Overview

• Iceland has begun crediting £1 to customers’ Bonus Cards immediately after staff verify reports of suspected shoplifters.
• The chain estimates annual losses of about £20 million to theft, which it says constrains price cuts and staffing budgets.
• Richard Walker has announced plans to deploy facial-recognition technology across all 970 UK stores to strengthen security.
• The reward scheme has drawn criticism over the low incentive and the potential risks of shopper confrontation when reporting.
• Government figures show shoplifting offences reached 530,643 in the year to March 2025, spurring legislation to remove low-value thresholds and create new retail theft and assault offences.