Crime in retail has gone through the roof so much so that the word shoplifting seems to diminish what is actually happening out there in the stores. Forced to do something to tackle the daily conflict with abusive offenders and prolific shoplifters, some retailers have found respite in technology, Asian Trader has learnt.
Walking-in and brazenly running out with several items in tow, filling bags with numerous products at ease and retaliating to retail staff when objected to, utterly fearless conduct, filming the act of store looting and aggressive mob behaviors are some of the things that are described by store owners across the country. None of them seems like a discreet harmless petty crime.
Retail thefts across the sector in England and Wales rose by 27 per cent in 2022, according to the retail trade body British Retail Consortium (BRC). In some major cities, the figure has shot up by as much as 68 per cent.
While numerous reports continue to expose the police inefficiency in this matter, it is no surprise that store owners are now taking things in their own hands to safeguard their businesses and the safety of themselves and their staff.
In the words of Dave Hiscutt, who handles five stores with two in Weymouth and one in Southampton, store owners and managers are now “forced to do something” as the situation has “gone too far the other way”.
“Shoplifters are essentially becoming invincible, because they keep getting away with it. We had people filling up baskets and running out of the door. We need to get this under control,” he said.
Police and law
Shoplifting offences have soared by a quarter this year, according to the Office for National Statistics though in the 12 months to March, the police recorded 339,206 cases of shoplifting despite the BRC estimating there were eight million incidents.
Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire Chris Philp has recently called on retailers to instruct their security guards to intervene when it is safe to do so and use the power of citizen arrest.
“Where it’s safe to do so I would encourage that to be used, because if you do just let people walk in and take stuff and walk out without proper challenge, including potentially a physical challenge, then it will just escalate,” Philp said at a recent fringe event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank.
Meanwhile, National Police Chiefs' Council Lead for Acquisitive Crime, chief constable Amanda Blakeman, has assured Asian Trader that violent offences will never be tolerated.
“Retail crime has a damaging impact, and we are committed to tackling offenders and supporting retailers in reducing shoplifting and attacks on retail staff.
“We know that organised crime is responsible for a proportion of these offences and we welcome the collaboration between retailers, police and crime commissioners and policing through Project Pegasus which enhances our ability to identify and tackle the groups involved,” she said.
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Announced recently, Project Pegasus aims to crack down on shoplifting by identifying and targeting the organised crime gangs as part of government efforts to ensure all forces show zero tolerance. Under this, police forces will run each CCTV image of shoplifting offences provided by retailers through the Police National Database, which includes facial recognition technology.
Blakeman explained that centralising intelligence about organised retail crime enables police to target resources where they can be most effective.
“Alongside our close working with industry and government as part of a national task force, we are tackling the issue from all perspectives,” Blakeman said.
“Organised crime is of course only part of the problem and we continue to target those prolific and habitual offenders whose behaviour cause misery and takes profit from our communities and retailers.
Blakeman told Asian Trader that local police forces assess each report through a threat, harm and risk model to determine their police response and will deploy resources where they can be most effective in catching offenders and keeping people safe.
Pegasus will receive £600,000 from ten supermarkets and retailers including John Lewis, Co-op, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Next. Philp reportedly has also tasked police leaders with drawing up a target list of prolific shoplifters to create a national shoplifting database that can be circulated to retailers and police forces across the country.
Tackling through tech
To tackle similar menace on almost daily basis, Coventry-based One Stop Store retailer Aman Uppal has proactively joined hands with other store owners and managers in the area proactively, acknowledging that the police is “very overstretched and it has not got the means to respond and deal with every case”.
Uppal is a part of a 200-member-strong WhatsApp group in which members share information immediately if a shoplifter or a looter gang is out and about.
Retailer Aman Uppal
“This group was set up by a security guard about a year ago. The members are not just independent retailers, but also people who work for security in the in the city center, people who work security for places like Sainsbury's, Tesco, or at places like clothing shops.
“It's basically a very valuable tool to know not just locally, but also citywide on what is happening where and who is doing it. All the data is shared confidentially, and we don’t share the info beyond that group.
“I've had instances in the past where locally within one mile of my store, I came to know that there has been a major theft at a supermarket with intelligence shared about that person. And because I knew that my store is close by, I got alert and about 45 minutes later, I saw the same person, who had just committed a crime, walking into my store.
Since Uppal was extra vigilant, he was able to prevent something of the sort getting repeated in his store too.
“We have not gone to the stage of self-policing as in refusing entry to somebody whom we know has committed an offence at another store. We just get extra vigilant and keep more of a closer eye on that person,” Uppal told Asian Trader, adding that the WhatsApp group is working out very well for him as it covers approximately 15-mile radius of Coventry.
Hiscutt, on the other hand, has taken a wider digital leap to take matters completely in his own hands to tackle the rising cases of shoplifting and constant conflicts with thieves.
"Crime kept elevating. In our town centre store, the situation was becoming violent. We had to do something and that’s when we contacted Facewatch,” Hiscutt said.
Retailer Dave Hiscutt
A facial recognition retail security company, Facewatch sends its subscribers an immediate alert as soon as a subject of interest enters their premises.
“Now when someone comes and tries to steal and/or gets abusive with the staff, we log their face against the incident statement in explaining exactly what's happened. Next time when the same person comes in, Facewatch sends an alert, at which point, we then go up to them and politely ask them to leave explaining they are not welcome,” Hiscutt told Asian Trader.
By doing so, the store is able to avoid conflict much before the offenders have even selected the products, explained Hiscutt, pointing out that once a person picks an item, it becomes trickier as it leads to conflict while retrieving the goods.
As the offenders are now repeatedly being turned away at the point of entry, they have also reduced targeting Hiscutt’s store altogether, he said.
Apart from Facewatch, Hiscutt’s stores are also equipped with StaffSafe, a communicative intervention security solution through which trained operators keep eyes on store through CCTV and speak through speakers and if needed, taking control of threatening and potentially dangerous situations in real time, thereby reassuring and keeping staff safe, and alerting the emergency services where relevant.
Combining the two systems, Hiscutt explained how he has been able to deter prolific shoplifters from his store.
“When we get a Facewatch alert, my staff plays a pre-recorded message warning the shoplifters in the premises in a strict tone, saying ‘we condone shoplifting and will prosecute the offender’. This message is often enough to deter them without having to get the staff to interact.”
Shoplifters rely on the degree of 30 seconds of being undetected and flying under the radar. As soon as they become aware that their presence and intention are known, they just turn around and leave.
“In some abusive cases, a StaffSafe person from its monitoring centre in Scotland, who can see our store through our cameras, interacts with the person, who is causing the problem, with warnings like ‘your actions are completely unacceptable. Please leave the store now’,” Hiscutt explained, adding that “they will also call 909 for us and liaise with the police on our behalf”, if needed.
For extreme cases involving weapons or violent robbery, there are “silent alarms” that go off on wrist bands of the staff so that they can act accordingly and save themselves.
“The two systems side by side have reduced the level of conflict that we were experiencing in which in turn makes the staff feel happier,” he said, adding that some escalations still happen but StaffSafe helps to bring things under control.
Stating that Southern Co-op near his Southampton store also uses such services like Facewatch, Hiscutt stated, “We are all in the same boat.”
Umar Patel, Operations Director at Brookfield Retail, is completely satisfied with the results of Facewatch.
“Since the integration of Facewatch, it has swiftly brought to light a critical revelation—abuse incidents account for a significant 60 per cent of all reported incidents, reaffirming what we had suspected all along.
“Moreover, Facewatch provides valuable reporting insights like Thursdays are our most likely days for alerts, equipping us to alert our staff to exercise heightened vigilance on these days,” he says.
Head of operations at Facewatch Danielle Wright told Asian Trader that in the initial 12 months of system implementation, the solution has consistently demonstrated the ability to reduce crime by an impressive margin, typically ranging from 35 per cent to 50 per cent.
“Our cutting-edge cloud-based facial recognition system is meticulously designed to shield businesses from criminal activities, fostering a secure atmosphere for both customers and staff.”
StaffSafe spokesperson said that feedback from clients suggests that StaffSafe has had a dramatic effect on their business performance.
“Higher staff morale, less absenteeism, a more confident workforce, less stress, quicker return to work following an incident, higher staff retention and a reduction in recruiting and training costs has all been cited as direct benefits.
StaffSafe control room
“Client feedback has reported up to 50 per cent reduction in losses through theft from their stores since the installation of StaffSafe,” the StaffSafe spokesperson told Asian Trader.
Stop Crime
Retailer bodies like Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) have been campaigning on shop theft for several years, calling for tougher interventions to stop repeat offending, and urging elected Police and Crime Commissioners to make tackling theft a priority in their local plans.
The issue is now heating up and has become a political agenda with Labour promising to crackdown on crime and abuse through “tough new sentencing for assaults on retail workers”.
In the Labour Party Conference speech, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP has also committed to remove £200 threshold for investigating incidents of theft, to bring in laws that will ban repeat offenders from town centres and high streets, and to introduce 13,000 more neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs to patrol the streets and make people feel safer.
Currently, the level of retail crime is clearly proving to be increasingly difficult for police to tackle immediately. Until police and law authority up their game to match with looters and shoplifting gangs, it is evident that retailers are left to tackle things on their own.
Food and drink wholesale distribution sector generated £33.6 billion of turnover in 2023-24 with £17.5 billion coming from sales to mainly independent retailers, reveals an industry report released today (5).
The report was launched in the Houses of Parliament in the presence of Daniel Zeichner, Minster for Food Security and Rural Affairs.
Zeichner said, " “This report highlights just how important the wholesale sector is. These are really significant numbers. Economic growth is absolutely central to wholesale businesses, as is breaking down the barriers to opportunity.
"Our pledge to you is to work with you as we begin to develop our policies. Our stated goal is to try and help change the way the supply chain operates to make sure there is a fair distribution of resources through the supply chain, and I really look forward to working with the wholesale sector on this.”
Retail businesses account for 52 per cent of food and drink wholesalers' revenue, while foodservice and caterers account for 29 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
Delivery remains the most common route to customers with 58 per cent of sales value fulfilled through deliveries. 40 per cent of sales value fulfilled through cash and carry and 1.3 per cent of sales are made through click and collect.
In total, wholesalers spent £27 billion on stock to be sold to retailers and foodservice providers. The largest product categories were tobacco, vaping and alcohol, followed by soft drinks, frozen food, confectionery, crisps, snacks and biscuits.
The report states that food and drink wholesale distributors directly contributed £3.5bn to national output in terms of gross value, employing 77,000 people. The overall value chain that it supports employs a total of 1.5 million people, about 4.8 per cent of the UK workforce.
The sector faces a series of challenges going ahead, highlighted the report through a recent survey of FWD's members. Some of the main concerns among the wholesalers are inflation, increase in transportation costs, labour and skill shortage and regulations.
Wholesale warehouse
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AI and automation hold significant potential to positively impact the sector like in identifying the wallet share gaps and predicting reorder needs . However, the report states that companies are yet not fully embracing these technologies, saying "no distributor has integrated AI into its operation to a great extent".
60 per cent of the respondents indicated they have incorporated AI into supply chain management.
FWD reiterates in the report to reach net zero Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2040, which will require 90 per cent reduction in emissions and coordinated actions across value chains.
Furthermore, the sector is facing labour shortage stemming from ageing workforce, Brexit, images issues and competition.
"The sector's image poses a challenge in attracting new recruits as over 90 per cent of people never consider a career in logistics", states the report, mentioning terms like "demanding" and "boring" associated with warehouse work.
Speaking at the launch, FWD head of external affairs Lyndsey Cambridge said, “Wholesalers are the lifeblood of the nation – from supporting high street restaurants to supplying hospitals, schools and local retailers with food, the FWD membership is delivering for people across the length and breadth of the UK.
"This groundbreaking research provides a comprehensive economic impact of food and drink wholesale, demonstrating the value and importance of the sector in improving consumer choice through its support for retailers and caterers.
“Given its reach and contribution, our sector has and will play a pivotal role in driving economic growth in the coming years. We look forward to partnering with policymakers across the UK to grow our industry further while meeting the everyday challenges our members face in areas such as increased transport costs and labour shortages.”
Retailers have four months left to sell through any remaining stock and prepare for the disposable vape ban coming into force on June 1 this year, an industry body reminded retailers today (5).
After the ban comes into place, all vaping products that are available for sale legally in the UK must be both refillable and rechargeable, meaning that they must be intended for multiple uses.
To help retailers prepare for the ban, Association of Convenience Stores has created a guide backed by Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards which explains in detail how to source and sell vapes responsibly.
The guide is part of ACS' Assured Advice, which means that ACS members can rely on the guide to comply with the new regulations.
Key areas covered by the guide include:
How to prepare for the disposable vape ban on June 1st
Enforcement and record keeping
Communicating to customers about the ban
How to recognise illegitimate products and underage sales
Vape recycling
ACS tells retailers, "If you have any remaining stock of disposable vapes, these must be stored away from the shopfloor and clearly separated from other goods, clearly labelled as not for sale."
Click here to download the Selling Vapes Responsibly guide.
ACS has also produced a poster for retailers to display in their store, communicating the ban to customers. The poster is available here.
More information about the upcoming vaping regulations will be covered in ACS' Safe & Responsible Retailing Conference, taking place next month on March 12 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has already published more detail on the definitions of single-use or disposable vapes, the penalties for selling them after the introduction of the ban on 1 June this year, and what to do if a retailer has stock of single use vapes.
DEFRA's guidance released last month is for importers, retail outlets, vaping product manufacturers and wholesalers.
This includes any shop or business that sells single-use vapes, such as a convenience store, market stall, petrol station, specialist vape shop and supermarket.
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Dursley high street looking towards Stinchcombe Hill, Gloucestershire. The Countryside Alliance has issued a briefing note to the MPs on the impact of high street closures on rural communities.
As MPs discuss the closure of high street services in rural areas in a Westminster Hall debate today (5 February), the Countryside Alliance has issued a statement emphasising the profound challenges these closures pose to rural communities.
The organisation noted that the shutdown of essential services is both a consequence and a catalyst of the “rural premium” - the additional costs incurred by individuals simply due to residing in rural locales.
“This is a key challenge to rural Britain and reflects the reality of our members’ and supporters’ daily lives,” the campaign group said in a statement ahead of the debate, as it shared a briefing note to the MPs on the topic.
Recent surges in inflation have disproportionately affected village shops and rural enterprises, it said, warning that small local shops, farm shops, and craft producers, already grappling with elevated production costs, face heightened risks. As consumers' disposable incomes dwindle, there's a tendency to opt for more affordable, mass-produced items from larger discount retailers, further straining local businesses, it said.
“Having long campaigned for reform of business rates the Countryside Alliance welcomed (the_ UK government plans to support businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector and to consult with businesses in designing reforms. We are, however, concerned about the impact of the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions,” it added.
The organisation also drew attention to the intertwined challenges of post office viability and limited access to banking services, arguing for the provision of banking services at post office counters.
“The Countryside Alliance has long made the point that post offices must remain relevant in modern times through supporting growth in activities like online shopping through parcel collection and delivery, and to continue to pick up slack as banks and shops close in rural areas,” the statement said.
Sales of low and no-alcohol beer were 20 per cent higher in December than January, shows recent data, suggesting that traditionally the month of abstinence has been overtaken by December in terms of alcohol consumption.
According to a recent report in The Times, supermarket Tesco experienced record demand for alcohol-free beverages in the four weeks running up to Christmas with sales up by more than 15 per cent on the previous year. The demand was largely driven by young Brits.
According to David Albon, a beer and cider buyer at Tesco, quite contrary to five years ago when the main demand for no and low drinks came in ‘dry January’, it is now a trend, especially in young people, to moderate drinking at these key occasions of the year as well.
“It’s a very different picture to what we were seeing, even just five years ago, when the main demand for no and low drinks came in ‘dry January’.”
Tesco confirmed that interest in dry January is still growing, with demand for no and low-alcohol wine particularly strong during the month and sales up 15 per cent. Sales of alcohol-free beer were up 10 per cent and alcohol-free spirits up 5 per cent.
Among the most popular choices from the chain in January were 12-packs of Corona 0.0%, with demand up by more than 250 per cent ,and 10-packs of Guinness 0.0, up by more than 100 per cent.
Tesco says the nation’s changing relationship with booze is seeing sales of alcohol-free drinks increase across every month of the year. It added that the increasing quality of low and no-alcohol alternatives was encouraging consumers to buy in multi-pack sizes rather than single bottles or cans.
Another trend giving momentum to alcohol-free range is "zebra stripping", when people alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks on a celebratory night in order not to get too drunk.
In the words of Sarah Holland, a buyer at Waitrose, 2024 has certainly been the year of zebra striping, driven by the wonderful variety of delicious no and low which are available on the market now.
This comes weeks after IWSR data reported similar picture.
The firm stated that the total UK no and low market is expected to have more than doubled in 2024 versus 2023. Preliminary data shows no-alcohol beer grew 20 per cent in 2024 vs 2023 while alcohol-free beer now accounts for more than 2 per cent of total beverage alcohol market sales in the UK, highlighting just how big a part the subcategory is beginning to play in the overall drinks sector.
IWSR added that growth of no-alcohol spirits has slowed, but is expected to have grown +7 per cent in 2024 vs 2023 while sales of low-alcohol wine fell -5 per cent in 2024 vs 2023, no-alcohol wine grew by +8 per cent.
Buying group Unitas has announced year on year growth in both retail and on-trade in its recently organised supplier event.
The announcement came during the Unitas Wholesale Senior Supplier Briefing, where the group revealed impressive growth figures despite a challenging year for the wholesale sector.
The buying group stated that it achieved a 2 per cent growth in retail and a 5.1 per cent year-on-year increase in on-trade sales, both surpassing overall market performance.
Managing Director John Kinney shared that the group delivered a 17 per cent revenue increase for its members in 2024, with a staggering 35 per cent growth since its formation in 2018.
“While there is no doubt 2025 is going to be a tough year with rising costs, these examples prove how this channel remains an efficient and excellent route-to-market for our suppliers’ products, and those suppliers who work with us to drive awareness and distribution really do reap the rewards,” said Kinney.
To further reward member engagement, Kinney announced an additional £2 million bonus fund, aimed at incentivising participation in group-wide promotions, materials, and events.
Among the standout partnerships were PepsiCo Walkers’ Flamin’ Hot activation which delivered £300000 of sales at the Unitas trade show, and Suntory’s Blucozade which saw Unitas members exceeding all expectations and selling out in the first six weeks of launch to deliver an additional £1.7m in sales.
Trading Director Cheryl Hope praised Swizzels for its fabulous digital execution across depots and members’ digital platforms and Premier Foods’ summer BBQ activations which delivered a huge 92 per cent value and 106 per cent volume growth.
Data from TWC showed that Unitas had outperformed the convenience market in Biscuits (+ 82 per cent), Confectionery (9.1 per cent) Crisps, Snacks and Nuts (+2.2 per cent) and Soft Drinks (+6.8 per cent). Vape and reduced risk were up 32.5 per cent and RTDs up 9.2 per cent.
Interim Chairman Dr Jason Wouhra OBE added, “Our size and scale means that from corner shops to hospitality, our wholesaling members are at the forefront of the food and drink industry – and the UK economy as a whole.”
The event was received positively by suppliers who were quick to praise the group’s collaborative approach.