Like for real does anyone else remember produce bags being green and kinda opaque and you could easily put produce in there and then self checkout and choose cheaper stuff. Now however you got kinda flimsy easily see through shit. Don't know if it's because the bags are cheaper or some newly hired business major got their anti-theft pet project through to corporate.
see through thinner plastic does sound like a cost cutting solution, though one would probably point out that at some point the bag is weak enough that people demand 2 or 3 bags instead
I can't speak to your grocery store but I've seen the clear bags since way before the pandemic, pretty sure they're cheaper.
They make mesh vegetable bags that make it hard to see what's inside with a camera, bonus points you use less plastic.