TESCO has made a major security change to its alcohol aisle at a whopping 50 stores across the UK.
In a radical crackdown on thefts, the supermarket giant will introduce keypad-operated cabinets to secure its most expensive tipples.
Social media users have said society is to blame for Tesco’s strict new measures@UB1UB2
AlamyThe new cabinets have been installed amid a rise in shoplifting cases across the country[/caption]
Bottles caged behind the locked shelves were also electronically tagged for extra protection@UB1UB2
The in-aisle lockers can be opened by customers via a keypad, with an alarm going off if the door is left open for more than seven seconds.
These high-tech cabinets have already been rolled out to 22 stores following a trial in late 2023.
Footage taken from a Tesco in Perivale, west London, shows a raft of alcohol bottles on shelves locked behind electronic glass doors, with shoppers required to use a touch screen device to request access from staff.
Bottles caged behind the locked shelves were also electronically tagged for extra protection, as customers have begun branding the security measures as a “new norm”.
A spokesperson at Wanzl, the retail equipment supplier who developed the technology, said the move required striking the correct balance.
On the one hand, too much security will put people off buying expensive drinks, too little risks high rates of theft.
Last year, popular brands including Smirnoff Vodka and Tanqueray Gin were filmed behind locked shelves by one punter, who posted the footage on TikTok.
One of the video captions read: “The new ‘normal’ for buying alcohol in London”.
The video has circulated on X, where users agreed that these methods could become more widespread.
One wrote: “Society only has itself to blame for this. Will become the norm so long as shoplifting continues to be widespread.”
Another posted: “Much of this is because self service tills lanes have made it easier to steal. .. just walk in and walk out. This is cheaper than paying more staff.”
This comes as shoplifting cases remain on the rise in the UK.
Disturbing analysis of Home Office stats show that in the year to March 2024, 245,000 theft cases were closed without a suspect being identified.
The figure is a 38 per cent rise on the 178,432 offences that went unsolved in the same period five years ago.
Among the cases of stolen goods, more than half were closed because cops couldn’t locate a suspect – up 49 per cent on five years ago.
Meanwhile, only around one in six incidents have led to a yob being charged or summonsed, down from one in five in 2019.
Martin Gaunt, a shop owner in Truro, Cornwall, claims he has had to make 50 citizens’ arrests in the past two years because he doesn’t receive “proper” police support.
Tesco declined to comment.
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