From Monday, October 5, retailers by law must charge for carrier bags in each of the four UK nations. A retail loss prevention product supplier is warning of an increase in shopping basket theft, after that new 5p plastic bag levy comes in.
When the ‘bag tax’ was first introduced in Wales and Scotland there were reports of increases in baskets pilfered. Reportedly one UK manufacturer received an order for more than 60,000 wire baskets from one of Britain’s largest grocery retailers.
Over a year, one major store in Wales had almost 500 stolen when it began charging 5p for plastic bags – resulting in a four-figure loss from one site. Although WRAP predicts it will cost shoppers just £6.50 a year, history shows that some shoppers will turn to theft to get around the new law, suggests Checkpoint Systems.
Russell Holland, Global Accounts Director at Checkpoint Systems, said: “One major retailer recently told me that they had started making provisions for shopping basket theft months ago. While we agree that the bag levy is key to reducing waste, history tells us that, even though it’s only 5p per bag, it is proven to lead to an increase in basket disappearances.
“These assets are essential to stores, but are notoriously difficult to protect. They’re often by the entrances making them the prime target for opportunistic thieves. To help tackle the problem, baskets should be placed away from the doors with retro fit tags applied. These two steps should drastically cut down incidents of theft.”
Against thieves, grocery supermarkets 20 years ago introduced security devices on trolleys, amid a rise in theft because of their scrap value.
Russell Holland added: “Grocery stores are looking to reduce shrink in even these unconventional areas, but we absolutely don’t think baskets should be chained or locked up. Shoppers hate inconvenience and it’s proven to impact sales. Retailers do everything they can to improve satisfaction so we’re working with our grocery customers to provide a new solution that will protect their baskets, without hindering the shopper in any way.”
