By Laura McGuire
German discounter Lidl has forked out £2m on bodycam equipment for its shop floor workers as the rise in store crimes continues to eat into the pockets of UK retailers.
The no-frills grocery chain said it will be the first supermarket in England to make it the standard that all staff are provided with the equipment.
While other supermarkets have body-worn cameras, Lidl is the only one to ensure they are in all stores. Other supermarkets are either still trialling the tech, have the cameras in a small number of stores or only refer to offering them to colleagues as an option.
Ryan McDonnell, chief executive officer, at Lidl GB, said: “While our stores are typically safe environments, retail crime is something that is impacting the whole industry.”
“Our investment into ensuring all our stores have body-worn cameras is just one of the ways we’re taking action to protect and provide reassurance to our colleagues and customers.”
It comes as a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed that incidents of violence and abuse towards retail colleagues had almost doubled on pre-pandemic levels to 867 incidents every day in 2021 and 2022.
The report put the scale of retail theft at £953m — despite shop owners shovelling out a whopping £700m in crime prevention annually.
Just last month, dozens of UK retailers wrote to Suella Braverman demanding urgent action over the soaring number of crimes made in stores.
Some 86 retail leaders, including the bosses of Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s, have signed a letter to the home secretary demanding the government clamp down on rising levels of theft and abuse towards shop workers.
Retailers have been calling for the government to create a specific law to protect shopworkers, with tougher sentences for offenders, similar to the 2021 Protection of Workers, which was passed in Scotland.
McDonnell added: “It is essential that the industry comes together to find new and innovative ways to combat serious and organised retail crime across the UK.”
