Marks & Spencer chair Archie Norman has warned that self-checkouts are contributing to a rise in ‘good honest people’ shoplifting.

Norman, who has chaired the retailer since 2017, said self-service technology had weakened the “human link” between shops and customers, making it easier for some shoppers to justify not paying for items when scanning problems occur.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Norman said: “When normally good, honest people come in, and they’re buying their shopping, and it doesn’t scan, and there’s nobody manning the checkouts, they’re saying: ‘It’s not my fault and I don’t have much time so if I can’t get my strawberries through, I’ll just put them in my basket’.”

However, the M&S boss said retailers did not necessarily need to bring back manned tills to tackle the issue.

He said: “It does mean you’ve got to make the technology easier for people to use.”

M&S has expanded its use of self-service checkouts in recent years as part of wider cost-saving and efficiency efforts. In 2023, the retailer installed 800 self-checkout machines over 12 months as it worked towards a £150m cost-saving target.

Norman’s comments come amid growing concern over shoplifting, organised retail crime and violence against shopworkers.

The M&S chair said police forces had failed to intervene effectively against prolific offenders, including those “clearing shelves to feed a habit”.

“When you have gangs of kids coming in and sweeping the shelves, that’s a police event and it requires an active police response,” he said.

“When something like that starts to become common it says to everybody, including ordinary citizens, that it’s not safe.”

The warning follows comments from M&S retail director Thinus Keeve, who criticised London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan over crime in the capital, claiming the situation was “getting worse, not better”.

Earlier this month, M&S condemned “brazen, organised, and more aggressive attacks” on stores after a gang of young people raided its Clapham branch.

British Retail Consortium policy adviser Lucy Whing said the rise in organised retail crime was “particularly worrying as gangs systematically target one store after another across the country”.

Retail leaders have repeatedly warned that shoplifting is placing further pressure on businesses already facing rising wage, rent, energy and supply chain costs.

Iceland chair Lord Richard Walker told LBC that the increase in theft was feeding into the cost-of-living crisis by diverting money away from staff wages and “investment in lowering prices”.

He also called on the Information Commissioner’s Office to support retailers in making greater use of facial recognition technology to tackle repeat offenders.

“Retail theft is a significant challenge for retailers, with our own figures showing 5.5m detected incidents of theft last year,” said Lucy Whing, Crime Policy Adviser at the BRC.

“While ONS figures likely underestimate the issue, as it only captures reported incidents, it aligns with our own data showing high levels of shoplifting in recent years. The causes are manifold, but the rise in organised crime is particular worrying as gangs systematically target one store after another across the country.”

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