Home Depot shoppers were surprised to learn the popular DIY chain is introducing anti-theft shopping carts.
TikToker, translation:offered users a chance to get an up-close look at the cart’s wheel-locking mechanism, but some viewers seemed less than impressed with the shopper’s discovery, saying more stores are introducing such carts into their stores.
“Apparently if you steal from Home Depot you get a new one so you walk out the store and your cart gets stuck,” the TikTok user said, dropping to his knees as he caught a glimpse of an orange Home Depot shopping cart that had reportedly stopped working after he’d left the store.
“I pushed and pushed and it didn’t budge and I wondered what was going on,” he recalls.
@dutchintheusa was finally able to use his cart thanks to a Home Depot employee who noticed him struggling with it. “And this guy just lifted the scanner and unlocked the cart,” he said, pointing his camera at the handle of Home Depot’s new shopping carts.
He begins playing with the wheel that disabled the cart: “So if you steal this wheel will lock up and you’ll never be able to roll again. What a crazy time,” @dutchintheusa says into the camera lens as the video finally ends.
translation: Crazy Security Features Home Depot #safety #BlueCollarLife #safety #America ♬ Original Sound – Dutchintheusa
Anti-theft measures stepped up across retail stores
Home Depot isn’t the only retailer to have anti-theft carts in its stores: One TikTok user seemed to have a bit of fun watching a Target customer struggle to drag a cart around the store.
The Reddit post also details how one store is “copying Walmart.”[‘s] “Anti-theft cart” stops actively block shoppers from taking their carts out of the store if they try to leave without paying for their items. The video details several people stopping, attempting to leave the store with carts full of stolen goods, and eventually abandoning them.
This store is copying Walmart’s anti-theft carts. The only difference is that they are proactive. It happens while you’re shopping🤣
byu/BadBoyBrazil inWalmart
Sun In July 2023, it was reported that shoppers at Walmart and Loblaw weren’t too happy about being strapped into anti-theft carts.
But this was mostly due to false alarms that humiliated customers, who paid for their items and then were accused of crimes they didn’t commit. “Loblaw shoppers have complained that their cart alarms frequently go off, even though they’ve paid for all their items,” the outlet wrote, adding that shoppers at the chain are also frustrated by the fact that their shopping carts are effectively held hostage until an exit attendant checks their receipt.
Many viewers noted that these security measures have been in place for years at several other stores.
“It’s been going on for 20 years,” one person said.
Another replied: “There’s nothing new about that.”
Another pointed out that the cart wheel locks are not meant to stop shoppers from leaving the store with their items, but rather to stop people from leaving the store’s parking lot with the cart itself. “It’s definitely not for theft, but to keep the cart in a specific area,” they wrote.
Some offered helpful tips for using the kart even when it’s locked down: “Just lift the front wheel until it’s out of range of the sensor and it will work again,” one user suggested.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Home Depot and @dutchintheusa via email for more information.
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