Self-checkouts are fuelling 'good, honest people' to shoplift, according to the chairman of Marks & Spencer. Archie Norman, who became chairman in September 2017, spoke out after warnings that crime rates are rising again across British high streets.
Self-Checkouts and Shoplifting
Mr Norman said that 'good, honest people' are driven to steal when self-checkouts become difficult to use. He told the Daily Telegraph: 'When normally good, honest people come in and they're buying their shopping and it doesn't scan, and there's nobody manning the checkouts, they're saying: It's not my fault and I don't have much time so if I can't get my strawberries through, I'll just put them in my basket.'
Despite this, M&S has added hundreds of self-service machines across its stores. In 2023, the company said it had installed 800 self-checkout tills in just 12 months to help achieve its £150 million cost-saving target.
Rising Retail Crime
The supermarket chain had previously stated that attacks were becoming 'more brazen, more organised and more aggressive' after mobs of youths were captured on video raiding one of its stores in Clapham, south London. Cases of employees at rival firms being sacked for attempting to challenge shoplifters, such as Sean Egan at Morrisons and Walker Smith at Waitrose, have been widely condemned.
Mr Norman, a former MP for Tunbridge Wells, said such citizens are encouraged to steal due to the boom in technology used by large businesses. Self-service machines, he claims, have broken the 'human link' between shoppers and retailers.
Police Response Needed
However, Mr Norman said self-checkouts were not to blame for the riots in Clapham. He blamed uncooperative police forces for failing to intervene against more prolific shoplifters, who he said were 'clearing shelves to feed a habit'. He added: 'When you have gangs of kids coming in and sweeping the shelves, that's a police event and it requires an active police response. When something like that starts to become common it says to everybody, including ordinary citizens, that it's not safe.'
Retail leaders have called on police to play a more visible role in tackling shop crime. Simon Roberts, boss of Sainsbury's, said it would be 'a really good thing' to see more officers patrolling stores, adding: 'It would send a clear message that this issue is serious, that it matters, and that it is a top priority.'
