De Flow AI is an AI-powered retail analytics platform that helps retailers prevent loss, improve customer experience, and gain operational insights using advanced computer vision and artificial intelligence technology.

How does AI help with retail loss prevention?

AI analyzes video feeds and POS data in real-time to detect suspicious behavior, self-checkout fraud, and inventory shrinkage. It identifies patterns that human observers might miss, reducing retail losses by up to 30%.

What types of retail businesses can use De Flow AI?

De Flow AI serves all retail formats including supermarkets, department stores, convenience stores, and specialty retailers. The platform is especially effective for businesses with self-checkout systems, high-value merchandise, or high foot traffic.

Retail Crime Data · Updated 2026-06

UK Retail Theft Statistics 2026

The cost, scale and trends of retail theft in the UK — pulled from the latest official sources (British Retail Consortium & ONS). Every figure is cited and free to reuse.

Key figures at a glance

20.4M

theft incidents against UK retailers in a year

roughly 55,000 every day

Source: BRC Retail Crime Survey 2025

£2.2bn

direct cost of customer theft

the highest figure ever recorded

Source: BRC Retail Crime Survey 2025

£4.2bn

total cost of retail crime

including spend on crime prevention

Source: BRC Retail Crime Survey 2025

509,566

shoplifting offences recorded by police

year ending Dec 2025 — down 1%, the first drop in years

Source: ONS — Crime in England and Wales, year ending December 2025

1,600

incidents of violence & abuse against staff per day

down from ~2,000/day, but still ~3.5× the pre-pandemic 455/day

Source: BRC Retail Crime Report 2026

£1.8bn

spent by retailers on crime prevention in one year

up from £1.2bn the year before

Source: BRC Retail Crime Survey 2025

The reporting gap: 510k recorded vs 20.4m real

Police recorded ~510k shoplifting offences, but retailers logged over 20 million theft incidents — most retail theft is never formally reported.

Recorded offences: ONS — Crime in England and Wales, year ending December 2025 · Total incidents: BRC Retail Crime Survey 2025

Violence & abuse against retail workers

1,600/day

violence & abuse incidents against retail workers

Source: BRC Retail Crime Report 2026

118/day

incidents involving physical assault

Source: BRC Retail Crime Report 2026

36/day

incidents involving a weapon

Source: BRC Retail Crime Report 2026

455/day

pre-pandemic baseline (2019/20) for comparison

Source: BRC Retail Crime Survey 2025

What's driving the rise

Organised retail crime (ORC) gangs targeting stores systematically
Cost-of-living pressure driving opportunistic theft
Reduced in-store staffing and the spread of self-checkout
Low charge/prosecution rates for low-value theft

How retailers are responding with AI

With recorded crime far below the real total and prevention budgets at record highs, retailers are turning to AI that works on their existing cameras — flagging theft in real time instead of reviewing footage after the loss. Explore how it works:

AI Loss Prevention Retail Analytics Real-Time Alerts

Cite this page

Using these figures? A link back is appreciated:

De Flow AI — UK Retail Theft Statistics 2026. https://de-flow.com/uk-retail-theft-statistics

Sources

BRC Retail Crime Report 2026 (British Retail Consortium) — covers 2024/25
BRC Retail Crime Survey 2025 (British Retail Consortium) — covers 2023/24
ONS — Crime in England and Wales, year ending December 2025 — year ending Dec 2025

Figures last verified 2026-06. Some BRC measures changed methodology between surveys and are not directly year-on-year comparable; we cite the survey year for each figure above.

See how AI cuts retail theft on your cameras

De Flow AI detects theft and suspicious behaviour in real time on your existing CCTV. Book a free demo and see it on your store footage.

Book a free demo