Overview
- Archie Norman said self‑service tills break the human link with staff and can nudge otherwise law‑abiding shoppers to leave with items that fail to scan, adding that stores should make the technology easier to use rather than scrap it.
- Marks & Spencer has leaned into automation as a cost move, installing 800 self‑checkout machines in 2023 as part of a £150 million savings drive.
- Speaking after a late‑March raid on an M&S in Clapham, Norman said self‑checkouts did not cause the disorder and called mass shelf‑sweeps a policing issue that needs an active response.
- Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts backed more visible policing and said facial‑recognition checks for staff have cut incidents by 46% in stores using it, with 92% of flagged offenders not returning.
- Official figures show 509,566 shoplifting offences last year, though a 2025 Home Office rule that logs thefts with threats or force as robbery clouds trends, while a Metropolitan Police pilot that speeds CCTV evidence has lifted positive outcomes in test areas.