To discourage stealing, Greggs is moving their self-serve refrigerators and putting sandwiches behind the counter. With more than 2600 locations throughout the UK, the bakery business has started the new trial in at least five of them, including one in Whitechapel, east London.
Customers, there are no plans to use this new format in all stores nationwide; it is known that this modest experiment is only being implemented in stores that are subject to greater levels of theft.
Currently, there are no plans to use this new format in all stores nationwide; it is known that this modest experiment is only being implemented in stores that are subject to greater levels of theft.
“This is one of several initiatives we are trialling across a handful of shops which are exposed to higher levels of anti-social behaviour,” a Greggs representative stated.
“Customers can expect to see our full range of great value and tasty Greggs favourites available from behind the counter.
“The safety of our colleagues and customers remains our number one priority.”
According to Greggs’ most recent trading report, the company opened more stores, increased its hours of operation, and hiked pricing in 2014, resulting in a pre-tax profit of £203.9 million, 8.3% more than in 2023.
The bread chain reported that in March, a lot of its patrons were still concerned about living expenses, such as rent, mortgage, and energy rates.
Last year, the business hiked the price of some of its food items. For example, the traditional sausage roll’s national price went up by 5p to £1.30, while other goods like doughnuts and coffee also went up by 5p to 10p.
According to the most recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of shoplifting crimes reported to police in England and Wales in a single year reached half a million for the first time.
Police reported 516,971 shoplifting incidents in 2024, the most since the introduction of sophisticated record-keeping procedures in 2003 and a 20% rise over the 429,873 offences in 2023.
Shoplifting crimes have been at high levels for the past two years, according to the ONS, which also noted a “sharp rise” after the Covid-19 outbreak.
To combat theft, retailers nationwide are putting new tactics into place. The grocery behemoth Sainsbury’s most recently installed”VAR-style” cameras at self-checkouts, which show a replay to customers who scan things incorrectly.
