Scotland’s World Cup matches may be driving a spike in shoplifting incidents, according to new data from the SAI One Platform, which analyses data from more than 1,000 UK retail locations and over 20,000 cameras.
On 19 June, when Scotland went head to head against Morocco, retailers saw a rise of +24% in theft instances on the daily average, found SAI.
The trend was also mirrored in the lead up to Scotland’s first World Cup match against Haiti, which took place at 2am on Sunday 14 June. While traditional stores were closed by the time the match aired, retailers experienced a peak in shoplifting incidents on Saturday 13 June between 2pm and 4pm, up +13%.
England has also suffered a marked uptick in shoplifting, with theft levels rising by +6% on match day when England took on Croatia.
UK stores faced an increased operational burden too, with store triggers – which alert staff to replenishment, queue management, slips and trips – rising +5% in the lead-up to both England and Scotland’s first group stage matches. This figure rose to 10% in Scotland for the game against Morocco.
Chris Bell, Head of Marketing & Insight at SAI said: “With commercial opportunity also comes operational complexity – and that becomes even more pronounced during major sporting events, like the World Cup. With rising footfall, fan excitement reaching fever pitch and emotions running high, those pressures can quickly spill over into store environments, driving increases in theft, safety incidents and wider operational disruption.”
He added: “As the World Cup progresses, sales opportunities build, but so too do the pressures on the store estate. Retailers need to be able to anticipate and respond to those pressures, maintaining visibility across their stores and reacting quickly as conditions change, to ensure that the World Cup doesn’t become an operational own goal.”
