Walmart will no longer lock up "multicultural hair care and beauty products", the US-based company announced on Wednesday (local time).
The products, which were predominantly targeted at black people could only be accessed by getting an employee to unlock the case.
While the products were only locked up in certain stores, Walmart has received a fresh wave of criticism for the practices after the death of George Floyd.
Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died on May 25 after white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Floyd's death has sparked worldwide Black Lives Matter protests and prompted a host of major corporations to re-evaluate their practices and responsibilities.
"As a retailer serving millions of customers every day from diverse backgrounds, Walmart does not tolerate discrimination of any kind," Walmart spokesperson Lorenzo Lopez wrote in an email on Wednesday night.
Lopez said the company locked up products such as electronics, automotive, cosmetics and other personal care products to "deter shoplifters".
"We're sensitive to the issue and understand the concerns raised by our customers and members of the community and have made the decision to discontinue placing multicultural hair care and beauty products - a practice in place in about a dozen of our 4700 stores nationwide - in locked cases," he wrote.
The practice has received widespread criticism and was the subject of a discrimination lawsuit.
In 2018, California woman, Essie Grundy, sued the company saying the practice made her feel humiliated.
Grundy dropped the lawsuit in November but wouldn't confirm whether there was a settlement. Instead she said, "the matter was resolved".
Walmart is yet to comment on the resolution of the lawsuit.
