Discover how retail theft affects prices for everyday shoppers. Learn about the hidden cost of shoplifting and how it drives up supermarket bills for us all.
Written 9th March 2025
I was in a Tesco express yesterday. I saw someone shoplift a packet of minstrels or such like. I didn't say anything.
There was only one member of staff on the shop floor at the time, who was quite young and didn't look like the sort who'd confront someone with that accusation. No point calling the police as it was, after all, only a relatively cheap item. I didn't confront the guy as 1, he had an accomplice in the store, and 2, I don't want any trouble. Who knows whether they were carrying a weapon? It was a man, much stronger than me. 3, yes Tesco make a fortune but at least legitimately. I wonder what their acceptable level of theft is from a store to make them financially viable?
It's a sad old world we live in. It wasn't nappies this guy stole, it was a treat item. He did actually purchase 12 big 2l bottles of water. Why not drink free tap water and pay for the treats? Or, just go without if he couldn't afford them? Every time someone steals from a shop, the retailer puts the cost of everything else up to cover their losses, much like car insurance firms have to do to cover the uninsured drivers costs to them. It affects us all.
More shocking to me, than all of that, was the fact that I consider myself a decent person and member of society. I know the rules. What's right and what's wrong. Yet in this age of rife shoplifting and violence and vulgar language, all I wanted to do was pretend I hadn't seen it and not make eye contact. Keep myself to myself and not worry about it since it didn't affect me. How selfish is that? This world is making me feel like that.
While big corporations put up prices to cover the costs of theft, the only way to protect your wallet is to fiercely guard your own outgoings. Head over to the Non-Essentials Calculator to see exactly where your cash is going, strip out the leaks, and keep your hard-earned money strictly on Team Me.