Asda to put perfume and batteries in vending machines to stop blackmarket thefts

Asda could soon be putting perfume and batteries into vending machines to prevent thieves from stealing them to order.

Batteries, razor blades and perfumes are easy for gangs to sell on the black market, so supermarket bosses have been thinking up ways to make customers pay for ‘high-theft’ items before gaining access to them.

It follows a trial at a store in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, where it uses vending machines to sell cigarettes.

The trial involved customers using a screen to choose a ticket for an item that they take to the tills to pay for.

Shoppers then receive another ticket which they can take to a vending machine which then finally spits out the product they want.

A spokesman for Asda said: ‘We continually explore new ideas which may help to improve our customers’ and colleagues’ experiences whilst in our stores.

‘However, there are no immediate plans to install new vending machines for any products in our stores whilst a trial in our Ashton store is ongoing.’

No decisions have been made yet on which items would be included in vending machines and a rollout is not believed to be imminent.

The system is designed to tackle the scourge of shoplifting while keeping staff safe from confrontations.

Last week, a Waitrose employee of 17 years was sacked after he stopped a shoplifter from running out with a big full of stolen Easter eggs.

Walker Smith, a shop assistant at a Waitrose branch in Clapham Junction, south London, approached the thief despite the company telling staff not to.

Walker spotted the shoplifter, who he said was a repeat offender, and grabbed his bag with the chocolate treats.

Shoplifting incidents have risen 20% year-on-year to 2024, reaching the highest level since records began, according to official figures.

Counter-measures taken by retailers include replacing products on shelves with dummy products or label tags, investing in better CCTV, hiring security guards and body cameras for staff.

The Metropolitan Police, under Operation Zoridon, also used tactics such as SelectaDNA to identify goods stolen from major retailers.

Officers would mark commonly stolen items, such as food and alcohol, with a unique synthetic liquid that enabled them to trace the goods back to the original retailers.

This would help strengthen the evidence case for officers to bring prosecutions.

Dogs are also trained to sniff out SelectaDNA markings and help officers as they search properties.

The rising cost of living has been widely cited as the key reason fuelling the surge in retail crime, with research showing a link between deprivation and the hardest-hit areas nationally.

There were 530,643 reported shoplifting offenses in the year to March, a 20% increase on 2024, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.