Overview
- Greggs is testing a new counter-only layout at select branches named by reporters as West Croydon, Peckham, Whitechapel, Upton Park, Birmingham and Wilford in Nottinghamshire.
- The trial removes self-service fridges and has staff hand over all food and drink, with the revamped West Croydon shop leaving only sugar, napkins and stirrers within reach.
- The move follows a sharp rise in retail crime, with shoplifting in England and Wales up 133% in five years to more than 530,000 offences in 2024/25 and fewer than one in five cases leading to a charge.
- Greggs workers have reported attacks linked to thefts, including scalding tea thrown at a staff member and a security guard assaulted with a belt at separate stores.
- The company says any wider rollout across its roughly 2,700 UK shops depends on results, while retail groups warn unchecked theft pushes up costs for paying customers.