What are shoplifters looking for in the supermarket? Goodbye to 'hunger' shoplifting

BarcelonaThe stereotype of the shoplifter hiding a loaf of bread or a package of pasta under their jacket out of necessity is increasingly distant from the reality of European supermarket aisles. According to an extensive study published by STC – a company specializing in anti-theft systems – in collaboration with technology partners from the Dutch firm Nedap, those who steal products from the shelves today have a specific profile. brand High-value products from well-known brands and a clear target: the black market.

The report, which analyzes data from 15 countries with a combined population of 387 million—61% of the European population excluding Russia—paints a map of commercial crime that blends global trends with local culinary identities. Although each country has its own particularities, the top three are virtually identical: alcohol has established itself as the most stolen product across the continent, followed by health and beauty products, meat, chocolate, and coffee.

Spain: ham and "liquid gold"

Looking at the data by country, shoplifting reflects local culture. In Spain, Iberian ham and olive oil are the undisputed stars of theft, two products that are practically absent from statistics in the rest of Europe. This is due to the high market value of these items and the ease with which they can be resold through informal channels.

In contrast, in Germany, bakery products and fresh pastries are surprisingly the most stolen, a statistic not commonly found in other countries. In the United Kingdom, the passion for sweets translates into a disproportionate number of chocolate bar thefts, while in Belgium and Finland, beer is the absolute priority, above the wine or spirits that predominate in Italy or France. There is also the case of Croatia, where the most stolen product is seafood.

The decline of shoplifting driven by hunger

One of the most striking conclusions of the study is the virtual non-existence of "hunger theft"—theft driven by hunger. The companies surveyed agree that flour, dried pasta, and legumes are rarely stolen. Thieves seek gourmet products, prestigious brands, and high-value items. This confirms that most thefts are organized for later resale, not for immediate consumption to meet a basic need. Alcohol is in the top five in almost all the countries analyzed, and holds the top spot in places like Italy, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and Belgium. This reality has forced retail chains to take extra precautions with measures we've become familiar with: security collars on wine and whiskey bottles, and polycarbonate boxes for coffee capsules and facial creams. The danger of self-checkout systems

The study also focuses on where and how theft occurs. The digitization of supermarkets has opened new vulnerabilities. Currently, self-checkout lanes are the most critical point. The lack of direct supervision, the pressure to expedite queues, and the ease with which product scanning can be simulated have skyrocketed losses in this area. Furthermore, blind spots in aisles and closed traditional checkout lanes have become escape routes for thieves who dare to leave the supermarket with full carts without going through the checkout process.

Faced with this scenario, the retail sector finds itself at a crossroads: maintain the convenience of self-service or strengthen security. Salvador Cañones, managing partner of STC, emphasizes that investment in technology is the only way to curb this trend. The use of RFID technology—radio-frequency identification of products—and new physical security solutions are achieving significant reductions in shrinkage—the difference between theoretical and actual stock. This study, which has been conducted in Spain since 2022, has expanded to a European scale this year thanks to Nedap's network of partners, allowing for the first time a comparison of how, why, and what is stolen in supermarkets.