Theft down on last year as shop owners plough millions into protecting stores…

Local convenience stores have reported a drop in theft incidents after investing heavily in crime prevention measures, new data from the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) reveals.

The 2026 ACS Crime Report shows that UK convenience retailers recorded 5.8 million shoplifting incidents over the past year, alongside just over 950,000 cases of verbal abuse. This marks a decline from the 6.2 million thefts and 1.2 million verbal abuse incidents recorded in the 2025 report.

Experts attribute the fall to a record £313 Million spent by convenience stores on crime prevention and detection measures such as CCTV, security tags, protective screens, facial recognition, and AI monitoring systems.

The ACS also noted that more stores are reporting crime to police, with 64% of respondents saying they are increasing their reporting compared to last year.

Despite these improvements, the overall impact of crime and security investment still comes at a cost to shoppers. The report estimates an 11p “crime tax” is effectively added to every transaction in UK convenience stores.

Association of Convenience Stores Chief Executive, Ed Woodall, said: “Convenience stores are doing everything they can to keep their colleagues and customers safe, investing in defensive measures to protect their businesses.”

“The latest numbers on theft and abuse are moving slowly in the right direction, but still represent a daily battle for thousands of local shops against hardened criminals and organised gangs that are brazenly clearing entire shelves and targeting high value products to sell on elsewhere.”