Tesco and Sainsbury's boost their security in bid to protect Easter eggs

24 February 2024 , 21:47

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Reese’s Peanut Butter eggs with a security tag in Tesco

Shops are putting anti-theft tags on Easter eggs in an attempt to deter thieves.

In Tesco, an alarm will go off if shoplifters try to steal £3 Cadbury Dairy Milk eggs and £5 Reese’s Peanut Butter eggs. Rival Sainsbury’s tagged a similar selection, including Nestle’s £2 Smarties Egg.

One shopper said: “Britain has hit a new low. This is madness.” Another said: “I’d understand more when people are forced to steal the essentials for their kids like baby formula, but £2 ­chocolate is a joke.” Shoplifting is up 25% this year and stores are losing £1billion a year, according to official stats.

Cadbury Mini Eggs were also spotted with the tags

City University of London criminology professor Emmeline Taylor, host of the podcast Retail Crime Uncovered, said: “ Easter eggs might be stolen by opportunists for their own use but it’s likely that professional prolific thieves will be targeting them to sell on for profit. Disrupting the onward sale of stolen goods is key to tackling the current surge in theft.”

Consumer champion Martyn James said: “If people steal items of little value, there’s little hope things will change.” British Retail Consortium’s Graham Wynn said: “The lack of effective police response has left many criminals, including organised crime gangs, feeling they can shoplift with impunity.”

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Shops are funding a £600,000 crackdown on thefts. Last week we revealed bananas are among the most-nabbed items. It comes as new research from the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) annual survey found the amount lost to shoplifting in the latest year was the highest ever recorded.

Shoplifting cost retailers about £1.8billion in the latest year, the first time it has surpassed the £1billion mark, the BRC said. Some retailers said the cost of living crisis changed the number of items being stolen from one or two items, to many. The boss of John Lewis, Dame Sharon White, previously told the BBC that shoplifting had become an “epidemic” with a rise in organised gangs looting stores.

Saskia Rowlands