Waitrose is fighting back against shoplifters (Image: Getty)
Major supermarket chain Waitrose is installing new measures across its 360 stores in the UK – to combat shoplifters. High end bottles of wine and champagne are set to be locked away in store – in ‘smart cabinets’ the Telegraph reported.
The change means anyone getting out the wine will have to go through a process before they are allowed entry – the Telegraph reported Waitrose declined to say how its cabinets would work. Self-locking cabinets typically require customers to use touchpad screens before they can be opened.
Supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco have already introduced them in stores. At Sainsbury’s, where the technology has been tested, shoppers are required to go through a four-step process to unlock the doors. At other retailers, cabinets can only be opened when people scan their loyalty cards or put in their phone numbers.
In a message to staff, John Lewis, which owns Waitrose, said these new systems showed it was not “standing still” on ways to reduce crime. The technology can track how long doors have been opened and whether any products have been removed, alerting staff to any suspicious activity such as people emptying the cabinets.
Convictions and sentencings for shoplifting in England and Wales have climbed to their highest level for nearly a decade, figures show. There were 48,849 convictions at criminal courts last year for a principal offence of shoplifting, up 19% from 41,014 in 2024.
This is the highest total since the 49,434 convictions recorded in 2017, according to data published last month by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). Analysis by the Press Association showed the age of people convicted of shoplifting has shifted in recent years towards older groups.
In 2017, 40 to 59-year-olds accounted for 29% of convictions where shoplifting was the principal offence. By last year this had risen to 41%. Over the same period, the proportion of convicted shoplifting offenders who are under the age of 30 has dropped from 28% to 18%.
Among this group, children under 18 made up 2% of convictions last year, compared with 3% in 2017; 18 to 24-year-olds made up 7%, down from 11%; and 25 to 29-year-olds made up 10%, down from 15%.
Waitrose is also trialling new “meat nets” around joints of meat and has installed protective screens at counters at some stores to stop people from jumping over to steal cigarettes. Lucy Brown, John Lewis’s director of central operations, said these new investments would help to keep staff and customers safe, urging them not to take on criminals themselves.
“I can appreciate that for partners it can be frustrating sometimes, particularly when you see what’s been described as a tide of retail crime and epidemic of shoplifting … It may feel like standing back is us not acting, but this isn’t the case.”
A spokesman for John Lewis said: “We are currently investing in a range of advanced technology, including smart technology to deter theft. As part of this we are planning to pilot lockable smart cabinets for areas such as spirits and champagne soon.
“We already use smart shelf technology in our health, beauty and spirits aisles, which are able to sense unusual customer behaviour, so this would provide an additional layer of security.”
The Ministry of Justice data also shows there were 48,517 sentencings for a principal offence of shoplifting at criminal courts in England and Wales last year, up 19% on 40,609 in 2024 and the highest since 2017.
The average length of a custodial sentence was 2.4 months, the highest since current data began in 2017, when it stood at 1.8 months. Separate figures published last week by the Office for National Statistics showed the number of police-recorded shoplifting offences in England and Wales fell slightly last year, down from 516,611 in 2024 to 509,566 in 2025.
The drop may reflect a change in the way shoplifting offences are recorded by police. A clarification issued to forces by the Home Office in April 2025 said that where someone has entered a retail premises, steals, then either uses or threatens violence against staff or other people, the offence should be recorded as robbery of business property, not shoplifting.
This change may also account for the steep increase last year in offences classed as robbery of businesses, which rose 78% from 14,691 in 2024 to 26,158 in 2025.
Speaking on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer claimed “the tide could be turning” against shoplifting, during a speech in which he set out the Government’s efforts to crack down on retail crime.
The Prime Minister said the Government had put an extra 3,000 neighbourhood police officers on the streets and scrapped the “ridiculous” rule which left theft of goods worth less than £200 “not properly investigated” by police.
In an address to the Usdaw shopworkers’ union, Sir Keir added: “We’ve toughened up punishment too – we’re giving police stronger powers, making the abuse and assault of retail workers a specific crime and giving you the same protections as emergency workers.”