Walgreens Unveils New 'Anti-Theft' Store in Chicago, With Just 2 Aisles Accessible to Shoppers

A Walgreens store in Chicago’s South Loop area has undergone a techy security transformation, signaling the Windy City’s dystopian times. The new design limits customer access to just two aisles with basic goods, after passing through anti-theft detectors. This experimental store layout, located on the Northeast corner of State & Roosevelt Streets, is the first of its kind for Walgreens.

According to Walgreens spokesperson Megan Boyd, the store offers the same products as it did previously, and the changes are simply for customer convenience. Boyd said:

…just with a new look and feel that focuses on shopping digitally for convenience. We are testing a new experience at this store with new concepts, technologies and practices to enhance the experiences of our customers and team members.

Most of the store’s merchandise is now located behind staffed counters, with customers able to browse and order items digitally through kiosks. Signage placed in the store instructs shoppers to “place your order and relax” and to “let us do the shopping” while store staff fulfills their purchases from shelves kept away from the public. The store has a pharmacy in the back and offers self-checkout stations for low-cost “essentials” like groceries, bandages, over-the-counter medications, and other inexpensive products.

US of LOOTING – No More!
Chicago Walgreens Debuts New Anti-Theft Store—You Can Only Browse 2 Aisles. The Rest Of The Store Is Locked Away & needs to be ordered from a kiosk⚠️

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“I don’t understand why they had to move everything … There’s crime everywhere,” Gunn said.… pic.twitter.com/JGIlayOhLy

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The renovation has sparked divergent feedback from customers. Customer Sirak Goitom said that the retail layout was “confusing to walk through.”

Goitom added:

The way it was set up before, it was easier to move in and out. I don’t think this is good for business. And security can’t be that much better if there’s self-checkout.

South Loop resident Mu Ergin, who frequently shops at the location said the store was previously “dirty, smelly and not properly organized,” and that he had witnessed shoplifting in the past, as well as groups congregating outside. Erguin expressed that the renovation made the store look better, saying:

I’m pretty amazed at how the store looks more clean now. They’re making it smaller so they can control it better. It’s better for me … but I never felt unsafe to start with.

Another local, Jacoby Gunn, felt that the company was racially profiling. Gunn is a street cleaner and a neighborhood peacekeeper with READI Chicago, a gun-violence initiative that offers “at risk” adult men an 18-month subsidized, supported job and cognitive-behavioral programming, according to the University of Chicago. Gunn said:

I don’t understand why they had to move everything to the back at just this store. … There’s crime everywhere. It’s racial profiling. Why don’t you trust your customers?

This development follows Walgreens Boots Alliance’s (NASDAQ: WBA) recent acknowledgment that concerns over retail theft may have been overstated in 2022. Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe stated that the shrinkage percentage has fallen and that the company is satisfied with the progress.

During an earnings call in January, Kehoe said:

Maybe we cried too much last year. We’re quite happy with where we are. It’s [shrinkage of sales] around 2.5% to 2.6%. So that’s well below the prior year levels.

Kehoe also said that the drugstore chain is shifting away from private security to lean on law enforcement, citing the fact that the private companies have “proven to be largely ineffective.”