CHICAGO, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research space, has issued a new report—Unlocking Shopper Reactions to Secured Products—sourced from verified purchase data and a sentiment survey of over 5,000 consumers on their awareness of and reaction to merchandise being locked up in stores. Three-fifths of shoppers reported seeing locked-up merchandise on a regular basis, and 27% said they would switch retailers or abandon the purchase altogether instead of waiting for assistance for a locked-up product.

Key findings include:

• 60% of shoppers report seeing locked-up merchandise on a regular basis. Among shoppers who encounter locked-up products, 28% report seeing them every time they shop, 32% see them sometimes, and 29% see them often. Only 11% of shoppers say they rarely see locked-up products.
  • Shoppers are noticing more locked-up products than ever before. 61% of shoppers reported seeing an increase in the number of products under lock and key over the past year. 33% have not noticed a change, and 7% say there are fewer items locked up now.
  • Fewer than a quarter of shoppers are encountering locks on items they are looking to purchase. Although many shoppers are noticing locked products, only 21% say the locks are on products they're actively trying to purchase.
  • Consumers in urban areas and the Western U.S. are encountering lock-ups more frequently. 35% of Western consumers say they encounter locks on the items they are trying to purchase almost every time they shop and 30% of urban consumers say the same. Over half of shoppers in some major Western metro areas report high levels of product locking: 54% in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area, 51% in Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, and 45% in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim. Metro areas with the lowest levels of reported product locking are Cleveland-Elyria (5%), Cincinnati (9%), Pittsburgh (11%), Columbus (13%) and Austin-Round Rock (13%).
• Shoppers most often see locked-up items at drug stores and mass retailers. The stores where consumers see the most product lock-ups are mass retailers (68% of consumers), drug stores (62%), grocery stores (31%), department stores (25%), and home improvement stores (23%). Dollar stores (18%) see the lowest levels of lock-ups.
  • Drug stores provide better assistance accessing locked-up merchandise. At a retailer level, CVS (+16%), Walgreens (+12%) and Target (+12%) had the highest net ratings for easy assistance retrieving locked items, while Walmart (-13%) had the lowest. Net ratings showcase the difference between the percent of consumers who say getting assistance is easy and the percent who say it is difficult.  
• Phones and tablets are often under lock and key. The most commonly observed locked-up items are personal electronics (58% of consumers report seeing), OTC medications (38%), physical media (36%), personal hygiene products (34%), makeup & cosmetics (33%), large electronics (32%), and accessories (29%).
  • Rural and urban areas see different locking measures in place. Rural shoppers are more likely to report locks on electronics (62%) and physical media (41%), while urban shoppers are more likely to encounter them on personal hygiene products (41%), makeup (37%), and bath & body products (22%).
• More than a quarter of shoppers say a retailer loses their purchase when items are locked up. 62% of shoppers say they typically wait for assistance when they encounter locked up merchandise, and 9% say they order the item online from that same retailer. However, 17% say they will switch retailers (10% online, 7% in-store), and 10% say they will abandon the purchase altogether.
  • Shoppers are less willing to wait when everyday goods are locked up. Only 53% of shoppers say they'll wait for assistance if bath & body products are locked up, 56% for makeup and cosmetics, and 57% for personal hygiene products.
  • Willingness to wait varies by generation, ethnicity, guardianship, and retailer memberships. 69% of Boomers will wait for assistance, compared to only 57% of Millennials. 71% of Black consumers will wait, compared to 58% of Asian consumers. Among shoppers with children, those with kids in the 6-12 age range are the least likely to wait for assistance (58%). Shoppers with retailer memberships such as Amazon Prime or Walmart+ are more likely to shift their purchases online when faced with locked products (22% vs. 19% for the average consumer).
  • Shoppers unwilling to wait spend more online. Shoppers who are not willing to wait for assistance when encountering a locked-up product spend 21% of their dollars online, compared to 18% for those who are willing to wait. Top banners also differ slightly between the groups, with non-waiters spending more at Amazon, Target and Walmart.com.

Numerator’s Product Lockup survey was fielded to over 5,000 consumers in September 2024. It specified locked items as “items one may encounter when shopping in-store that are locked up for security measures and require employee assistance to get off the shelf / rack.” Verified purchase data and additional demographic & psychographic information about survey respondents was compiled using Numerator’s 150k household Total Commerce Panel.

About Numerator:

Numerator is a data and tech company bringing speed and scale to market research. Numerator blends first-party data from over 1 million US households with advanced technology to provide 360-degree consumer understanding for the market research industry that has been slow to change. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Numerator has 2,000 employees worldwide; 80 of the top 100 CPG brands’ manufacturers are Numerator clients.

Bob Richter
Numerator
212-802-8588
press@numerator.com