Times they are ever changing, shoplifters who traditionally focused on stealing luxury products like jewelry, electronics and clothing are now shifting for basic necessities like food and domestic appliances.
The Shoprite Group, Africa’s largest food retailer which operates 969 outlets in 17 countries on the continent, the Indian Ocean and southern Asia, said that, while the number of shoplifting or pick pocketing incidents had not markedly increased, the type of products stolen had changed.
Supermarket chain Pick n Pay said that shoplifters were targeting everyday items on a more frequent basis as well.