If you’ve ever spent any significant amount of time inside a Walmart or Target store, you know how easy it is to get lost there.
Trust me – I’m with you.
While the sheer size of many Walmart and Target stores is attractive to consumers, allowing them to purchase large quantities of items in one trip, shopping at the supermarket can be overwhelming at times.
But the fact that Walmart and Target stores are large and well-stocked is both a blessing and a curse. That’s because these two retail giants have been targets of retail theft for years. This is a problem that isn’t going away anytime soon.
It’s not just big box stores like Walmart and Target that are plagued by retail theft. The National Retail Federation reports that widespread shoplifting incidents will increase by 18% in 2024 compared to 2023.
The problem has become so severe that many retailers, including supermarket chains, are now using facial recognition technology to identify potentially “problematic” customers, much to the frustration of shoppers.
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But because Walmart and Target are major players in the retail industry, they’re also vulnerable to theft.
Walmart suffers heavy losses US$3 billion According to GrabOn, incidents of theft occur every year. The company’s U.S. stores face more than 900,000 shoplifting incidents each year.
Meanwhile, in September 2023, Target announced the closure of nine stores in New York City, Seattle, San Francisco/Oakland, and Portland, Oregon, due to high theft rates.
“We are unable to continue operating these stores as theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our teams and guests and causing unsustainable business performance,” the company said.
Walmart has taken steps to prevent retail theft, including:
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Install AI-powered surveillance cameras in self-checkout lanes
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Increase the number of store loss prevention specialists
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Using RFID tags in high-risk inventory categories
Target also takes a number of steps to prevent shoplifting losses, including:
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Target items that are more likely to be stolen
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Impose restrictions on self-checkout
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Invest in enhanced security
Despite these efforts, the threat of retail theft remains significant for both companies.
While giants like Walmart and Target lose revenue to retail theft every year, at Costco, it’s less of an issue.
Costco said in its 2025 annual report, “By strictly controlling entrances and exits and adopting a membership-based format, we believe our inventory losses (shrinkage) are much lower than typical retail operations.”
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This is nothing new. During the company’s fourth-quarter 2023 earnings call, then-Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said inventory reduction was less than 1 basis point even after the introduction of self-checkout. “Thankfully, it’s not a big issue for us,” he confirmed.
Of course, anyone who has ever shopped at Costco knows that there are gatekeepers at the entrance and exit of the store. In fact, Costco members have long complained about having to show their receipts before leaving the store. But it’s a key part of Costco’s loss prevention strategy.
Of course, that’s not the only reason Costco checks receipts. This is also to ensure that members have been charged correctly.
In fact, Costco says on its website, “Verifying purchase receipts when customers leave our buildings is standard practice at all of our warehouse locations. We do this to double-check that our cashiers are handling purchases correctly. It’s the most effective way we maintain inventory control accuracy and is a great way to ensure our members pay for their purchases correctly.”
But the truth is, Costco’s receipt-checking policy likely saves the company a lot of money every year. By saving money, Costco can continue to provide great value to members.
As someone who has been a Costco member for 20 years, I certainly understand how frustrating it can be to want to leave a store only to be stuck in a bottleneck at the exit. But I happen to appreciate the receipt checking policy that Costco has in place.
Not long ago, a diligent receipt checker noticed that one of my items had accidentally been scanned twice.
That’s a bag of blueberries, so $5 more isn’t a huge loss. but i’m happy no Had to pay for items I didn’t take home.
More retail:
It’s not just me.
In a Reddit thread on the subject, one user wrote: “I actually had them find out the cashier bought me two items that I only had one of and it was like a $50 item. I’m so thankful they found it.”
Given the high volume of customers at Walmart and Target, it may not be feasible to have employees check receipts at the door before shoppers leave the store.
But one thing is for sure. Both major supermarket giants need to remain vigilant and continue to invest in retail theft prevention. Otherwise, as criminals become more sophisticated in their activities, they may face serious losses.
Maurie Backman owns shares of Costco.
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This article was originally published by TheStreet on February 5, 2026, and first appeared in the Retail section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.