A TikTok video showing a CVS candy aisle sealed behind plexiglass has drawn attention online, with viewers questioning the store’s security setup. The video was posted by a user identified as thecheckoutchad on TikTok.
The clip shows the creator pointing to a red label on a store shelf that reads “LIFT HERE FOR PRODUCT,” placed below bags of Hershey’s Dipped Pretzels that are displayed behind a clear plastic barrier.
An on-screen text overlay in the video states, “CVS employee said So It’s come To this.” The video is captioned, “Loving the new CVS security system ngl a 10/10 shopping experience.”
Alarm sounds when plastic barrier is lifted
The person is seen reaching for a bag of the pretzels. As the clear plastic flap covering the product is lifted, a loud, continuous alarm reportedly begins sounding throughout the store. The person is shown removing the bag from the shelf while the alarm continues to blare.
@thecheckoutchad Loving the new CVS security system ngl a 10/10 shopping experience
♬ original sound – thecheckoutchad
The shelf in the video also shows other candy products, including Flipz White Fudge, Tru Fru, and Brookside. Price tags visible in the video show amounts such as 77.5 cents and $6.59, along with a yellow “50% off” sign.
The video’s caption and on-screen text suggest the poster viewed the security measure as excessive, though the clip does not include further commentary from the person filming.
The video follows broader reporting on rising theft concerns at CVS and other pharmacy chains. According to a Washington Post column by contributing columnist Matt Bai, CVS and similar stores have been struggling to contain a rise in thefts carried out by what Bai described as “gangs of fast-moving thieves.” In another case, a Dallas woman noticed a man circling her at Target before realizing he was a store walker.
Bai argued in the column that the security measures put in place to prevent theft may be hurting CVS’s business more than the theft itself. “Unfortunately for CVS, the solution might be worse for business than the organized shoplifting,” Bai wrote.
Fox Business published a critique of Bai’s piece and referenced a 2023 incident in Washington, D.C.’s Columbia Heights neighborhood, where a CVS location was reportedly ransacked repeatedly by a large group of school-age kids.
According to Fox Business, “A big group of kids, like 45 or more, walk in before school, after school and late at night to steal chips and drinks.” The outlet added that the group would “throw the food and beverages on the ground and stomp on them, leaving behind a big mess.”
A survey by the National Retail Federation, cited by the Fox Business, found that 70% of retailers believe organized retail theft has become more common in recent years. The piece stated that these kinds of incidents have led large chain stores, including CVS, to lock up merchandise behind glass and plastic barriers. A similar debate erupted when a Minneapolis woman alleged two kids were trapped inside a convenience store.
In his column, Bai described how the barriers changed his experience shopping at CVS. He said he used to enjoy browsing the store’s aisles, but that the products are now largely sealed away. “It’s like someone has turned the CVS I knew into a Museum of the American Pharmacy; the only thing missing from the lifelike diorama is a wax employee with a pricing gun,” Bai wrote.
Bai also described an experience where he felt pressure after asking a store clerk to unlock a case so he could look at a product, and recounted being questioned by a cashier when returning an item. He wrote that when he told the cashier he had not opened the returned product, the cashier “cheekily” asked, “Are you lying?”
The TikTok video drew a range of reactions in its comment section. One commenter, identified as Jessie Grace, asked, “So what happens when they need to restock those shelves…” In response, thecheckoutchad wrote, “This can’t be the way to do it.”
Jessie Grace also asked in a follow-up comment whether the locking mechanism meant customers now had to ask an employee to open the case each time they wanted an item, and remarked that the setup “must have been super annoying as an employee.”
A commenter identified as Dassi Simone wrote, “Almost 7 dollars for chocolate covered pretzels is insane! Catch me at the dollar tree getting these.”
Another commenter, identified as Definitely Not Charlie, wrote, “Aaaand just like that I’m never going inside a CVS again,” to which thecheckoutchad replied, “I love CVS.” A separate commenter, Jacob Naughton-Stark, responded to that exchange by asking, “So you steal?”
A commenter wrote, “there is no reason for these. just waste of money and materials. It’s a buzzer that not a single employee is going to come look at.” Another comment read: “Genuinely what even is the point.”
