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COMPTON, Calif. -- More and more stores across the Southland and the country are taking stricter measures to fight a growing epidemic of shoplifting. At least one Rite Aid store in Compton appears to be taking security to the extreme. The store on Long Beach Boulevard installed locked glass cases on every aisle, meaning a majority of items for sale apparently require the assistance of a store employee. It's a sign of a growing and disturbing trend that's been seen in social media videos and news reports of shoplifters taking items from retailers without significant resistance by employees or security....

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A new convenience store has opened up on UVA Grounds. Gaston's Market located on Brandon Ave is a no-wait checkout-free retail store that sells food, drinks and essentials at all hours of the day. The unique aspect of Gaston’s Market is that it is an AI-powered convenience store, meaning there’s no cashier.

There are plenty of good web browsers to use, and Firefox and its Waterfox spinoff, most of the time, are good. But I noticed something the other day about both of them. I was trying to log onto this Conservative shopping site called “Patriot Depot”, and when I would put the web address in, it would automatically re-direct to Google. This was true for both of them. I tried this with my other browsers, and the site came on just fine with them. Perhaps some lefty programmer at Firefox put a re-direct as a practical joke. If true, given that...

Dick's Sporting Goods on Wednesday said that it was the victim of a cyberattack, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. The sporting goods chain said in a regulatory filing that on Aug. 21 it "discovered unauthorized third-party access to its information systems, including portions of its systems containing certain confidential information." MASSACHUSETTS REVEALS CAUSE OF 911 OUTAGE The company said it immediately "activated its cybersecurity response plan and engaged with its external cybersecurity experts to investigate, isolate and contain the threat." The company said it also notified federal law enforcement regarding the incident and that the investigation...

Nordstrom is closing two corporate offices and asking some employees to relocate to its Seattle headquarters, GeekWire has learned. Nordstrom confirmed that it will let leases expire at its offices in Los Angeles and Chicago, citing low usage of the spaces as a primary reason for the decision. Most employees based in those cities will transition to full-time remote roles while others will be required to relocate to Seattle, the company said. It will use store locations in Los Angeles and Chicago for smaller team gatherings.

Shoplifting has spiked across the country so far this year — even as many major crimes like homicide dropped back to pre-pandemic levels, a major national crime study showed. Rates of shoplifting rose an average 24% during the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to the Council on Criminal Justice’s (CCJ) Mid-Year Crime Report released Thursday. The study reviewed crime statistics from 23 cities across the US, finding shoplifting has steadily been on the rise since the country began emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic around 2022. Shoplifting has gotten lots of attention in recent...

Washington, Arizona, Colorado, California, and Oregon would see the biggest number of stores flipped to C&S.. Kroger and Albertsons have released a list of hundreds of stores that would be divested to C&S Wholesale Grocers if federal regulators approve its proposed $24.6 billion merger deal, and the states with the largest numbers include Washington, Arizona, and Colorado. Under the proposal, Kroger and Albertsons would divest stores in Washington (124), Arizona (101), Colorado (91), California (63), Oregon (62), Illinois (35), Texas (28), Nevada (16), and Alaska (18). Several states would see 10 or fewer stores divested, including: Idaho (10), New Mexico...

Grocery store prices are changing faster than ever before — literally. This month, Walmart became the latest retailer to announce it’s replacing the price stickers in its aisles with electronic shelf labels. The new labels allow employees to change prices as often as every ten seconds.“If it’s hot outside, we can raise the price of water and ice cream. If there's something that’s close to the expiration date, we can lower the price — that’s the good news,” said Phil Lempert, a grocery industry analyst. Apps like Uber already use surge pricing, in which higher demand leads to higher prices...

Target plans to crack down on retail theft by lowering the threshold for how much shoplifters can swipe before employees are allowed to finally step in, according to a report. The Minnesota-based big box retail chain — which has blamed retail theft for hurting its bottom line — instructed store staff to halt bandits who try to flee with items totaling $50, down from the previous sum of $100, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

Target will no longer be accepting personal checks as a form of payment at its stores beginning later this month, the company confirmed.The Minnesota-based big-box retail chain will stop taking checks this month due to “extremely low volumes,” of such payments, a spokesperson told NBC Chicago.The company has taken “several measures” to notify customers in advance, the spokesperson added.The change will go into effect on July 15 following the end of Target’s popular Circle Week sales event.While personal checks will no longer be accepted, the store will still take cash, credit and debit cards, Target Circle Cards, digital wallets, SNAP/EBT...

Saks Fifth Avenue parent HBC said on Thursday it will acquire Neiman Marcus Group in a $2.65 billion deal combining the storied retailers. The combination will establish Saks Global, which will include Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH, Neiman Marcus’ namesake department store chain and Bergdorf Goodman. “We’re thrilled to take this step in bringing together these iconic luxury names,” HBC CEO Richard Baker. said in a statement. “For years, many in the industry have anticipated this transaction and the benefits it would drive for customers, partners and employees.” “This is an exciting time in luxury retail,” Baker added, citing...

Lego’s fanbase, which famously cuts across kids, teenagers and grownup collectors, is seeing some unsavory characters break into the mix, and for all the wrong reasons. Lego products, especially the pricier sets that range from over $100 to $1,000 or more, are being targeted for theft both by individual shoplifters and larger organized retail crime rings who make a beeline for sets sitting on store shelves because they can fetch a good profit at resale both in legal and illegal channels. Miguel Zuniga, who operates a Bricks & Minifigs Lego resale franchise store in Lumita, Los Angeles County, is still...

On a conference call with industry analysts on Thursday, Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth announced the company’s intention to eliminate a significant portion of its U.S. stores over the next three years. While describing a quarter of the 8,500 stores as “underperforming,” Wentworth announced that the company would close a “significant portion” of these locations. However, according to Wentworth, the precise number of closures is still undecided. Wentworth also stated that Walgreens will implement certain modifications at the remaining underperforming locations in an effort to bring them back to life. If that doesn’t work, then “we will continue to consider closure...

NEW YORK (AP) — Consumers barely increased spending in May from April as still high inflation and high interest rates curbed spending. Retail sales rose 0.1% in May, below the pace that economists projected, according to the Commerce Department. And April sales were revised downward — a 0.2% decline, from unchanged. Sales rose 0.6% in March and 0.9% in February. That comes after sales fell 1.1% in January, dragged down in part by inclement weather. Excluding gas prices and auto sales, retail sales rose the same amount. Excluding sales from gasoline, whose prices have been falling, sales were up 0.3%....

California's Democratic leadership, backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, wants to keep the tough-on-crime measure off the November ballot. They worry the ballot measure's proposal would disproportionately criminalize low-income people and those with substance use issues rather than target ringleaders who hire large groups of people to steal goods for them to resell online. If voters approve the tough-on-crime ballot initiative, Democratic leaders plan to void most measures in their own legislative package, citing potential conflicts. Lawmakers were short on details about how the two paths conflict earlier this week. Later, they said they fear if both efforts succeed, law enforcement...

Retail stores are being shut down at a staggering rate all over the country. If we stay on the pace that we are on, the total number of stores closed in 2024 will be nearly 40 percent higher than the total number of stores closed in 2023. That is what you call a crisis! Meanwhile, banks are shuttering hundreds of branches from coast to coast, and a “restaurant apocalypse” is sweeping across the nation. Everywhere around us, “space available” signs are going up on buildings that were once considered to be prime commercial real estate. If someone tries to convince...

A shopping trip for customers at Tanger Outlets Nashville went wrong after a group of robbers broke into a perfume store. A TikTok user (@ptodropout) posted a video obtained by WSMV4 of four individuals robbing Perfumania at the Antioch outlets on June 2. One security guard and multiple shoppers held the door shut while the incident was taking place and trapped the thieves inside while they waited for police. But the robbers were able to escape by smashing their way through a back door before the cops could arrive. Preston, the TikToker's son and one of the witnesses, told WSMV4...

One of the best-known grocery chains in the Northeast announced it's closing an unspecified amount of stores. Yet another business with ties to New York is closing multiple locations. The news follows what can only be described as a landslide of abrupt closings. Retro Fitness in Yorkville ceased operations on May 22, a few days after Wheelock Rides out of Syracuse took its final bow. Not only that, Freihofer's bakery shut its doors for good after 140 years, including its Verona location. And, just yesterday, BNY Mellon announced it's shuttering its Oriskany Business Park location. These local closures come as...

DEERFIELD, Ill. - Walgreens is lowering prices on hundreds of products this summer, joining other retailers like Target, Walmart, and Amazon who have announced similar promotions in an effort to lure in more cost-conscious shoppers. The company on Wednesday announced plans to cut prices "on more than 1,300 national and store-brand products across health and wellness, personal care and seasonal categories." In an attempt to boost its loyalty program, Walgreens said it will also bring back its "myW Days" in mid-July – a deal offering exclusive promotions for myWalgreens members. Global Chief Financial Officer Manmohan Mahajan told analysts during a...

Who’s ready for the nation to be covered in rainbows again this year? Apparently Walmart is, as it just released its newest collection for its gay clothing options this pride month. While the store seemed elated about its new clothes, users on social media, who are arguably tired of woke crap being literally everywhere, blasted not only the collection but Walmart as a whole. The video advertisement, which was shared on Walmart’s Instagram page, showed queer people gathered all together for a photo shoot. “Queer people have magic that we can share,” a man said at the start of the...