Denver grocery stores lock up laundry detergent as shoplifting surges
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Laundry detergent locked in cases at a Safeway store in Denver. Photo: Alayna Alvarez/Axios
A tidal wave of theft is leading Denver grocery stores to put laundry detergent under lock and key.
Why it matters: Retailers nationwide are losing profits, closing stores and pushing consumers to shop online as organized theft rings wreak havoc.
Driving the news: More Denver grocery stores — including some King Soopers and Safeway locations — are encasing detergent in locked shelves.
- A staffer at Safeway on 560 Corona St. told us a recent surge in shoplifting is to blame.
What they're saying: Many shoppers are fed up with the hassle of having to wait for an employee to unlock common items such as laundry products.
- "I pushed the button several times and no one showed up. I had to ask around to several employees before I could get assistance. Wasted at least 20-30 mins," one Reddit user wrote in a recent Denver thread with over 650 comments.
Zoom in: Laundry soap thefts in Denver are up at least 29% this year, with nine cases reported between Jan. 1 and March 20 — up from seven in the same period last year, per Denver police data.
- While not a formally tracked crime category, police identified these cases through a keyword search for "laundry detergent" in theft reports, verifying each manually.
The big picture: Organized retail crime is plaguing cities across the country, with stolen goods increasingly resold on platforms such as Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.
- Laundry detergent is a top target for thieves, according to the National Retail Federation's 2024 National Retail Security Survey.
By the numbers: Nationwide, retailers report a 93% spike in annual shoplifting incidents since 2019, with a 90% rise in dollar losses, per NRF's survey.
- 76% of retailers say organized retail theft is a bigger concern than it was a year ago.
Reality check: Locking up products hasn't curbed theft — but it has hurt sales, retail experts told Axios last year.
- "When you lock things up … you don't sell as many of them. We've kind of proven that pretty conclusively," Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth said on an earnings call in January.
Yes, but: Target says it's slowed theft by — as one annoyed shopper put it — converting "half the store into a museum of deodorant, toothpaste (and) laundry detergent," the Minnesota Star Tribune reported in September.
The bottom line: Until stores can find a fix, Denver shoppers are likely to see laundry detergent through plated glass for the foreseeable future.