Retail theft increased after England lost against Argentina in the World Cup, with a 46 per cent increase in shoplifting and violent incidents according to the latest figures from SAI.

Data from the SAI platform, which analysed over 1,000 UK retail locations, and input from over 20,000 cameras which showed that theft surged ahead of the Three Lions’ semi-final.

This comes after a consistent rise in retail theft throughout the tournament, with the England vs Norway match recording the highest level of crime at 48 per cent on the daily average.

The match between England and DR Congo also caused in-store shoplifting incidents to increase by 24 per cent.

During England’s seven matches over the tournament, there was an overall 23 per cent increase in retail theft in-store.

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Additionally, the level of violent incidents in-store on the semi-final match-day went up by 2 per cent.

Chris Bell, head of marketing & insight at SAI said: “Peak trading spikes like the World Cup can bring both risk and reward for retailers.

“The challenge is making sure stores are prepared to capture the commercial opportunity without losing control of what is happening on the shop floor.

“Using insight to anticipate where pressure is likely to build and identify possible problem points ahead of time allows retailers to act sooner, react faster and address issues in-store before they escalate.”