Target CEO defends unpopular theft prevention policy

Retailers and restaurants like to pretend that customer-unfriendly policies that benefit the company somehow also create a better experience for patrons.

Panera Bread, for example, hands you a cup so you can pour your own drink and pushes that as allowing customers to have their coffee, tea, or cold drink exactly how they want it. In reality, that's not an added convenience, it's a way for the company to save money on labor. 

It's the same thing with self-checkout. Yes, being able to skip the line when you have a few items is convenient, but that's not why companies are doing it. They're offering self-checkout as a way to cut down on labor costs.

Related: Costco members get some sneaky bad news

The same thing applies to a variety of different ways retailers fight theft. Consumers don't like having their self-checkout paused under the guide of system problems (as Walmart does) so a clerk can check for theft nor do they like having to show a receipt to exit the store (something Walmart and Costco do).

People want as seamless a shopping experience as possible. That includes being able to put items in their carts without having to get help from a store employee. 

Target's Brian Cornell shares his take on customers

While retail theft has increased, it's worth noting that most customers are not stealing. That puts honest people in a situation where they face added inconveniences because of crimes committed by others.

Target CEO Brian Cornell explained his company's theft problem during its second-quarter earnings call.

"Our team continues to face an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime," he said.

That has put store workers in an uncomfortable position.

"Safety incidents associated with theft are moving in the wrong direction. During the first five months of this year, our store saw a 120% increase in theft incidents involving violence or threats of violence. As a result, we're continuing to work tirelessly with retail industry groups and community partners to find solutions to promote safety for our store teams and our guests," he added.

Keeping workers safe is a clear priority, but one Target solution — locking select merchandise up, creates added inconvenience for customers. That, however, is not how Cornell sees it.

Cornell sees inconvenience as a positive

Target locks up entire categories of merchandise based on what gets stolen at each store. If an item is behind a locked case, the customer must find a store associate to unlock the item for them.

In certain stores, that can create a situation where shoppers have to wait for a case to be unlocked multiple times during a visit. That's something Cornell addressed in a call with reporters after the chain reported its third-quarter earnings call.     

"Just in the last week, I’ve been on the East Coast and on the West Coast in many of those stores that you’ve talked about where items have been locked up. And actually what we hear from the guests is a big thank you, because we are in stock with the brands that they need when they’re shopping in our stores," he said.

It's hard to believe that shoppers are happy to have a less convenient process that requires them to ask for help from a Target worker. Cornell, however, explained why the inconvenient process isn't, in fact, all the inconvenient. 

"And because we’ve invested in team member labor in those aisles and make sure we’re there to greet that guest, open up those cases and provide them the items they’re looking for,” he added.

The CEO said that sales have actually increased for those items in his response to a question asked by CNBC's Courtney Reagan. That's not an apples-to-apples comparison when the choices aren't simply locked up or not locked up as Cornell made it clear that not having the items in stock at all is a third possible choice.