Local grocery store noticing increase in shoplifting

It’s not just your wallet feeling the impact of high grocery prices – your local grocers could be taking a hit as well.

Rebecca Dyck is the owner of Dad’s Organic Market locations in Regina and Saskatoon. Over the last year, Dyck said she and her staff have noticed more and more shoplifting.

“We have two locations, and obviously if you’ve ever been in retail you do experience theft, but we have seen an uptick in (people) stealing meat and I guess higher-priced items that would be considered more of a luxury,” Dyck explained.

“Most people would try to take one or two of an item, but I would say that’s increased more since prices have kind of gone up and there’s more strain on the economy.”

Dyck said she and her staff have seen all different types of people stealing.

“I’ve been in this business for 15 years, and you would think that somebody (stealing) would look a certain way to be stealing something, but often times it’s just a very average looking person and you would actually be kind of shocked to see them taking something,” Dyck said.

While some might not see a store losing a couple of items as a big deal, Dyck said it does hurt the smaller grocery stores, which aren’t exactly looking to make a major profit from the industry.

“It’s a loss for us, which is harder for us to recuperate as a small business. We’re in business because we love what we’re doing, not because we’re making tons of money. For us, that does hit the bottom line, which is hard to reconcile,” Dyck explained.

“Everyone works so hard to generate income for everybody who works here, and to have someone come in and steal carelessly is a bit hard, sometimes.”

She wouldn’t say how much money or product they have lost as a result of a rise in shoplifting, but said they’ve noticed an increase.