- Sephora closes its perfumes.
- Stores will have testers on shelves, but customers will have to ask an employee for a bottle to purchase.
- This approach comes as more retailers lock up merchandise to thwart shoplifting.
Sephora is the latest retailer to close merchandise in an attempt to shrink it shoplifting.
The beauty chain all perfume stocks were removed from the shelves, – CNN reported. Only test bottles remain on display, and customers must ask the salesperson to bring them a new bottle if they want to buy it.
Sephora began implementing this strategy over the summer to reduce retail theft– according to a statement to CNN. During a recent visit to Sephora on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Business Insider noticed that testers were on display but there was no stock on the shelves.
Sephora did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Much to the chagrin of customers, more and more retailers are using this method to reduce shoplifting. Blocking product aisles it is common in drug stores such as CVS and Rite-Aid, and in big box stores such as Walmart and Target.
But locking up goods could discourage customers, Business Insider previously reported. Some customers become frustrated when they have to wait for an employee to pick up their product. Others have turned to online shopping to avoid the hassle altogether.
Shoplifting has been a major problem for retail this year as many companies, including Lowe’s, Target, Macy’s and Ulta, blamed theft for billions in lost profits.
When the goal closed nine locations this fall, the company blamed retail thefts. Before his bankruptcy, Rite-Aid closed stores in “the most contracted areas,” the company’s chief financial officer said in the earnings call.
But the shrinking numbers that retailers are referring to are more complicated than it seems. Decrease or loss of stock includes other factors such as damage and administrative errors. Some experts say managers do overestimated impact of shoplifting and use him as a scapegoat for other problems.
