Iceland is offering a financial incentive for customers to report shoplifters in stores as retail crime continues to skyrocket.
Shoppers who spot people shoplifting in store will be eligible for a £1 Bonus Card Reward, which would be credited to their account and available to spend immediately.
Iceland executive chairman Richard Walker said: “The scourge of shoplifting on our high streets continues to plague the UK, and the problem is only worsening, with criminal activity spreading across, not just big cities, but our market towns and villages too.
“In order to combat any activity in Iceland stores, we’re encouraging our loyal customers to help sound the alarm, and if they do help to catch a shoplifter, we’ll top up their Bonus Card to spend in store.”
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The frozen food specialist said that customers are strongly encouraged not to directly interact with any shoplifters, but find the nearest member of staff and alert them instead with a detailed description.
It comes as more and more retailers have taken tackling the rise in shoplifting and violence against store staff into their own hands.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed last month that amount of shoplifting incidents rose 20% to 530,643 during the year to the end of Marc, marking the highest number since records began in 2003.
The government department’s figures are equivalent to over 10,000 thefts per week, or more than 1,400 per day and almost three thefts per minute, based off average shop opening times in the UK of 9am to 6pm.
Ann Summers became the latest high street business to introduce body-worn cameras for store staff, joining H&M, Tesco, Co-op and Lidl in using the technology.
In a Linkedin post last month, the business said: “The personal safety and wellbeing of our colleagues is absolutely essential, so creating safe spaces for both them and our customers is a priority.”
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