- A TikToker went viral with a video mourning the lost era of speedy and enjoyable "Target runs."
- She's the latest in a surmounting amount of complaints about retailers locking up basic items to prevent theft.
A TikToker went viral earlier this month mourning what she's calling the end of "the era of Target runs." @Dr.ems said it took her an hour to shop for basic items like body wash, deodorant, and razors because her local store locked them behind glass casings.
Her video is the latest in a surge of clips complaining about how Target's policy to lock up essential items has made it frustrating to shop in the store. Target, along with other retail chains like Home Depot, Walgreens, and CVS, have started encasing certain items behind lock boxes to prevent organized retail crime, where allegedly groups of people steal these items to resell.
In @dr.ems' video, which has been viewed 3.5 million times, the creator said she was frustrated that it took her an hour to purchase a single bag of everyday items. She described herself as a "former Target lover" and said she might have spent more time in the store perusing its fall items and purchased more items but the experience put her off.
@dr.ems It literally felt like @target doesn’t even want us to shop there anymore #targetrun #dystopia #endstagecapitalism ♬ original sound - Emily Long, MD
She was perplexed at how Target left out more valuable items, like $40 makeup, but made it difficult to access cheap household necessities.
"Behold the dystopian nightmare that is my Target," @dr.ems said while the camera panned across rows and rows of locked items.
"I was literally fighting for my life in that store," she added. "I was so desperate to get out of there, and then when I finally get to the end, there's a big line."
She said every employee was busy opening the cabinets, so only one staffer was working the register.
"It literally felt like @target doesn't even want us to shop there anymore," @dr.ems wrote in the description, adding the hashtags "dystopia" and "end stage capitalism."
The comments were packed with people agreeing and saying they were fed up with the new lockup mandates. One user wrote that they and their husband used to go on "Target dates," but said they couldn't remember the last time they had one.
"When something I need is locked up I have always just abandoned my cart and gone somewhere else," another user wrote. "I refuse to ask for help to buy deodorant."
@shaneelmore253 Target locking everything up! #target #america ♬ original sound - Shane
The TikToker's video is the latest (and most viral) in a series of clips by shoppers aggravated by Target and other retailers with similar practices. In one video from September 5, a man marveled at how even the toothpaste was locked up at his Target. In another video from February about CVS, a man was in disbelief that he had to request an employee's help to buy the caramel candy Werther's Originals.
"Set them free," he wrote in the description.
In November 2022, Target executives said the company lost over $400 million that year due to inventory shrink, and blamed it mostly on organized retail crime. The company also announced nine stores would close in October 2023 due to "theft and organized retail crime" in cities like New York, including a San Francisco location that was the subject of another viral TikTok marveling at all the locked up merchandise.
However, as retailers take drastic measures, crime stats do not appear to support the company's assertion that nonviolent theft is on the rise, as Insider previously reported.
It's even led some shoppers to form conspiracies of other motives. One TikToker in August hypothesized that locking up cheaper household items is a ploy to get people to grab more expensive products.
Target did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Insider has also reached out to @dr.ems.