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Retailer Target says it's closing 9 stores due to theft. The crime data tells a different story. (web.archive.org)

submitted 1 year ago by 0x815@feddit.de to c/usnews

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Popular Information analyzed publicly available crime data for the stores Target is closing in New York and San Francisco. This data reveals that stores that are being closed have lower levels of theft than nearby stores that have remained open. An analysis of the stores Target is shuttering in the Seattle area follows a similar pattern. This data suggests that factors other than crime are driving Target's decisions.

In June, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the company was saddled with large quantities of unwanted merchandise that it was forced to deeply discount, cutting into profit margins. Moreover, Target's stores include "many fun and impulse-driven items," but that merchandising mix "has become a liability as consumers focus on needs rather than wants and put discretionary dollars toward vacations and concerts," CNBC reported in August. Groceries only account for 20% of Target's sales, compared to 50% at competitors like Walmart.

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[–] RaincoatsGeorge@lemmy.zip 18 points 1 year ago

The narrative that is being sold is that there’s mass theft of items, you know the videos of people trying to roll with like a shopping cart full of shit. While that shit no doubt does happen, it’s just not a daily thing across the country and there’s no question that it’s hardly as if these corps can’t eat that cost easily.

Convince people there’s total lawlessness, scare them into voting for ‘tough on crime’ legislators that are bought and paid for, use the illusion of mass anarchy and free for all shoplifting to gut low performing stores and not have the bad press of all those layoffs, rinse, repeat.

The only good thing about target is you’re paying more money for a worse selection but you don’t have to look at the people that typically shop at Walmart. That’s it.