The retail crime crisis is out of control — time for an industry-wide wake-up call

Retailers across England and Wales are under siege. Shoplifting isn’t just rising — it’s exploding.

Nearly 8 million incidents in just one year.
£1.8 billion in annual losses.
Over 1,000 daily reports of violence or abuse against retail workers.

This isn’t business as usual. This is a crisis.

What’s driving the surge?

The causes are complex — but the impact is painfully clear.

• Cost-of-living pressures have pushed some to desperation.
• Organised criminal gangs are targeting stores with military precision.
• Understaffed floors mean fewer deterrents and easier targets.
• Police response is minimal, leaving retailers to fend for themselves.
• And perhaps most troubling of all: the social stigma around shoplifting is eroding, especially among younger demographics.

“There’s a huge gap between reported incidents and what’s really happening,”
– James Lowman, Association of Convenience Stores

Grocery giants are fighting back — where’s the rest of retail?

Retailers like Co-op, Tesco and Sainsbury’s are going on the offensive — with cutting-edge CCTV, remote monitoring, smart tags, AI, and real-time interventions. It’s working. But they can’t fight this war alone.

In high-end fashion, electronics, and luxury retail, many are still lagging. Relying on legacy deterrents, they are hoping that the problem will pass them by. But organised crime is already shifting its gaze to them — and it’s only a matter of time.

Visual AI: The game-changer retail needs

This is where the smartest retailers are turning to Visual AI — such as the systems developed by SAI Group.

These tools don’t just record. They predict, alert, and prevent retail theft through:

• Real-time object and behaviour detection
• Instant alerts to staff or remote teams
• Identification of repeat offenders
• Actionable data to stop crime before it happens

And it all happens discreetly — without harming customer experience.

Time to draw the line

This isn’t just about stock loss. It’s about protecting employees, restoring trust, and preserving the retail experience for honest shoppers.

Let’s stop treating retail crime as a cost of doing business.
Let’s treat it like the full-scale security threat it has become.

If you’re in retail, this is your call to action.

• Get serious about anti-theft strategy.
• Invest in modern, proactive solutions.
• Collaborate across the sector — or fall victim to its weaknesses.

The fightback starts now.

About SAI

As a leader in computer vision technology, SAI Group delivers cutting-edge, multi-modal AI solutions into retail environments. Using a unique platform approach, its technology uses existing camera systems to target losses, increase store safety, and underpin operational efficiencies.

All solutions are built from the ground up to ensure the highest levels of security and data protection, respecting the privacy expectations of the public and operating to stringent ethical standards while delivering substantial value to our clients. Globally, SAI monitors millions of transactions per day, protecting the revenues from tens of millions of product sales and hundreds of millions of customer interactions. Its models also accurately identify anti-social behaviour, aggression and violence, helping to de-escalate situations with real-time interfaces to security officers and operations centres.