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In the UK, one in eight consumers steal from shops. Focus.ua cited the Daily Star as reporting that at least 6 million consumers commit the so-called “banana trick,” which involves selecting an item on the checkout screen that is cheaper than what they actually buy.
Thieves often pass off fruit or vegetables as counterfeit items, and the survey also found that almost 50% of Brits believe their crimes should not constitute a criminal offense.
Theft in self-service stores in the UK is so rife that major chains are now scrapping self-service checkouts, with bosses at Morrisons, which has been trading since 1899, admitting the concept had “gone too far”. Chief executive Rami Baytieh said the company was now “rethinking the balance between self-service and manual checkouts”.
UK theft statistics
An Ipsos study of 1,099 shopping habits found that 8% of Brits buy items worth less than £10 without paying for them at all. The survey also found that 13% of people said they had stolen an item worth up to £1 at least once in their life.
Shoplifting in the UK has now reached epidemic levels, with 443,995 thefts occurring in the 12 months from March 2023 to March 2024. This equates to 50 thefts per hour and is the highest level in 20 years.
What are the penalties for shoplifting?
Under UK law, the maximum penalty for stealing items worth less than £200 is six months in prison, although this is usually accompanied by a fine. Thefts worth more than £200 carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
Shops suffered losses of around £8 billion in 2023 alone, with 26% of shoppers believing stealing items worth less than £10 should not be illegal.
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