Iceland’s boss said that the company loses out on millions of pounds from theft (Image: Channel 5 )The boss of supermarket chain Iceland has announced that the company will be giving back to customers who help identify shoplifters at their stores across the UK. Richard Walker, told Channel 5 News that as the company is facing significant losses due to shoplifting, so the food store will be giving £1 to any customer that spots theft within their store.
The boss said that shoplifting is becoming a significant problem for the company that costs the company “over £20 million a year”.
The British food retailer operates over 970 stores throughout the UK, with 66 being in Wales.
To earn the £1 thank you, you must be part of the supermarket’s loyalty scheme and have an Iceland Bonus Card. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here
Frozen food at Iceland Walker told Channel 5 News: “I’d like to announce that we will give £1 to any customer who points out a shoplifter.
“We’ll put it on their bonus card if they see any customer in our stores who are undertaking that offence.”
If you alert a member of staff working at an Iceland store about a customer who is found to be a shoplifter, you will be awarded £1.
The Iceland boss also confirmed that shoplifting “keeps prices from being lowered” as it costs the business millions of pound annually.
He said: “We’d like out customers to help lower our prices even more by pointing out shoplifters and then we’ll give them a quid back.”
This comes after the company introduced facial recognition technology at its tills in June this year in an effort to combat theft and violence against staff.
The installation involves cameras scanning customer faces and comparing them to a database of known troublemakers, which in turn alerts store employees when there’s a match.
Should the trials prove successful, Iceland could extend this facility across stores.
Facewatch is also used by many other retailers including Home Bargains, B&M, House of Fraser, Sports Direct, and Evans Cycles