this post was submitted on 26 Oct 2023
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Top supermarket chains like Woolworths (WOW.AX) and Coles (COL.AX) have flagged a pickup in store theft and hostile behaviour, in line with global trends, as higher fuel, housing and grocery costs squeeze shopper budgets and tempers.Customer-facing staff at Coles and Woolworths, which together make up two-thirds of Australian grocery sales, have started wearing body cameras to record threatening behaviour, while trolleys are being fitted with wheels which automatically lock if a shopper tries to leave without paying.
"Unfortunately the data suggests it's continuing to occur," added Thomson, whose firm counts Coles and Woolworths as clients.
Reports of store theft surged 23% in Australia's three largest states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, home to three-quarters of the population, in the year to March 2023, according to the latest available government statistics, as COVID-related restrictions ended.
Store theft and customer aggression are both higher, but "we are more concerned with ensuring the continued wellbeing and safety of our team", Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci said on an Oct. 25 sales call, in which he linked changing shopper behaviour with living cost pressures.
Gerard Dwyer, National Secretary of the Shop Distributive & Allied Employees Association, the country's main retail union, said while security technology was being upgraded it was up to the justice system to act as a deterrent by imposing tougher penalties.
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