- England's latest win vs Mexico prompted a +16% rise in retail theft, with packaged snacks and food items the most stolen items - incidents of in-store violence also rose +5%
- Across all of England's World Cup matches, retail crime (shoplifting, violence and abuse) jumped +11% ahead of each fixture
- Of all of England's games so far, its match vs DR Congo (01 Jul) saw the largest rise in shoplifting (+24%)
- The biggest spike in store violence occurred ahead of England's first match vs Croatia (17 Jun), +20% on the daily average
Instances of retail theft jumped +16 per cent in the lead-up to England’s World Cup match with Mexico last Monday, according to new figures released by SAI, the leading active intelligence solution for stores.
Data from its SAI One Platform, which analyses insight from more than 1,000 UK retail locations and inputs from over 20,000 cameras every day, showed that shoplifting peaked at 12 noon, with packaged snacks and food goods among the most stolen items. The Southeast was the biggest crime hotspot, seeing the biggest rises in retail theft, up +27 per cent, while crime in the London rose +12 per cent.
With England’s late-night game culminating in heated scenes at The Azteca, pre-match tensions had also bubbled over into stores, with a +five per cent rise in violent incidents being reported on Sunday. With fans stocking up ahead of the fixture against Mexico, which started at two am after weather forced a delayed kick-off, operational burden in bricks-and-mortar stores also rose, with triggers increasing +six per cent on the Sunday average.
To date, across all of England’s World Cup games, instances of crime, including shoplifting, violence and abuse taking place in-store, jumped +11 per cent on average in the run-up to each of the Three Lions’ fixtures.
“England heading to a Quarter Final usually spells penalties on the pitch, however retailers are facing their own World Cup-related penalties in-store,” said Chris Bell, Head of Marketing & Insight at SAI. “As the Three Lions' success drives rising footfall, fan excitement and heightened emotions, stores are seeing theft and crime rates climb at a time when many are looking to capitalise on the revenue opportunities the tournament presents."
| Impact on stores (vs daily average) | Shoplifting | Violence | Operational burden |
| England vs Mexico Round 16 (Mon, 06 Jul) Won, 3 - 2 | +16% | +5% | +6% |
| England vs DR Congo Round 32 (Wed, 01 Jul) Won, 2 - 1 | +24% | +5% | +9% |
| England vs Panama Group (Sat, 27 Jun) Won, 2 - 0 | +17% | +5% | +8% |
| England vs Ghana Group (Tue, 23 Jun) Drew, 0 - 0 | +7% | 0% | +2% |
| England vs Croatia Group (Wed, 17 Jun) Won, 4 - 2 | +6% | +20% | +5% |