Waitrose is set to trial smart locking cabinets for champagne and premium spirits as the supermarket steps up efforts to tackle shoplifting across its stores.

The upmarket grocer has told staff that trials of the new technology will begin before the end of 2026, as part of a wider investment in crime prevention across its estate.

Parent company John Lewis Partnership said the move showed it was not “standing still” in its response to retail crime, which continues to affect stores across the sector.

Lucy Brown, John Lewis’s director of central operations, described the issue as “a tide of retail crime and epidemic of shoplifting”.

A John Lewis spokesman said: “We are currently investing in a range of advanced technology, including smart technology to deter theft.”

The smart cabinets will use monitoring systems to track how long doors remain open and detect when products are removed from shelves. Store staff will be alerted if the technology identifies suspicious activity, such as attempts to clear entire shelves or cabinets of stock.

Waitrose has not yet confirmed how shoppers will access products held inside the cabinets once the trials begin.

Other supermarkets have introduced similar locked fixtures in categories vulnerable to theft, sometimes requiring customers to follow extra steps before products can be accessed.

A John Lewis spokesman added: “We already use smart shelf technology in our health, beauty and spirits aisles, which are able to sense unusual customer behaviour, so this would provide an additional layer of security.”

The trial comes as Waitrose tests a range of other anti-theft measures across its stores. These include protective “meat nets” designed to stop thieves stealing high-value joints of meat, and protective screens at selected tobacco and cigarette counters to prevent criminals from reaching over tills and grabbing stock.

John Lewis Partnership has also been reinforcing its message to staff that personal safety must come before recovering stolen products.

In a message to employees, Brown said workers’ “first instinct may be to attempt to detain a suspect or recover the stock”, but warned this “isn’t always the safest thing to do”.

She said restraining suspected thieves could create “potentially volatile” situations for staff and shoppers.

Instead, employees have been encouraged to use body-worn cameras to gather evidence that can support later investigations.

“We might not catch the shoplifter in that shop on that day, but we can use that evidence to catch them down the line,” Brown said.

John Lewis chairman Jason Tarry has previously said security staff should only “intervene to challenge shoplifters” when properly trained and when it is safe to do so.

The investment comes as grocers face rising losses and growing pressure to protect colleagues from increasingly aggressive incidents in store.

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