A young woman insisted she brought her own slushy into the store, then the clerk’s response left her with nothing

It’s a frustrating reality for small business owners, but a recent video posted to X highlights just how bold shoplifters have become in inner-city retail environments. The clip, as reported by the Daily Dot, features a store owner or manager locking the doors to prevent thieves from making a quick exit. It shows a variety of customers attempting to walk out with everything from beef jerky and candies to sandwiches and soda.

One particularly memorable interaction involves a young woman who tried to walk out with a slushy. When the clerk confronted her, she insisted, “I brought this in,” and the clerk’s reply, “That ain’t free,” shut the attempt down. Once she was told the drink cost $4.00, she simply left it on the counter and walked out.

This is one example among a larger trend affecting retailers across the United States. Industry figures from Building Security Services estimate that U.S. retailers lost roughly $45 billion to shoplifting in 2024 alone, while global retail shrink reached a projected $132 billion that year, up from $112 billion in 2022.

Retailers are responding with tighter security as shoplifting incidents climb

Retailers reported an 18% increase in average shoplifting incidents between 2023 and 2024, and threats or acts of violence tied to shoplifting rose 17% in that same span, with 91% of retailers reporting that aggression connected to theft is increasing. Amanda DeAlmeida, Executive Vice President of Building Security Services, said retail security conversations have shifted in recent years, noting that the focus is “now about employee safety” rather than shrinkage alone.

Some retailers have pointed to extreme measures already in place, such as an Atlanta-area grocery store’s overnight lockup policy, as an example of how far businesses are going to limit losses. Many retailers are also turning to professional security, with a uniformed officer on the floor often acting as a deterrent before a theft is even attempted. This marks a shift from reactive to proactive security, including better lighting, improved sight lines, and license plate readers.

About 64% of retailers report relaying less than half of their store theft incidents to law enforcement, citing limited confidence that police will respond. That gap has pushed some businesses toward private security or alternative service models, while organized retail crime adds another layer to the problem, with 67% of retailers reporting involvement from transnational groups using coordinated teams to clear shelves for resale online.

Confrontations between retail staff and customers have continued to draw attention online in other recent cases, including one involving a teen content creator’s Walmart arrest after he refused to leave the store. DeAlmeida said theft prevention comes down to “presence, awareness, and response,” adding that a trained officer positioned at high-theft areas can reduce losses more effectively than locked display cases alone.