Shoppers have been left baffled by WHSmith’s decision to put security tags on packets of Cadbury Mini Eggs as part of their continuing fight against shoplifting.
In an effort to thwart thieves, the retailer has slapped the anti-theft devices on the £19 bag of Easter chocolate treats at a store in John Street, Liverpool.
The move comes after new figures showed there had been about 50,000 shoplifting cases a day over the past year, leading high street bosses to warn that shop theft was ‘spiralling out of control’.
It is not the first time WHSmith has taken such drastic action to combat this surge in criminal activity.
In December, the company attached security tags to advent calendars, £2 Terry’s Chocolate Oranges and card games.
And according to The Mirror, Premier League and Peppa Pig Panini stickers, worth 80p to £1, were kept behind tills at its branch in Croydon, south London.
But their decision to tag the 1kg bag of Mini Eggs has confused customers, with one joking on social media: ‘They better hatch dragons for £19.’
Another shopper said: ‘They need to be covered in gold for that price!’ While a third wrote: ‘They cannot be serious.’
WHSmith has slapped the anti-theft devices on the £19 bag of Easter chocolate treats at a store in John Street, Liverpool
WHSmith has implemented a number of security measures to combat this surge in criminal activity (file image)
Other stores have installed similar measures in a bid to crackdown on theft. Early last year, Tesco began putting security tags and nets on boxes of Quality Street and Celebrations despite them costing just £3 and £3.75 respectively.
Other chocolate treats also faced increased security at the chain’s Covent Garden store, including Guylian Seashells, Ferrero Rocher boxes and even Toblerone.
The chain also took steps to improve security on other items such as Cathedral City cheese and Dairy Milk bars, which are now found in plastic boxes.
Other chains have employed their own methods, with Asda spotted putting security tags on condoms.
Elsewhere, Co-op has resorted to placing dummy coffee jars on its shelves and Morrisons brought in a ‘Buzz for Booze’ button that requires staff to unlock alcohol fridges for customers.
Sainsbury’s also announced that it had replaced bottles with cardboard cutouts, with signs telling shoppers to go to the customer services desk if they wanted to buy them.
This wave of shoplifting has driven many retailers to the wall and the Centre for Retail Research predicts the trend of high street shops closing will accelerate this year.
A recent survey by the British Retail Consortium found an average of 55,000 thefts a day now take place in Britain’s shops, up by a quarter in the last 12 months.
The decision by WHSmith to place a security tag on the 1kg bag of Mini Eggs has confused customers
As well as being shocked by the security tags, many social media users were also left a gasp by the price of the chocolate treats
Boxes of £3 Quality Street and £3.75 Celebrations with security tags at Tesco in Covent Garden
Chocolate bars worth £1.25 were put in anti-shoplifting security boxes at another Tesco store
Condoms are the latest products to have an anti-theft device slapped on them as the nation finds itself in the grips of a shoplifting epidemic. The yellow alarm patches have been spotted on the contraception, which retails for £18 in the store, across several Asda supermarkets
Cathedral City cheese was spotted in a security box at a Tesco Express in Dalston, East London
Bottles of Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Lanson and Taittinger costing from £30 to £50 are now displayed in a padlocked fridge in the Tesco Extra in Purley, South London
A ‘buzz for booze’ button at a Morrisons supermarket at Five Ways in Birmingham last April
And more than a third of Brits openly admit to using self-service checkouts to steal from shops – amid concerns ‘middle-class shoplifters’ are adding fuel to the fire of Britain’s store theft crisis.
Violent thefts involving a weapon take place 70 times a day with retailers blaming a surge in organised gangs stealing to order.
‘People in retail have been spat on, racially abused, and threatened with machetes,’ said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.
‘Every day this continues, criminals are getting bolder and more aggressive.’
Retailers have despaired since a 2014 change in the law meant shoplifters have to have stolen at least £200 worth of goods before they can be given a jail term.
The government has promised to abolish the £200 threshold and has agreed make attacks on shop staff a specific offence in England and Wales, as it already is in Scotland.
The upcoming Crime and Policing Bill marks a victory for The Mail, which led the way on exposing abuse against store workers and shoplifting and called for authorities to take the issue more seriously.
A WHSmith spokesperson said: ‘The high street is facing increased levels of crime and, like many businesses, we have been taking action to ensure our stores remain welcoming places for our colleagues and customers.
‘This can include placing security tags on products in our high street stores however our colleagues are always on hand to assist with any purchase.’
