Doing This Could Get You Banned From Target Stores in Maine, New Hampshire, & Massachusetts

Over the last few years, we have seen some major changes in the way that brick and mortar stores operate.

In 2020, we all learned that shopping through online platforms, like Amazon, was easy and that we could get whatever we wanted delivered right to our doors.  This loss of revenue has continued to affect both major retailers and locally owned businesses.

Additionally, starting in 2020, many retailers saw a significant uptick in theft.  In some places, it has gotten to the point that smaller, high-value, objects have been locked up or removed from shelves entirely.  These items include liquor, fragrances, video games, and even replacement razor heads.

Recently, one major retailer announced drastic measures meant to curb these thefts.

You Could Be Banned From Target for Life for Shoplifting

According to a September 2024 article on Yahoo! Finance, Target CEO and Chairman Brian Cornell explained that his team had been working hard to combat shoplifting at the chain's nearly 2,000 stores.

According to the article, Cornell said that things had improved a lot in the last year.

He said, in part:

It comes back to support at the federal level, at the state level, and at the local level.

One of the ways that the federal government has helped combat theft is with the INFORM Consumers Act.  The new regulation is meant to make it more difficult for thieves to resell stolen items online.

While the above protects all retailers, Target has taken additional steps to deal with theft.

Target recently lowered the employee intervention threshold.

According to Bloomberg, over the summer, the massive retailer quietly lowered the threshold from $100 to $50.

What does this mean?

It means that employees are now allowed to confront suspected thieves who they believe have stolen as little as $50 worth of merchandise.  Prior to the change, employees were only supposed to confront suspected thieves who had stolen at least $100 worth of items.

According to Popcrush, shoplifting at Target stores could also lead to a lifetime ban from the store.  The article explains that those who are caught breaking the law at the store could be slapped with a no-trespass order.  This would effectively cause you to be banned from the store permanently.

If, after you got hit with the no-trespass order, you decided to go back into the store, you could end up being arrested for trespassing.

But, you'd never steal from a store, right?  So, you have nothing to worry about.