Crime rose sharply in Co-op shops over the last six months, with 950 offences taking place every day, the business said.
The cost of theft and fraud in Co-op’s food business rose to £39.5m in the first half of 2024 alone. Compared to the same time a year earlier, it cost 19% more, up from £33.3m.
Across the half-year period, 172,008 incidents took place, 4% more than in 2023.
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In an effort to bring down stealing, Co-op began testing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in 14 shops to detect concealed goods and alert staff members.
The technology can detect a physical assault taking place and directly alert security, requesting support, the company said.
The problem of increased stealing is not unique to Co-op, it said, as a report from the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) showed that, while Co-op represented nearly a third of sales covered, it experienced only 6% of the crime reported.
As the cost of living crisis hit, shoplifting reached a record high with 16.7 million incidents recorded in 2023 – more than double 2022, costing retailers about £1.8bn – a record sum – according to an annual survey by industry group the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
There was also a rise in violence and abuse against shop workers which spiked to about 1,300 incidents daily in 2023, a rise of 50% from 870 the year before.
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Shirine Khoury-Haq, Co-op’s chief executive, told Sky News there was also a human cost due to the “detrimental” effects that theft was having on store colleagues.
“Retail crime is in the main driven by repeat, persistent offenders and organised criminal gangs”, she said.
“We’ve spent £200m in the past two years and an additional £18m so far this year on expensive measures to protect our colleagues.
“But despite this, the reality is that everyday in the Co-op four of our colleagues will be attacked and a further 115 will be seriously abused.”
She said that the BRC’s data showed that Co-op’s investment was paying off in terms of crimes within stores but called on the government to introduce, as soon as possible, a proposed new law that would make attacks on shopworkers a specific offence.
Also announced on Wednesday in its half-year interim results was the opening of 120 new shops by the end of 2025.