Shoplifting offences are said to cost the retailer £20million per year.
Iceland’s boss has called on loyal customers to help tackle the rise in shoplifting crimes. The incentive will see those who help out rewarded with a cash prize.
Richard Walker, Executive Chairman to the frozen foods giant, has said that he will top up customers’ Bonus Card with £1 every time they spot someone shoplifting in store.
Once the thieves have been pointed out to a staff member, those signed up to the supermarket’s loyalty scheme will have the money credited to their account and available to spend immediately.
The Sun reports the move means that Iceland may be the first UK supermarket to bring in an incentive for customers who help out with the fight against shoplifting across the country.
Customers who do point out any shoplifters in store are being encouraged not to directly interact with them, but instead to alert the nearest staff member with a detailed description.
Walker also believes that the reward will hopefully help it to lower its costs after it was revealed that shoplifting currently costs the company £20million per year.
Speaking to Channel 5 News on Wednesday, August 13, the Chairman said: “I’d actually like to announce that we will give a pound to any customer who points out a shoplifter.
“We will put it on their bonus card if they see any customer in our stores who are undertaking that offence.”
The supermarket’s boss then said that, while some see shoplifting as a “victimless” crime, it is in fact a cost to the business, with the multi-million pound loss being “a cost to the hours that we pay our colleagues.”
Alongside mentioning the “intimidation” and “violence” of the crime, he further added:”That’s not £20 million of profit. That’s just £20 million that we could pay in more hours to our colleagues or in lowering prices.”
“So we’d like our customers to help us lower our prices even more by pointing out shoplifters and then we’ll give them a quid back.”
Iceland’s reward comes after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that shoplifting incidents rose to a record high, with crimes across England and Wales soaring 20 percent in March 2025 to 530,643.
It is said to mark the highest number of shoplifting offences since the record began over 20 years ago in March 2003, with the figures equivalent to over 10,000 thefts per week, or more than 1,400 per day.
With the stark rise in crimes across the UK, many major supermarkets and retailers have been introducing measures to help protect their goods and staff members against offenders.
Earlier this year, Sainsbury’s and Tesco introduced cameras that record customers at its self-service checkouts that will alert when an item that doesn’t look like it has been scanned is placed in the bagging area.
Meanwhile, the likes of Co-op, Tesco, Lidl, H&M and Ann Summers have been equipping staff members with body cameras to protect their wellbeing amidst the rise in violent retail crime.
