Big-box retailers like Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s have all been exploring ways to deter shoplifting in their stores, but now Walmart has locked up something that leaves people scratching their heads: Spam. Locking up high-dollar items is understandable, by cans of Spam?? The Walmart store in Anchorage, Alaska, has Spam under lock and key, so when a customer wants a can of the spiced ham, they have to push a button that alerts a clerk. Once the clerk unlocks the cabinet and secures the can of Spam, they have to escort the customer to the checkout. The customer is not permitted to just put the Spam in their cart and continue shopping. Unfortunately, the retailer is finding out the hard way that most customers will go without a product if they have to push a button, wait for a clerk, and then check out immediately. Needless to say, irate customers are taking to social media to air their grievances over the rule. “We’re locking down war rations now?” wrote one commenter, while another said, “Who’s stealing SPAM????” Others have questioned why Spam is locked up but not Vienna sausages and other canned meats. Who would have ever thought Spam would become so valuable that it has to be under lock and key?
