British supermarket chain rewards customers who report shoplifter

Iceland is going to give customers who report a shoplifter one pound. It is yet another initiative to curb the growing scourge of shoplifting.

“Theft prevents price cuts”

In a remarkable appeal, the British chain of frozen supermarkets asks customers who see a suspected shoplifter to report them to the nearest store employee. The latter will verify the incident and immediately add the one pound reward to the customer card. According to Chairman Richard Walker, theft costs the retailer twenty million pounds (23 million euros) per year. That money would be better spent on more staff or lower prices, he said.

“Some people see it as a victimless crime, but it is not”, Walker told Channel Five News. “It keeps prices from being lowered because it is a cost to the business, it is a cost to the hours we pay our colleagues, as well as it is obviously about intimidation and violence.” “We would like our customers to help us lower our prices even more by pointing out shoplifters“, he added.

In April, official figures revealed that the number of shoplifting incidents recorded by police in England and Wales has risen to its highest level ever, with more than half a million offences in 2024. Retailers believe this is a gross underestimate, as it would equate to just two incidents per store per year. The British Retail Consortium reports a 20 % increase last year, saying damages by shoplifting are already worth 2.2 billion pounds (2.5 billion euros). Retailers are seeking creative solutions, including, for example, smart cameras as a means of control at self-scanning checkouts.