I doubt the optimization helped their bottom-line; I do not know it.
It is possible for a business to make money without customers actually liking the company: hey, it works for some of the FA*NG companies!
That said, there is something that feels 'off' about management obsessing over shrinkage to the point that the shopping experience begins to suck. It's not a truckstop or a drug store in a bad area... it's a hardware superstore.
With too much data, some manager can fixate on $3 screwdriver thievery and not think about the bigger picture: like shoppers finding the store to be a pain in the ass, and therefore no longer an attractive place to buy expensive riding-lawnmowers and floor jacks.
A store can quantify lower sales figures, but it may not be obvious that the lower sales were related to the choice of 'caged vs uncaged' inventory.
> It's not a truckstop or a drug store in a bad area... it's a hardware superstore.
I think that's where your misunderstanding might be.
Hardware superstores are extremely attractive targets for huge quantities of theft. You just seem to personally not be aware of it, and are under the mistaken impression that theft is something that happens mainly in truckstops in bad areas.
I think your suspicions are simply based on incorrect assumptions, both around the types of items that thieves steal, as well as the kinds of stores thieves target.
Great, the store is 100% justified. I'm still avoiding them, of course, because, given a choice, nobody wants to wait around ten minutes for an attendant.
It is possible for a business to make money without customers actually liking the company: hey, it works for some of the FA*NG companies!
That said, there is something that feels 'off' about management obsessing over shrinkage to the point that the shopping experience begins to suck. It's not a truckstop or a drug store in a bad area... it's a hardware superstore.
With too much data, some manager can fixate on $3 screwdriver thievery and not think about the bigger picture: like shoppers finding the store to be a pain in the ass, and therefore no longer an attractive place to buy expensive riding-lawnmowers and floor jacks.
A store can quantify lower sales figures, but it may not be obvious that the lower sales were related to the choice of 'caged vs uncaged' inventory.
But again, I do not know. I only suspect.