Frozen food retailer Iceland has unveiled a new initiative offering shoppers a £1 reward on their Bonus Card if they alert staff to incidents of shoplifting in its stores.
Executive chairman Richard Walker announced the scheme on Channel 5 News last week, saying theft costs the retailer around £20m a year – a sum he argues could otherwise be invested in staff hours or used to keep prices down.
“Some people see (shoplifting) as a victimless crime – it is not. It’s a cost to the business, to the hours we pay our colleagues, and it involves intimidation and violence,” Walker said.
“We're encouraging our loyal customers to help sound the alarm, and if they do help to catch a shoplifter, we'll top up their Bonus Card to spend in store,"
Iceland stressed that customers are not expected to directly confront suspected shoplifters. Instead, they should discreetly inform the nearest member of staff with a description of the individual. Staff will then verify the report before adding the £1 credit.
The move comes amid a surge in retail theft. Police in England and Wales recorded 530,643 shoplifting offences in the year to March 2025 – up 20 per cent on the previous year and the highest level since records began in 2003. Retailers say the true scale is far higher, with the British Retail Consortium highlighting the role of organised crime groups stealing to order.
Retail leaders have been increasingly vocal about the pressures theft is placing on stores and frontline staff. Walker described the rise in shoplifting as “a scourge on our high streets,” affecting not just big cities but also towns and villages across the UK.
Ministers have acknowledged that shoplifting is “out of hand” and pledged more neighbourhood policing. But with incidents continuing to escalate, retailers are experimenting with new approaches – from tighter security measures to naming and shaming.
Walker has earlier called for more power to stores' security guards and serious sentences for retail theft.