PRIMARK has recently made a huge change at the tills and it is having a mixed response from shoppers.
The retailer is sealing customers’ carrier bags with “sold” stickers in a bid to combat shoplifting in stores.
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Thieves were taking old Primark bags into stores, filling them up with goods and walking out.
The new measures mean that bags will now be sealed with blue labels featuring the store logo and the word “Sold.”
Customers will need to rip the seals on their bags to open them up when they get home, making them much harder to reuse.
Shoppers have been taking to social media to share their thoughts on the change, and opinions are very mixed.
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One person said: “I use my own bags so how will that work?”
To which another responded: “They might give you a sticker to put on your bag.”
The original poster replied with: “Well they will be told no if they do!”
Many other shoppers had the same thoughts.
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What happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Social Media user
One added: “Everything makes people look like thieves – what happened to innocent until proven guilty?”
Another wrote: “They will probably give you a paper bag to put your own shopping bag in and seal that.”
How to find the best bargains at the supermarket
Another person said: “They might ask to see your receipt at the door.”
However, amidst the bundles of bag confusion, some shoppers thought it was a good idea.
One wrote: “It sounds like a great idea to me.”
Another agreed, and said: “I don’t mind if they sticker my bag, I have got nothing to hide.”
While another Primark fan said: “This is an absolutely brilliant idea.”
Any customers who are spotted leaving the branch without a sticker on their bag will be stopped at the door.
A worker at a branch in South East London trialling the stickers said: “The thieves would put anything in which didn’t have a tag and wouldn’t set off an alarm.
This is an absolutely brilliant idea!
Social Media user
“They could blend in with customers because you can only get bags from the checkouts. It was very hard for security guards to spot.”
A spokesperson for Primark said: “Anti-social behaviour and crime is rising and we’re working with retailers and organisations to help tackle this.
“We’re now also trialling new measures to help prevent stock loss, which includes sealing bags with ‘Sold’ stickers once a customer pays for their items at the tills.”
“We’ll be keeping an eye on this and monitoring the impact these new measures have.”
Primark seems to be one of the few retailers who is doing well at the moment, despite the challenging retail climate.
Just last month has big plans for the future and just last month the retailer revealed its plans to open new branches and invest and renovate more than a dozen of its existing shops.
The plans are part of its new £75million investment in its UK store estate.
Primark previously revealed that new shops will pop up in Bury St. Edmund, Teesside Park and Glasgow Fort and dates for their opening have finally been confirmed.
The retailer has also continued rolling-out self-service checkouts in a number of stores to help reduce queuing times.
Are other retailers making changes?
Primark is not the only retailer that has recently implemented changes for customers at the tills.
Earlier this year Aldi confirmed that it had introduced a 20-item limit on the self-service checkouts.
Customers were a bit disgruntled that they had not been informed and there was no sign telling them of the changes.
Taking to Twitter at the time, one person said: “There is no sign saying so. Be nice to know in advance which self-service checkout I can go to.”
Aldi replied to the customer with the comment: “All stores currently have a 20-item limit on self-checkouts.
“This change is designed to make it simpler and more efficient for you to shop with us.”
Aldi started rolling out their self-service tills in 2019, introducing the kiosks in London, Manchester, and Leicester.
Meanwhile, last summer the discount retailer caused a stir when it told staff to search shoppers’ empty bags following a huge rise in theft.
Cashiers were told to look in customers’ bags for life before they could start scanning the shopping.
Some staff complained at the time that they felt “uncomfortable” confronting people at the till.
Asda has also gone fully cashless at 14 petrol station locations.
Customers will no longer have the option to pay for fuel at forecourt kiosks and instead will have to “pay at pump”.
This is when you swipe your credit and debit card at the pump before filling up, with no need to go to a till.
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It’s understood that 82 sites will become cashless by the summer. Over 150 Asda forecourts attached to superstores are already unmanned.
In November, Morrisons also said it had plans to convert scores of self-scan tills to card only.
How to save money at Primark
PRIMARK is a bargain favourite on the high street, but there are more ways to save on your spending.
Secret sales
Primark fans always know to dive in the bargain rail if they’re after money-off products in-store, but there could be “secret” sale items lurking around the rest of the store and throughout the year.
Bigger flagship stores in particular will always have an influx of stock, so as new items come in, older products taking up space might be heavily discounted.
Ask for discounts
Don’t be afraid to outright ask for discounts. The worst staff can say is no.
Typically if you pick up an item with a defect or foundation mark or similar, you can simply ask for a discount – just explain it’s not quite up to scratch.
Ex Primark employees have revealed to The Sun in the past that it can be pretty standard practice for branches to offer 10% off a damaged or faulty item.
Look for dupes
Primark’s budget garments are a cheap way to refresh your wardrobe with plenty of items from its exclusive range.
But the store can be a great place to look for a cheaper version of something you’ve seen elsewhere too.
Fans have spotted plenty of items from the retailer that pose a striking resemblance to other pricier products on the market.
Pick up a cheaper dupe and your friends might not even be able to tell the difference.
Website trick
Primark launched a new website in April 2022, allowing shoppers to check stock levels at their local stores for the first time ever.
This means you can browse online and make sure you head to a branch that has the style and size you need.
There are thousands more products displayed on its website now, too, so you can get a better look at the current collections
