The screens alternate between displaying what’s inside the freezer and showing short ads. The problem is if you want to see what’s inside while there’s an ad playing, you have to wait until it finishes. No one wants to have to stop and watch commercials while they’re grocery shopping. “You can’t just look through the glass door and find what you want,” said TikTok user donwitmadness in a video showing an aisle full of the screens. “You’ve got to sit through a five-second ad break.”
What grocery store item are TikTokers taking issue with?
Answer: Digital screens on freezer doors.
TikTok users have taken to the platform to air their grievances about the digital screens that have begun to take the place of good old-fashioned glass on the doors of freezers at the store. Retailers like CVS, Kroger and Walgreens have started covering their cooler doors with digital screens, but advertisers seem to be the only ones who are happy about it.
The screens alternate between displaying what’s inside the freezer and showing short ads. The problem is if you want to see what’s inside while there’s an ad playing, you have to wait until it finishes. No one wants to have to stop and watch commercials while they’re grocery shopping. “You can’t just look through the glass door and find what you want,” said TikTok user donwitmadness in a video showing an aisle full of the screens. “You’ve got to sit through a five-second ad break.”
“We didn’t need this. We had glass. It was fine!” said another user. “Glass is pretty efficient at being see-through,” agreed trevercarreon in a video from 2021. All these complaints are about the screens when they work, but there are also ones about how equally inconvenient they are when they don’t. A 2022 video from pjhackman shows a screen with an out-of-order notice, so there’s no way of knowing what’s inside the freezer without every shopper opening the door to look.
The screens alternate between displaying what’s inside the freezer and showing short ads. The problem is if you want to see what’s inside while there’s an ad playing, you have to wait until it finishes. No one wants to have to stop and watch commercials while they’re grocery shopping. “You can’t just look through the glass door and find what you want,” said TikTok user donwitmadness in a video showing an aisle full of the screens. “You’ve got to sit through a five-second ad break.”
