One startling statistic from the Co-operative Group’s latest results showed that the consumer group’s food retail business suffered a £39.5 million hit due to theft and fraud in the first half of 2024.
This is up 19% from the first half of 2023 and serves to highlight the escalated cost of what many are calling a shoplifting epidemic.
Data released by the Office of National Statistics in July showed that shoplifting in England and Wales had jumped 30% in just one year- putting it at its highest level in around two decades.
Last September, Primark parent Associated British Foods PLC (LSE:ABF) downgraded its full-year margin guidance to account for theft-related shrinkage costs.
Tesco, Co-op, John Lewis and other leading companies in the sector have called on the government for support, with the British Retail Consortium claiming shoplifting costs the industry £1 billion a year.
Around the same time, John Lewis Partnership said the cost of shoplifting had surged by £12 million, driven by the rising influence of organised crime-linked theft.
JD Sports Group plc and Halfords plc have made similar claims.
To make matters harder for British retailers, Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) chair Archie Norman recently said the police are not interested in tackling the issue.
“We get very little help from the police. I mean, I think we have to accept the police are not interested in this sort of crime anymore. Whether we like it or not, that’s the way it’s gone,” he stated.
Businesses are turning to new measures to battle the rise in shoplifting.
Major retailers, including John Lewis, Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO), J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY), Waitrose and Co-op have agreed to help fund a new police division called Pegasus.
Pegasus aims to enhance understanding of organised retail crime tactics and improve offender identification. This will involve creating a new information-sharing platform while providing training for retailers.