locking up underwear and socks to prevent shoplifting

• Target and Walmart stores in the Bay Area are putting underwear and socks behind locked doors.
• Retailers are using this tactic to prevent shoplifting.

Underwear and socks are some of the latest items to be locked up at Target and Walmart stores in the Bay Area, in the retailers' latest efforts to combat shoplifting, NBC Bay Area reported.

The local TV station showed that at least two East Bay area Target stores had put undergarments behind locked doors and customers were required to press a button on the doors to alert store assistants to come and unlock them.

One customer told NBC Bay Area that they had to wait 10 minutes for an assistant to retrieve an item.

A Walmart store located in Hilltop, California is also keeping underwear locked up in a bid to prevent theft. The TV station reported that this store is being targeted by shoplifters every day.

Business Insider reached out to Target and Walmart for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Cesar Zepeda, a Richmond City councilmember, said in an interview with NBC Bay Area that retail theft is hurting the local community and its likely to lead to store closures.

"The cost will go up, our residents will have to pay more or they'll have to commute and travel further to pick up their groceries, to pick up their socks, to pick up their prescriptions," he said.

Social media users have been documenting locked up items in stores and complaining about the inconvenience.

One TikToker went viral in November saying that the era of speedy "Target runs" was over after it took her an hour to shop for basic items like body wash, deodorant, and razors because they were locked up behind glass casings, BI previously reported.

Some retailers have resorted to locking up certain items to prevent theft.

Retailers lost $112 billion to inventory shrink, or 1.6% of all retail sales, in 2022, according to the National Retail Federation's annual Retail Security Survey.

Though external theft was the largest contributing factor to this and accounted for 36% of shrink, it was employee theft and retailers' errors in tracking inventory that collectively made up the lion's share of this.

There is also evidence to suggest that some retailers are using shoplifting as a scapegoat to justify weaker profits.

A recent CNBC analysis of seven US retailers including Target, found that generally losses from shrink "pale in comparison to other factors squeezing margins, such as excessive discounting and promotions."