Major change for Waitrose shoppers after Sainsbury’s and Tesco rule | UK | News

Major supermarket chain Waitrose is introducing new measures at 360 of its stores in the UK to combat shoplifters. Bottles of high-quality wine and champagne are set to be locked in ‘smart lockers’ in stores. Telegram reported.

The change means anyone taking wine out will have to go through a process before being allowed entry – the Telegraph reports that Waitrose has refused to say how its fridges will work. Self-locking lockers often require customers to use touchpad screens before they can be opened.

Supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco have already introduced them in stores. At Sainsbury’s, where the technology is being tested, customers must go through a four-step process to unlock the doors. At other retailers, lockers can only be opened when people scan their loyalty cards or enter their phone numbers.

In a message to staff, Waitrose owner John Lewis said these new systems showed he was “not standing still” on ways to reduce crime. The technology tracks how long doors remain open and whether any items have been removed, alerting staff to suspicious activity such as people emptying cabinets.

Convictions and sentences for shoplifting in England and Wales have risen to the highest level in almost a decade, figures show. Last year there were 48,849 convictions in criminal courts for the principal crime of theft; this is up 19% from 41,014 in 2024.

This is the highest total since 49,434 convictions were recorded in 2017, according to data published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) last month. Analysis by the Press Association showed that the age of people convicted of theft has shifted towards older groups in recent years.

In 2017, people aged 40 to 59 made up 29% of inmates for whom shoplifting was the main crime. Last year, this rate increased to 41 percent. During the same period, the proportion of convicted shoplifting offenders under the age of 30 dropped from 28% to 18%.

Among this group, children under 18 made up 2% of convictions last year, compared to 3% in 2017; The proportion of those aged 18-24 fell from 11% to 7%; Those aged 25 to 29 fell from 15% to 10%.

Waitrose is also trialling new “meat nets” around cuts of meat and has installed protective screens on counters in some stores to prevent people jumping over them to steal cigarettes. John Lewis’ central operations manager, Lucy Brown, said these new investments would help keep staff and customers safe and urged them not to mess with criminals.

“I can understand that for partners this can be frustrating at times, especially when you see what has been described as an epidemic of retail crime and shoplifting… Standing back may seem like we are failing to take action, but that is not the case.”

A spokesperson for John Lewis said: “We are currently investing in a range of advanced technologies, including smart technology to deter theft. As part of this, we plan to soon pilot lockable smart lockers for areas such as spirits and champagne.”

“We already use smart shelving technology that can detect unusual customer behavior in our health, beauty and spirits aisles, so this will provide an additional layer of security.”

Ministry of Justice data also shows that sentences handed down in criminal courts in England and Wales last year for shoplifting, a core crime, were 48,517; This number is up 19% from 40,609 in 2024, the highest figure since 2017.

The average length of prison sentence was 2.4 months; this was the highest level since 2017, when available data began, at 1.8 months. Separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics last week showed the number of burglary offenses recorded by police in England and Wales fell slightly last year, falling from 516,611 in 2024 to 509,566 in 2025.

The decline may reflect a change in the way theft crimes are recorded by the police. A statement issued to forces by the Home Office in April 2025 said that if a person enters a retail premises, commits theft, then uses or threatens violence against staff or other people, the offense should be recorded as a burglary of commercial property, not a burglary.

This change may also be responsible for the sharp increase in crimes classified as business robberies last year; these crimes increased by 78% from 14,691 in 2024 to 26,158 in 2025.

Speaking on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer claimed “the tide could be turned” against shoplifting, as he laid out the Government’s efforts to tackle retail crime.

The Prime Minister said the Government was deploying an extra 3,000 neighborhood police officers to the streets and scrapping the “ridiculous” rule that left theft of goods worth less than £200 “unproperly investigated” by police.

Addressing the Usdaw shop workers union, Sir Keir added: “We have also toughened penalties; we are giving stronger powers to the police, making harassment and assault of retail workers a specific offense and giving you the same protections as emergency workers.”