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Monday, June 5, 2023

Chicago Walgreens redesigned with only 2 aisles for browsing, rest behind counters

 A Walgreens store in Chicago reportedly has been redesigned to allow customers to browse only two aisles of products – after they pass through anti-theft detectors. 

The changes at the store on 2 E. Roosevelt Road in the South Loop area put most of the merchandise in aisles behind staffed counters, which customers can shop digitally through kiosks, according to Block Club Chicago. 

The website says a sign instructs shoppers to "place your order and relax" while staff at the store pull requested items off shelves kept away from the public. 

"Let us do the shopping," the sign reportedly reads. 

Walgreens store in Chicago, Illinois

The exterior of the Walgreens store in Chicago that has undergone the interior renovation, according to reports. (Google Maps)

Walgreens spokesperson Megan Boyd told Block Club Chicago that the store is offering the same products as before "just with a new look and feel that focuses on shopping digitally for convenience." 

"We are testing a new experience at this store with new concepts, technologies and practices to enhance the experiences of our customers and team members," she added. 

FOX Business has reached out to Walgreens for further comment. 

The store has self-checkout stations for items such as groceries, bandages and medications, as well as a pharmacy, Block Club Chicago reports. 

The "store test" – which Boyd told Block Club Chicago is the first of its kind – comes after Walgreens Boots Alliance told analysts at the start of this year that the drugstore chain may have overblown concerns of retail theft in 2022 and is pulling back on private security guards. 

Vitamin C boxes locked behind plastic in shop

Products are seen locked away at a New York City Walgreen's store on Lexington Avenue near East 61st Street. In Chicago, the new store redesign only has two aisles available for browsing, reports say. (Fox News / Fox News)

"Maybe we cried too much last year," Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe said during an earnings call, adding that shrinkage was 3.5% of sales last year but has since fallen in the mid-twos.  

"We're quite happy with where we are. It's around 2.5% to 2.6%. So that's well below the prior year levels," he added.  

Shrinkage refers to a loss of inventory due to factors such as theft and is the difference between actual inventory and recorded inventory on a business' balance sheet. 

"We've put in incremental security in the stores in the first quarter," Kehoe said. "Actually, probably we put in too much and we might step back a little bit from that."  

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Exterior of Walgreens store

A Walgreens spokesperson said the company is testing the store in Chicago "with new concepts, technologies and practices to enhance the experiences of our customers and team members." (Walgreens via Business Wire / AP Images)

The company is not doing away with security. Instead, it's dropping private security. 

"The security companies are proven to be largely ineffective," Kehoe said. "We're putting in more law enforcement as opposed to security companies." 

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/chicago-walgreens-redesigned-only-2-aisles-available-browsing-rest-behind-counters-report

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