New CVS App Lets Customers Unlock Cabinets to Pick Up Products | Hacker News Reader

New CVS App Lets Customers Unlock Cabinets to Pick Up Products

nytimes.com

5 pointsbookofjoe14 comments

Cool, and customers are going to continue to order on Amazon.

weird comment, cvs still fills that niche of being local, open late, and literally dealing drugs

For the pharmacy, sure, but if you keep taking the "convenience" part out of convenience store then customers aren't going to keep playing ball.

Great! So a thief can install the app, open the cabinet, take multiple items, stuff the extras in his pants and only pay for one.

Problem solved?

Apparently it takes more than just installing the app. They have to be a registered rewards member. Presumably would be fairly easy for the store to figure out any users who were abusing the system and remove their accounts.

Presumably would be fairly easy

Presumably, it would be fairly easy to catch people stealing --- but they locked everything up and raised their prices instead.

> it would be fairly easy to catch people stealing

It's very dangerous for store employees to "catch" someone stealing.

https://wjla.com/news/local/this-will-get-you-killed-suspect...

Numerous such incidents across the country.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cvs+employee+assaulted+theft

So the guidance from management is to prioritize employee safety over some goods being stolen and not confront shoplifters.

The real issue is that prosecutors and police have been letting those who do get caught with no or minimal punishment in the past few years. And local laws have been reducing penalties for stealing after mid-2020.

So naturally shoplifters and thieves have gotten more brazen.

There's no way to prevent all theft short of closing the store. You need to find a balance between preventing theft and allowing people to shop.

IMO the tendency of CVS to lock products up in cabinets has pushed a lot of their customers away.

>NYC lost nearly half of all drugstores in past decade — with 10% closing just this year — as shoplifting and crime run rampant

https://nypost.com/2024/12/19/business/nearly-10-of-nycs-dru...

That's an interesting article, as the headline claims it's due to shoplifting and crime, but almost every representative interviewed in it says otherwise:

> Experts blame not only crime but also drugstores’ stepped-up security measures — most notably locking merchandise behind plexiglass, forcing customers to call and wait for store clerks for everything from shampoo to painkillers. To avoid hassles, shoppers are skipping drugstores altogether and buying more essentials online.

> “Decisions are NOT based on shoplifting or crime alone,’ a CVS spokeswoman told The Post when asked about the recent shutterings. “Many factors are considered when closing a store, including population shifts, consumer buying patterns, store and pharmacy density, pharmacy care access, and community health needs,” the spokeswoman added.

> The Chicago-based pharmacy chain, which has around 8,700 locations nationwide, said that one in four of its stores are unprofitable and that its is looking to “improve our customers’ in-store experience.”

> A Walgreens rep told The Post that the closings are driven by increased “regulatory and reimbursement pressures” that are “weighing on our ability to cover the costs associated with rent, staffing, and supply needs.”

> “A few years ago, I thought we were too heavy with drugstores on almost every block,” said Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, a nonprofit that promotes development in the district.

So these chains built a ton of stores, made them unpleasant to shop in, and then—surprise!—discover that they're losing money.

In fact the only person interviewed who actually complained about theft:

> A spokesperson for Rite Aid said, “Like many in the industry, we are seeing a higher level of brazen shoplifting and organized retail crime. We are taking an active role in helping law enforcement in their pursuit of shoplifters, as well as continuing our efforts to educate community leaders on the impact of retail theft and advocate for solutions.”

Wasn't even quoted as saying it's the reason that they're closing stores, just that it's a problem. Is it one of the reasons? Probably, yeah, but the author of this article couldn't even find a statement that linked the two.

Yes, and the aviation accident in Washington was due to DEI --- even though both pilots and over 70% of air traffic controllers are white men.

https://archive.ph/Ww4wG

still going to buy much of my prior drug store needs at the grocery store now because the experience has become so terrible... how about hiring enough people to be at the registers and still have people in the store to tell you where something is

This sounds like a creative solution if it can work reliably.

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