Retail Theft Gets Smarter And So Must Retail Security: ScanWatch CEO on the Rise of “Everyday Shoplifters”

As consumer prices continue to surge, retailers across the globe are confronting an alarming new pattern: a sharp rise in shoplifting incidents targeting essential goods.

While luxury items like alcohol and electronics were once prime theft targets, everyday products such as milk, cheese, butter, and bread are increasingly ending up in the crosshairs.

According to UK retail industry data, shoplifting rose 18% in the second half of 2022. In the US, the National Retail Federation reported a staggering 26.5% increase in organized retail crime, with nine out of ten incidents occurring at self-checkout tills, systems designed for speed, are now exploited in search of vulnerabilities.

“This new trend is a clear and direct result of consumer goods price increases,” says Saulius Kaukenas, CEO of ScanWatch, a retail tech startup specializing in AI-powered checkout security.

“The retail industry has historically accepted a ~2% shrinkage rate from theft. But what we’re now seeing is an unsettling shift: so-called “accidental shoplifters,” – everyday shoppers with no prior criminal background are contributing to these numbers.” adds Saulius.

Saulius Kaukėnas, CEO of Agmis and Scanwatch.

This behavior, experts suggest, stems not just from economic pressure, but from the perceived anonymity and ease of self-service checkouts.

Without human oversight, and with a growing sense of “just this once” justification, more people are skipping scans or swapping barcodes. Behavior that was once rare is now becoming alarmingly common.

Retailers are fighting back.

Solutions like ScanWatch are deploying AI-based anomaly detection, computer vision, and behavioral tracking to identify theft in real time without the sacrificing of customer experience. These tools allow retailers to analyze self-checkout usage patterns, detect inconsistencies, and alert staff before a theft is completed.

The rise of casual shoplifting underscores a broader trend: as shopper behavior evolves, retail security must become smarter, faster, and more adaptive.