John Lewis and Waitrose attribute the surge in shoplifting to ‘greed, not need’

John Lewis and Waitrose say that “greed, not need”, is the driving force behind record-breaking levels of shoplifting. The retail group has been testing trolleys that will lock if a person does not pay as well as smart shelves that detect changes in weight.

After a successful trial, the group has implemented a number of measures in its estate.

“Shoplifting, retail crime and other crimes have become a major problem in the industry. . . We wanted to know what the cumulative effects of doing multiple things were,” Lucy Brown is the director of central operations, security and safety for John Lewis Partnership.

Brown continued: “There is a depressing story about the cost of living, and how shoplifting occurs because of it. I don’t see that. I would describe it as pure greed and not need. Many people shoplift as much as I do in a week. It’s their job.

“You get organised gangs . . . They will remove the shelves. . . The purpose is to resell. “You then have the prolific offenders who live chaotic lives and are usually stealing for their addiction, or to trade something to feed this addiction.”

The retailer is installing technology to stop trolleys automatically if they are not paid for. It has also trained hundreds of staff, upgraded CCTV systems, and installed more public display monitors near alcohol and meat aisles where thieves tend to congregate.

Brown stated that the monitors are like mirrors, and “they reflect what we see”. “People don’t want to see themselves steal,” Brown said. Mirrors were often found in shops in the 1980s and 1990s. We still use mirrors to deter people from shoplifting.

Retailers are taking these measures to combat a rise in retail crime. According to the British Retail Consortium, which represents over 200 large UK companies, violence and abuse towards staff increased to 1,300 incidents per day in the year to August 2023. This is up from 870 incidents a week in the same time period last year. The cost of theft has doubled in the same time period to £1.8bn with over 45,000 incidents per day.

Former John Lewis chair Dame Sharon White blamed the rise of organised crime and “shoplifting on order” for a large portion of it. Repeat offenders are now coordinating attacks on multiple stores at once. Last year, the retailer reported that “shrinkage” of stock had increased by £12mn from year to year. The majority of this increase was due to shoplifting.

Brown stated that the shrinkage levels at Waitrose and John Lewis have dropped by up to 50% on a regular basis, in some cases. Workers also feel safer.

Brown, who will also be testing weighted shelving that tracks what is normal in a shop, said: “Every shop gets something.” The technology will alert us if more products are removed from the shelf than is normal.

Retail Crime Action Plan, a joint initiative of the police and government, was launched in October to combat the increase in retail crime.

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister of England and Wales before the UK elections were announced, said that he would make assaulting retail workers a separate criminal offense in England, Wales, and Scotland, mirroring existing laws in Scotland. Many bills, including the Criminal Justice Bill, have since been withdrawn.

Tom Ironside, Director of Business and Regulation at the BRC said: “We’ll be pushing hard after the elections for the reintroduction a standalone crime and aligned retail measures to combat retail crime.”