Major UK supermarkets are taking drastic security measures on festive staples, including pigs in blankets and honey-glazed carrots, as they brace for a pre-Christmas surge in shoplifting.
Security Tags on Festive Treats
In a stark sign of the times, packs of Tesco Finest Roasting Chantenay Carrots with Hot Honey & Crispy Onions, priced at £3, have been fitted with security tags at a Tesco Express in East Croydon, South London. Meanwhile, at a Sainsbury's Local, packets of pigs in blankets costing £2.50 were found with prominent yellow security alarm stickers attached.
The crackdown extends beyond seasonal food. Sainsbury's has also placed £12.50 boxes of Ferrero Collection chocolates in security cases at a branch in Surrey. Retailer TG Jones, which has replaced WH Smith in some locations, is selling popular advent calendars from brands like Lindt and Cadbury for £8.50 – but each one carries a yellow alarm sticker.
A National Crime Wave
These visible deterrents come against a backdrop of sharply rising retail crime. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), police in England and Wales recorded 529,994 shoplifting offences in the year to June 2025, marking a significant 13% increase.
The ONS notes there have been "sharp rises" in shop theft since the coronavirus pandemic. The trend is mirrored in Scotland, where government statistics for the year ending September 2025 show a 15% jump, from 42,271 to 48,564 offences.
Professor Emmeline Taylor, a criminologist from City, St George's, University of London, explains: "We always see a spike in the run-up to Christmas - there's a huge demand for stolen goods." She highlights a British Retail Consortium (BRC) study which estimated 20 million shoplifting incidents occur annually, suggesting fewer than 3% are ever reported to police.
Broader Consequences and Calls for Action
Signs in Sainsbury's stores now carry a blunt warning: "Thieves are always prosecuted." The British Retail Consortium stresses the wider impact, stating: "Shoplifting feeds through into higher prices for honest shoppers."
Professor Taylor points to a perceived lack of consequences for offenders: "There appears to be no consequence if you steal and if you're violent, and if you're a prolific offender it takes a long time for any action to actually be taken."
The ramifications extend beyond supermarket aisles. Former Detective Chief Inspector David Spencer, now of the think tank Policy Exchange, told the BBC: "This type of crime has the potential to completely knock out the economic viability of small towns." As retailers deploy ever more visible security on everyday items, the fight against Christmas shoplifting has clearly escalated.
