The cost-of-living crisis has left many across the UK in a state of desperation with growing concerns of supermarket thefts on the rise.
As inflation levels hit 9.1% this month, prices of everyday grocery essentials have continued to rise substantially and data analysts warn that inflation won’t hit its peak until 2023.
A BBC-commissioned survey shows 56% of shoppers are buying less groceries with some leaving supermarkets with half-empty baskets, unable to afford their usual weekly shop.
With no clear end in sight, Brits could be driven to shoplifting to feed themselves and their families, with figures showing that supermarket thefts have risen by 22%. Further data from My Favourite Voucher Codes details that 34% of 2,584 UK shoppers surveyed admitted to having stolen products at self-service checkouts in the last year.
While store thefts aren’t new or uncommon, over two-thirds (69%) of those surveyed admitted that price increases on supermarket products was the main factor behind their shoplifting.
READ MORE: Poundland owner reports 17% rise in revenues as cost-of-living woes increase
The Lurpak effect
Across the UK, shoppers have caused a stir on social media, sharing photos of security-tagged grocery items in their local supermarkets.
Items including cheese are now as highly protected as luxury items such as electronics and alcohol, requiring assistance from staff to remove any tags before a customer can exit a store.
Rocketing food prices have forced supermarkets to place anti-theft electronic security tags on normally untagged items. Here's a pic of tagged cheddar cheese at an Aldi outlet in Wolverhampton. pic.twitter.com/wAKCSvgUJY
— Mark Alan Pearce (@PearceAlan1962) July 5, 2022
Security-tagged products such as baby formula are seeing growing signs of concern online as parents are driven to steal to feed their babies.
Commenting on the issue in the house of commons earlier this week, Glasgow central MP Alison Thewliss said: “One of the most worrying increases in food prices is for infant formula, some of which is now so expensive it is security tagged and kept behind the till because families have resorted to stealing it.”
Lurpak has also made recent headlines as one of the most common items to see a higher level of security attached to its packaging.
Seen selling in Big 4 grocer Asda at £6 and Sainsbury’s for £7.25 for a 750g tub, some Twitter users have spotted the butter brand retailing for a staggering £9.35.
One user compared the inflated prices to the hourly salary of a minimum wage worker, showing the extreme impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
For a catering-sized 1kg pack? Misleading.
— Louise Rodgers (@LJR_eidyia) July 6, 2022
However, others were quick to comment that their local stores weren’t seeing the extortionate price rises that had been circulating online, with some claiming this information to be ‘misleading’.
READ MORE: One in ten students turning to food banks to cope with the cost of living crisis
Does security equal safety?
As extra security measures are de-railing customers’ weekly shop through a slower and more tedious experience, the concerning rise in thefts also creates higher levels of risk to store staff, leaving them vulnerable.
Although security tagging products acts as a precautionary effect to deter thieves, these devices are unable to stop aggressive customers, unhappy with this new reality of living.
Commenting on the situation, Iceland MD Richard Walker told Good Morning Britain: “Brand owners do need to get real and understand the excess they charge is perhaps not appropriate, especially when cost of living is going up.”
“The reality is that shoplifting is going up through the roof… I get incidents of aggressive behaviour going on in our stores every week and unfortunately it is going up, people are struggling.”
Trade union Usdaw, which aims to protect the rights of workers’, general secretary Paddy Lillis said: “Shoplifting is not a victimless crime, theft from shops has long been a major flashpoint for violence and abuse against shopworkers. Having to deal with repeated and persistent shoplifters can cause issues beyond the theft itself like anxiety, fear and in some cases physical harm to retail workers.”
“The answer to the cost-of-living crisis is not to turn a blind eye to theft from shops, which in itself contributes to rising prices as retailers try to recover losses.”
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), violence and abuse against retail staff is at a record high with over 400 incidents per day, a figure unlikely to decrease as inflation is set to reach 11% this autumn.
“Ultimately, theft pushes up the cost of operating stores and results in higher prices for everyone,” British Retail Consortium director of business and regulation, Tom Ironside said, adding that the BRC found the reports of rising theft to be “concerning”.
“It’s not just the financial cost of theft which is important, customers and store staff can be left traumatised by such incidents, particularly where violence is involved.”
READ MORE: Iceland boss Richard Walker urges businesses to ‘step up and do more’ amid cost-of-living woes
Searching for a solution
As supermarkets battle to find the balance between profit and consumer living costs, the public are increasingly looking to the government for support.
At present, £650 is being given to struggling families in receipt of certain means-tested benefits. The first payment of £326 was given out on Thursday 14 July, with the remainder of the fund scheduled for autumn of this year.
“We have put something like £37 billion now into the system to assist families, but we constantly keep these things under review and will act if needed,” Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse told the commons on Thursday.
However, many Brits won’t fit within the bracket able to receive this money and for those who do, it is not providing long-term help against the continuing crisis.
During an interview with Good Morning Britain, financial journalist Martin Lewis described the crisis as “cataclysmic”, adding: “We are seeing 10 million people moving into poverty this winter, the worst winter since maybe the 1970s and maybe before that in financial terms.”
What is the best solution? At the moment, the answer remains unclear. As the UK continues in its current state of turmoil, it is clear that inflation really has pushed some to the brink – and with fuel prices set to rise again before the end of the year, this is likely to get worse before it gets better.
The rise in supermarket shoplifting – from cheese to baby formula – will remain “concerning” until a real change has been put in place.
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