The retailers fighting shoplifting one social media post at a time

The retailers fighting shoplifting one social media post at a time

Disposable barbeques worth £120 disappearing in seconds. Stacks of chocolate bars being snatched. A small child in a balaclava running off with fruit.

As Erdogan Yigitoglu scrolls through his videos, he highlights some of the most shocking shoplifting incidents he has recorded on his CCTV, some of which he has shared online.

For six years, the owner of a convenience shop in Bournemouth has viewed social media as his most effective tool in the battle against shoplifters, a problem he says costs him thousands of pounds each year.

Yigitoglu has operated his shop for 19 years, and he says publicly shaming and banning shoplifters has helped reduce crime over the past few years.

"Shoplifters damage the business, the environment, country," he says.

"They're stealing from your pocket, my pocket, everybody's pocket.

"If I [do] not sell this item, I can't pay the tax."

He estimates that 40-50% of the people he says are shoplifting in the videos he posts later return to pay for the goods. He adds that many now stay away from his shop altogether.

He says he only posts when the theft is clear-cut and obvious.

Customers back his method. One young shopper excitedly tells Yigitoglu that he "liked" the video he posted the previous night.

The posts are popular too, sometimes drawing hundreds of thousands or even millions of views.

Yigitoglu says he understands the effect his videos can have, and that some shoplifters have told him the clips were seen by their workplaces.

He says he will take down a video if he believes the person is genuinely sorry and has a "good excuse".

But his message to shoplifters is unmistakable: "We're always watching, recording and we're always sharing."

Gareth Kimbrey, who runs Setley Ridge Farm Shop in Hampshire, also turned to social media after his shop was targeted.

In April this year, around £400 worth of steak was stolen from his New Forest store.

He posted CCTV images - showing two women leaving through the back door carrying armfuls of meat, then getting into a getaway car - on the shop's social media accounts, and says the video received a "huge response".

He says local people identified the suspects, enabling him to give police their names and addresses.

Kimbrey adds: "I know possibly some people say it's wrong, that we shouldn't put their faces up. But at the end of the day, it isn't a victimless crime.

"If it gets people caught, then it's a really good thing to do."

Two women are due to appear at Southampton Magistrates' Court later this year to face shoplifting charges linked to the Setley Ridge incident.

That case is unusual, as official figures show that only one in five shoplifting offences in 2025-26 resulted in a charge or summons, and the British Retail Consortium says it remains an under-reported crime.

Yigitoglu says he used to report incidents to police, but now believes his time is better spent uploading the videos.

Dorset Police says it has introduced new systems that have made reporting shoplifting easier and sped up investigations.

It says that where stores support police action, its positive outcome rate is more than double the national average.

The force urges all retailers to use the online reporting system so it can build cases against prolific offenders.

Policing Minister Sarah Jones says shoplifting was a "pernicious crime that for too long has gone unpunished".

"They need to know that they are going to be punished for what they have done," she adds.

The government says it is looking at other ways to tackle prolific shoplifting - alongside prison sentences and drug treatment - including technology or court orders that stop offenders from entering certain shops or areas.