This is the latest loss prevention tactic. The idea is to make it harder for thieves to run out of the store to potentially deter them from stealing.
This tactic is also being used/considered in some high theft/large city locations of various other red logo retailers including mass merchandise with red logo and drugstores with red logo.
Whoever came up with this idea... all I can say is, I hope there are no fires or other incidents in the stores there this gets deployed... that would make it so people need to get out all at once quickly...
I do not see this tactic working.
One of the first things, most basic things, you can do with retail loss prevention is to get merchandise away from the doors......... or you pile low value stuff by the doors like cases of water.... those produce and floral displays need to be moved.... this QFC I see a display of what looks like apple chips or something in this barricaded entryway in one of the photos. Why is it there? Just get rid of it.
Safeway sort of kind of tried this sort of thing in San Francisco but keeps the entryway/area around the exit quite open. They barricaded off much further from the exit, closer to the sales floor.
If QFC really wants to do this, they need to rearrange the store and create more space around the exit/entrance so traffic can at least flow in/out the door easily.
Walgreens also has an interesting way they can do this. With their typical freestanding store, they will basically barricade cosmetics then simply force traffic flow to walk in and take a hard turn toward photo (can't walk directly through cosmetics) then traffic is "set free" to go down the seasonal aisle or over to food.