It is not known how many grams of butter have recently been stolen from Tesco in Bethnal Green. The only thing that is certain is that the supermarket in London’s East End has declared war on the butter thieves: some 500 gram packs now have yellow stickers to deter them. “Security Protected” it says, underneath a vibrating lock. A warning like an alarm system.
Tesco is not alone in this. Other British supermarkets have also secured their groceries from shoplifters. In the social networks for days a photo shared, which is said to have been recorded in an Aldi. It shows cheddar wrapped in an anti-theft device that can only be removed at checkout.
Up to now, such safeguards have been common, especially for expensive alcoholic beverages. The fact that groceries are now also protected from shoplifters is new. The reason for this is the massive increase in prices. For example, 500 grams of butter now cost by 30 percent more than in January. In Great Britain they are already talking about one cost of living crisis. One of the consequences: more and more shoplifters are targeting everyday products. At least that’s what the manager of a supermarket branch told the British trade journal The Grocer.
There is no improvement in sight: the Bank of England is anticipating inflation of eleven percent for the autumn
It is not to be expected that groceries will soon become cheaper again. But on the contrary. In Great Britain, the inflation rate has recently risen to a 40-year high at 9.1 percent. It shouldn’t stay that way, the Bank of England expects a further increase to eleven percent for the autumn. In addition to gas and petrol, it is primarily groceries that have become much more expensive.
As it stands, supermarkets, which therefore protect their goods against theft, are the exception so far. For example, anyone who was out and about in the London district of Richmond on Thursday could shop as normal. Cheese and butter were not protected against theft at Tesco, Waitrose or Marks & Spencer. There does not seem to be a uniform rule for providing certain products with safety stickers. At the supermarket chain Asda, for example, each branch decides for itself.
It remains to be seen whether anti-theft devices will become the norm at some point. The only thing that is clear is that in Great Britain apart from that cost of living crisis there is another special disadvantage: Brexit. According to a study by the Center for Economic Performance of the London School of Economics, average food prices have already risen significantly in 2020 and 2021 due to the exit from the EU – by around six percent.