Shopping lists for thieves!

The alarming shoplifting trend that’s got everyone talking…

I’ll admit, I’m not great at switching off. Maybe it’s the nature of the industry.

But even when I do find time to relax, my job has a funny way of making its way back to the fore – often when I least expect it. Take my recent trip to the barbers, for example…

There I was, comfortably settled in the chair, engaging in the customary light chit-chat. Soon enough, the conversation turned to work. When I explained what I do for a living, the barber couldn’t wait to tell me about an article he’d just read on the BBC website – an exposé on the rise of organised shoplifting.

Countless family members and friends had already shared the same news item with me the day before. In fact, my phone has been pinging like crazy all week!

If you missed it, the article is definitely worth a read. The investigation sheds light on how prolific shoplifters are stealing thousands of pounds worth of goods and then selling them on to other retailers.

One former shoplifter told the BBC he stole goods worth ￡300 every day, which he would then sell on to fund his drug addiction.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, confirmed the grim reality: “There is an increasing trend of unscrupulous businesses taking on local product that has been stolen to order.”

However, as I explained to the barber while he enthusiastically trimmed away, this ‘steal-to-order’ phenomenon isn’t exactly breaking news. It’s an issue All-Tag has been helping retailers to combat for quite some time now.

I guess it just shows the power of mainstream media coverage. What was once a discussion confined to high-level risk prevention analysts, has now become a hot topic of conversation among everyone – from my barber to my boxing mates and even my nan!

At All-Tag, we’re committed to staying ahead of the curve. Over the last few years, we’ve developed cutting-edge solutions to help businesses fight this rising tide of organised retail crime (ORC). Our portfolio of anti-ORC products, which includes RF-enabled evidence labels, secure evidence labels, and the Q-Guard series, are all designed to stem the flow of stolen goods being resold in the broader market.

Of course, combating ORC is an ongoing battle. Thieves are constantly evolving their tactics, and as a business, we’ve learned to roll with the punches…

We’re currently updating our original anti-ORC products – innovating the innovation, so to speak – to ensure we stay ahead of the latest trends. In fact, Tim and I are off to China this week to explore even more technologies and tools that might help.

Interestingly, the BBC’s investigation also highlights the blurred lines of criminality I’ve spoken about previously. Low-level, occasional shoplifters are now climbing the criminal career ladder to become persistent offenders. These thieves are literally walking into stores with shopping lists of items to steal on behalf of unscrupulous businesses or criminal gangs. Talk about brazen!

And then there’s the noticeable shift in the types of products that are being stolen for resale. It’s no longer just the usual suspects like spirits and cosmetics; retailers are now seeing a surge in the theft of everyday household items.

Why the shift? If you’re protecting high-risk items with stronger security deterrents – like we are with our Bottle Net tags on spirits – shrink slowly migrates. An unintended consequence of this is that thieves then set their sights on less traditional items like branded cheese and olive oil, which still have a relatively high price point and are easily resold.

While it’s saddening that organised shoplifting has grown into such a pervasive problem that it’s grabbed the attention of the media, it’s at least reassuring to know All-Tag has been pushing in the right direction.

And we’ll continue to do so, as we innovate and adapt to the evolving retail landscape.