Tesco makes main change to towels in shoplifting crackdown | UK | News | EUROtoday

Tesco has made a weird change to its hand towels. Security tags have been noticed on the £2 merchandise at its Lewisham department in South East London. Security measures are sometimes used to guard high-value objects from theft. However, an increasing number of supermarkets are growing their use of safety tags on on a regular basis objects on account of the sharp rise in theft.

Tesco buyer and railway employee Gareth Blunt, 48, was on the South London retailer selecting up a pack of hand towels protected by safety tags.

He informed The Sun: “It’s a bit bizarre, I don’t perceive it. I’m used to seeing it on alcohol or TVs, however I don’t perceive what the purpose is of somebody stealing towels.

“Having the tag removed is fine at the till, but we will end up having everything, all the products, with an alarm on. That would be annoying.”

Mr Blunt also believes that the security tags on the bathroom products suggest “there’s no trust left for normal people not to steal”.

A Tesco employee said: “The tags probably cost more than the product they’re on. You’d be surprised at the things people try to shoplift.”

Everyday objects, together with tea luggage and chocolate bars, have additionally been noticed locked up in safety bins.

The towel tags should not a common coverage in all shops, a Tesco supply revealed.

It comes as shoplifting has hit document ranges in recent times, with greater than 530,000 offences in England and Wales recorded within the yr ending March 2025.

The Government has been investing in policing and in additional uniformed employees in purchasing areas to proceed tackling the difficulty and defending retail employees. Additionally, the Crime and Policing Bill, welcomed by Joanne Thomas, Usdaw’s common secretary, reclassifies theft and introduces strict protections for retail employees.

She mentioned: “Usdaw’s last survey found that this is in no way a victimless crime, with two-thirds of attacks on retail staff being triggered by theft or armed robbery. Having to deal with repeated and persistent offences can cause issues beyond the theft itself, like anxiety, fear and physical harm to retail workers.”

The Express has approached Tesco for a remark.