Shop theft in convenience stores has fallen for the first time since 2022, as retailers ramp up crime prevention and detection measures.
According to the ACS 2026 Crime Report, released today, there have been 5.8 million incidents of shop theft recorded by retailers, along with just over 950,000 incidents of verbal abuse.
This compares to 6.2 million incidents of theft and 1.2 million incidents of verbal abuse in its 2025 ACS Crime Report.
The fall in incidents comes as convenience retailers invested £313m in crime prevention and detection measures, up from £265m last year, including on CCTV, security tagging, protective screens, facial recognition and AI store monitoring, to keep their stock secure and colleagues safe.
ACS said retailers were also stepping up reporting, with 64% logging more crimes with police than last year.
The 2026 ACS Crime Report reveals the cost of crime and the cost of investing in crime prevention amounts to an 11p ‘crime tax’ on every transaction that takes place in the UK’s local shops.
“Convenience stores are doing everything they can to keep their colleagues and customers safe, investing in defensive measures to protect their businesses,” said ACS CEO Ed Woodall.
“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.”
Woodall also praised improved government and police response to retail crime.
“Recent efforts from the government and the police to tackle retail crime on our high streets and in our town centres are welcome, along with an increased police presence that makes the biggest difference to how safe people feel in their communities,” he said.
“We must continue this momentum when the Crime and Policing Bill comes into force and send a clear message that together retailers, the police and the justice system will not tolerate theft.”
Crime and policing minister Sarah Jones added: “I’m pleased this report shows the progress the government is making to tackle shop theft. Working alongside partners like ACS, charges are now up by 21%
“But we can’t be complacent. That’s why we are giving police the powers they need to crack down on perpetrators, including making it a specific offence to assault retail workers and scrapping the £200 rule that lets too many offenders off the hook.
“An additional 3,000 neighbourhood officers will be in place by spring. We will also deliver major policing reforms which will see a National Police Service take on national responsibilities, so local forces can focus on local crime like shop theft.”
For the first time, the ACS 2026 Crime Report highlights the damaging impact of the illicit trade on goods like tobacco, alcohol, vapes and electricals.
Some 85% of retailers say the sale of illicit products has increased around their business, and one in four say they have noticed products stolen from their store being resold locally.
Additional key figures from this year’s Crime Report showed alcohol, confectionery and meat were the top three items targeted by thieves, with addiction the main motivation for repeat offending.
It also revealed 61% of retailers believe antisocial behaviour in or around their store has increased over the past year, while 52% of retailers said incidents involving organised crime groups has risen.
The launch of the 2026 ACS Crime Report comes as the British Retail Consortium revealed its latest annual crime survey last month, which found incidents of violence and abuse across the sector fell by around a fifth last year.
The trade body said, however, that levels remained significantly higher than before the pandemic, with theft and organised crime continuing to pose a major challenge for retailers.
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