Greggs padlocks drinks cabinet in bid to stop shoplifters targeting London store
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A London branch of Greggs has gone viral after customers spotted a padlocked drinks fridge during opening hours. The budget bakery, at an undisclosed location in the capital, had locked the section, leaving bottles of Coke and Lucozade inaccessible to customers.
Greggs has not confirmed the reason behind the move, but since the video was shared on TikTok on Friday, it has sparked widespread commentary, with many lamenting the state of the nation. “We can not live like this, this is beyond shameful,” another added.
Others mentioned that they had seen branches of WH Smith do the same. There are 2,389 Greggs locations in the United Kingdom and it is understood it is not standard policy to lock the doors of fridges. “When it comes to this, is there any point in selling it? The time it takes to unlock, especially at lunch time, must make the process non-profitable,” one wrote on Twitter.
The news comes after a reported surge in shoplifting with more than 650 shoplifting offences a day going unsolved in the past year. London shops lost a record £15m due to shoplifting in 2023 - and figures projected the amount would be greater for 2024 by the time the numbers were finalised.
Figures show 67,062 shoplifting offences were recorded in the capital in 2023, making it the worst year for shoplifting on record in London. More than half (56 per cent) of shoplifting cases were closed because no suspect was identified. Only around one in six cases resulted in someone being charged or summonsed in the past year.
