What is the purpose of these plastic slidy things?
Posted by Tombololo@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 188 comments
[removed]
Posted by Tombololo@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 188 comments
[removed]
FornyHucker22@reddit
Maybe a way to stop someone sweeping the whole shelf easily? Still seems really stupid but best I got
velos85@reddit
It’s exactly this. It’s a deterrent, not a resolution
Cheapntacky@reddit
"Let's make it awkward for everyone in an attempt to stop a tiny minority being a-holes"
iffyClyro@reddit
Mate, shoplifting costs the public purse millions.
A single family in Scotland lifted £1.7million worth last year.
Supermarkets make a fortune but their profit margin is something like 1% they depend on economies of scale to be profitable.
evthrowawayverysad@reddit
How awful! I mean Sainsbury's itself steals directly from it's own employees by not paying a real living wage despite the fact that it made more than £1 billion in underlying operating profit in the last 2 financial years, and paid out £1.3 billion in dividends, while their CEO openly admits that the company will happily pass tax hikes directly on to food prices.
But yeah man, shoplifting is definitely where this country is brought to it's knees, absolutely nothing to do with the £850 Billion in cash offshored by the UK's wealthiest to avoid contributing to the public purse.
Positive_Mirror_8628@reddit
I was working there 40hrs a week on a 8hr contract with holidays and sickness reflecting that contract. Eventually got it up to a 12hr contract after 4yrs.
Ok-Soup-3189@reddit
Yep! Sainsbury's paying people more will stop opportunistic shoplifters from making thousands from shoplifting.
evthrowawayverysad@reddit
Indeed it will! Income inequality and petty theft are directly correlated. Paying a population a fairer wage means regular employment is more appealing than crime. Who'd have thunk it!
Ok-Soup-3189@reddit
Damn. TIL Sainsbury's hires the entire population.
evthrowawayverysad@reddit
Someone employs most of the population, and wage theft continues to drive families into poverty by both making entry level jobs unnapealing, and denying contributions that go towards efforts to reduce crime.
Organised crime represents a tiny fraction of shoplifting compared to opportunistic and petty theft. It does serve as a very practical scapegoat for the subject though. Families on the bottom line who can't afford essentials? Of course not, it must be organized crime!
Ok-Soup-3189@reddit
Hm. I thought we had more than 290,000 working age people in the UK, but maybe I'm wrong.
Sure, when you want to fudge the meaning and look at raw count rather than value.
Ah yes, "organised crime" = scapegoat. "Poor families can't live" = what?
evthrowawayverysad@reddit
I think you're missing some context about the broader discussion here; I'm referring to wage theft and tax avoidance on a national scale. Roughly 1 in 6 jobs in the UK are classified as low-paid, i.e. below the real living wage. That's around 5 million workers that are denied a level of pay that is required to live amenably. That number is increasing year on year, which contributes to the wealth divide widening as more companies pay more people proportionally less money, while shareholders are paid larger dividends and investors earn greater returns, and who in turn move their money offshore to avoid taxation. The result is more people in poverty, and less money in the public purse to enhance social cohesion and raise living standards by funding better education, providing equal access to opportunities and generally lifting quality of life for the broader population. These concepts are what drove the west forward in the latter half of the 1900s, and departing from them is what is leading to increases in crime rates, drug use, violence, etc.
None of this is some great unknown, and the wealthiest in the world are carefully managing the expectations of the population to become placid in the face of this change by insisting that something else is to blame, and kicking the can down the road.
Ok-Soup-3189@reddit
Yeah we should just tax the rich and give to the poor.
evthrowawayverysad@reddit
'Right direction, wrong energy' is probably the most succinct way to reply to that, but it's good that you've got the right mindset!
Realistically, all you need do is research the Nordic model; if the folks living in the bleak, freezing dark and cold of Scandinavia also happen to be the happiest people on earth, they must be doing something right!
Ok-Soup-3189@reddit
Yeah! We should just change our culture to theirs. That'd solve everything!
evthrowawayverysad@reddit
The nordic model is a set of political, not cultural ideals. The Republic of Ireland is an example of successful implementation of the Nordic model in recent times. Canada and israel are also implementing nordic model aligned policies into their economies successfully.
Ok-Soup-3189@reddit
🤔 I'm sure at one point you won't make a misleading/false claim.
We can ignore that these policies are a product of culture anyway.
evthrowawayverysad@reddit
Please read my responses with a bit more care; cultural common practices ≠ ideals. The common cultural practices that the Wikipedia page is referring to are broadly westernized cultural practices, as per the source material (always read the source!) This is precisely the reason I referenced the ROI in my previous comment. Though largely culturally incongruent with Scandinavian countries, the nordic model continues to be successfully implemented in the ROI.
>they are unrealistic ideals in the context of the UK. We have a culture problem, we have a politics problem.
I'm not sure why culture continues to be a sticking point here; there are no 'cultural' barriers to making policy change. The primary benefit of living in a democracy are the ability to make those changes. If you want to dismiss the idea by simply saying 'we can't do it', then you've made no real attempt to defend your position, and it's undone by me simply saying 'we can do it'... which I just did!
turtleship_2006@reddit
Not to mention that the people stealing probably aren't the ones employed by Sainsbury's...
CryOld2986@reddit
Why are you acting like it’s either one or the other and multiple problems can’t coexist ? All are wrong, but unlike offshoring or offering transparent low wages shoplifting is illegal and therefore easier to stop.
tmr89@reddit
Whataboutism
AsasinKa0s@reddit
Just wanna say, personal anecdote:
My mum got into a workplace accident where she landed on her hip, affecting her ability to walk and stand. She only recently got her hip replaced. Sainsburys, to my memory, barely offered her anything.
I do not like Sainsburys much.
Glittering_Vast938@reddit
Me neither.
The fact that they don’t have a single manned checkout at 5pm in a busy medium sized store is truly ridiculous. I had to put a trolley load of shopping through the other day and it took absolutely ages.
They have a single person on the self-checkout.
iffyClyro@reddit
It’s not a race to the bottom.
You aren’t “doing a thing” here.
Starbucks, Boots and a number of other retailers don’t pay a penny in tax in the UK and as such a boycott those businesses, I don’t go into those businesses and shoplift as if it’s some kind of moral crusade.
The OCGs that shoplift are not Robin Hood either. They are nasty pieces of work.
evthrowawayverysad@reddit
>You aren’t “doing a thing” here.
No attempt to 'do a thing' was made. It just always amuses me to point out the endlessly flawed morality of being upset about those at the bottom stealing from those at the top, while making no attempt to highlight that those at the top are stealing from those at the bottom on an *unimaginably* larger scale.
But that's precisely the mindset that the ultra-wealthy invest heavily in maintaining in as large a share of the population as possible after all. As per usual, the system works! "Careful mate... that foreigner wants your cookie!"
Fruitpicker15@reddit
You used Sainsburys as an example so I'm curious what they do to steal from those at the bottom. They pay at least minimum wage which is the standard for non-managerial staff in many sectors. As a public company, not a charity, their primary legal duty is to their shareholders and that includes minimising the tax bill. We can debate the merits of workers owning the means of production but Sainsburys isn't doing anything wrong or illegal and they pay tax in the UK. As for shoplifting, it isn't a victimless crime because ultimately it damages profit so there is less to invest in the business and people lose their jobs in the end.
OldGardenGnome@reddit
They may not be doing anything illegal but that doesn't mean they arn't doing anything wrong.
edgeofsanity76@reddit
If they aren't doing anything illegal, what in practical terms would you have them do?
Flonkerton_Scranton@reddit
It's far easier for people to use one sided attempts at arguments than it is to use any kind of critical thinking. I wish people could conjugate an argument/discussion in these trying times, but nope, we just have an overwhelmingly thick collective who think they are being clever when actually being unbelievably stupid.
burtsarmpson@reddit
Good response that is just embarrassing enough for them to give you a narky reply which I will be here for
RonnieThePurple@reddit
The fuck are you yapping about
PissedBadger@reddit
I’ve come to the conclusion that shoplifting started increasing when supermarkets stopped offering free samples at the cheese counter etc.
OldGardenGnome@reddit
The most common items stolen from.supermarkets are baby milk formula, washing detergent and alcohol. Tell me that doesn't imply a state of society issue.
iffyClyro@reddit
Mostly for resale.
People steal to fund a habit or supplement a lifestyle.
Occasionally people steal for immediate need(a sandwich or a loaf of bread) but it’s actually quite unusual.
Infamous_Telephone55@reddit
Do you have a source for that family stealing £1.7 million worth of goods? It doesn't sound credible to me.
iffyClyro@reddit
There are literally hundreds of news articles about the Rostas.
I worked in an intervention unit and crossed paths with the Rostas in a professional capacity.
Infamous_Telephone55@reddit
That article says £10,000 not £1.7 million.
Where did the £1.7 million figure come from. Do you have a sour e for that figure.
Monochrome247@reddit
The £10k was in a single day. For that they got 75 hours community sevice. That equates to £133.33 per hour by my calculations.
Infamous_Telephone55@reddit
My question remains, where did the £1.7 million figure come from?
There are no articles suggesting that they were charged with any other crimes before or since.
iffyClyro@reddit
There are no other articles about the Rostas family? Now you’re just being silly.
Infamous_Telephone55@reddit
If you can provide no source to support your £1.7 million claim thrn I can only assume you just pulled that figure out of your arse.
End of conversation.
Pwoinklokinoid@reddit
They are a serious OCG operating across America also, they tend to hit high end establishments like jewelry shops etc
But from the research I have done on them there isn't a single figure attributed to their crimes manu sources just stipulate thousands to hundred of thousands worth stolen. So I am not sure where this £1.7m figure has come from so id also be interested in the source for this
dataisok@reddit
I mean, they probably don’t employ an accountant to accurately document their proceeds of crime..
iffyClyro@reddit
Aye, watch me post restricted documents on Reddit.
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
Tip of the Iceland.
The_Jazz_Doll@reddit
Got an article that doesn't require an account or subscription to read it?
Fine-Philosophy-9844@reddit
It doesn’t require one, but it doesn’t help their point anyway. It’s about 2 people who basically pulled a heist lol, stole Apple products and designer clothes, nothing relevant to the point of store shoplifting.
TroublesomeTaurus@reddit
The article isn't behind a pay wall. You just have to accept the T&Cs and then X out the pop-up.
Willy__McBilly@reddit
here
The_Jazz_Doll@reddit
No articles there 🤷
Squishy_mcnissy@reddit
Is economy’s of scale a “monopoly”?
RKips@reddit
So 3 Freddos
Cheapntacky@reddit
So the solution is to inconvenience everyone else?
burtsarmpson@reddit
It's hardly inconvenient haha it's sliding a bit of plastic. It's the least invasive of all the other measures supermarkets have had to take over the years
iffyClyro@reddit
Hitting a store for an entire shelf of coffee,cleaning products or whatever else it may be in exactly the MO of organised shoplifting gangs.
Good documentary about it on channel four if you’re interested in learning.
Cheapntacky@reddit
I'm sure there are gangs that do that, same as there are gangs that will walk into a warehouse and empty racks.
But is it proportional?
In 2004 retail losses to theft from employees was estimated as 29% of losses at 1.5 billion and losses to customer theft as 48%. Which would make it around 2.2Billion. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4311176.stm#:~:text=British%20retailers%20are%20winning%20the,in%20the%20UK%20during%202004. In 2024 it was 2.48 billion. Accounting for inflammation it should have been over three. So is there really this huge increase in losses that requires these new security measures?
iffyClyro@reddit
Customer theft account for £2.2 billion in direct loss last year.
Not sure why we’re talking about 2004.
Cheapntacky@reddit
I know the figure, I quotes it to you
In 2004 the level was 2.5 billion and was seen as a big reduction from previous levels everyone got a pat on the back for a job well done.
22 years later accounting for inflation it's a third lower. But there's no one talking about how far we've come and how much theft has decreased intact the opposite, people are talking about a massive crime wave.
iffyClyro@reddit
You’ve edited your comment there fella. You made a few typos before hence my confusion.
Cheapntacky@reddit
I didn't think the inflammation rate was relevant
BeatificBanana@reddit
Think about it for a minute, really. It cost them a lot of money, in both materials and staff/contractor hours, to put up these plastic sliders in however many shops. Would they have done it if it wasn't an effective deterrent? Would they have spent that money if they didn't know for sure that it was going to be worth the cost, that the returns from the reduced shoplifting were going to make up for the money spent on it?
These are huge businesses with very small profit margins, they don't just do stuff like this for shits and giggles. they make damn sure they do their research first, and can demonstrate the likely ROI
Highlandertr3@reddit
If you have five hundred customers and one decided to run around fucking up the shelves that is a fairly standard day in retail. Anything that makes it less easy for that one asshole is a net win.
Cheapntacky@reddit
Depends on how many customers you lose. You could frisk and search everyone on the way in and out and stop theft that way. But most people aren't putting up with that.
Highlandertr3@reddit
Oh I am not talking about stealing. My understanding is these are there to deter shelf fuckeries which causes a lot of unnecessary work. Particularly caused by crotch goblins in my experience. Limiting them being able to run around and throwing things off the shelves is a positive for the minor inconvenience of having to push a bit of plastic to the side.
super_starmie@reddit
No, they're there to deter theft. Nothing at all to do with shelves getting messed up by children, which doesn't really happen at all.
Things like coffee, meat, cheese, laundry detergent etc are high theft items, because they're easy to sell. Grab 20 jars of £7 Nescafé, sell them down the estate for £2 each, quick 40 quid for drugs. Thieves will come in and just sweep the whole shelf into bags and walk out. This stops them being able to do that.
Source: I used to work in retail for 14 years. We didn't have these, but we weren't allowed to actually have any coffee, laundry stuff etc on the shelves as the theft was so bad. If a customer wanted one of those items they had to ask us and we would fetch it from out the back. We didn't even have any baskets left because thieves used them to steal. I used to find our baskets chucked in the bushes down the park.
BlackGoldenLotus@reddit
I saw these for the first time in my little sainsburies and had to one by one move about 10 of them along so I could get some after eights for mother's day.
iffyClyro@reddit
Sainsburies?
Malibudog80@reddit
You were doing so well up until that comment!
FigglebottomCat@reddit
you’re hard pal
More-Yard5742@reddit
A tiny minority doesn't steal £1.8billion in 2025
cmfarsight@reddit
That's basically most things in life
ImmediatePiano6690@reddit
Sadly that tiny minority wipe out huge amounts through the year.
Noitche@reddit
They're also such a tiny minority that we should stop pointing out they exist, as it's just a right-wing talking point.
Remember, if you see deterrents like this, you didn't.
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bourton-north@reddit
Are people in this thread having difficulty using these or something?
30fps_is_cinematic@reddit
Wait till you find out about airport security!
mad-un@reddit
It's a minor inconvenience, it's not really awkward
LANdShark31@reddit
Well you can have things like this or even higher prices because those losses need to be paid for somehow.
velos85@reddit
Awkward? Not really is it Little Miss Dramatic?
Cheapntacky@reddit
Since when is the word 'Awkward' dramatic?
fernandoman121@reddit
That is exactly why we have most of the rules we have in society sadly
gjs78@reddit
Quick steal
deathangel539@reddit
Most safety designs we have in life are just exactly that. A padlock you’d use at the gym or a bike lock can easily be cut with bolt cutters, doesn’t matter if it’s a cheap lock or an insanely expensive one, they’ll all eventually fail. It’s just there because somebody is likely to spot a dude walking around with a big pair of bolt cutters looking like he’s upto no good
tobotic@reddit
This is why whenever I'm out with my bolt cutters, I make sure to look like I'm doing some good.
I find wearing a cape helps.
Mekanimal@reddit
You could call youself: Repair-Man!
squidgytree@reddit
It's the right answer. It's to stop shop lifters sweeping arm fulls of stock and running out
Dd_8630@reddit
God I hate people.
pigglewiggle23@reddit
It is but the noise of them moving also works to attract staff to people trying to steal.
We have them where I work and you do notice (sometimes not all the time) a difference in the noice of a regular customer and someone stealing multiple items. When you hear the noise repeatedly you know to go check what’s going on
Old-Fortune-6695@reddit
Like a little bit of plastic Infront of a till
RedHides@reddit
They're really stupid. I saw someone casually putting stuff in their bags and when the security confronted them he grabbed two bottles of wine with his hands and threatened to use them as a weapon and security guy had no choice but let him go.
Chemical_Ad_1618@reddit
I was in boots and this lady crashed into the shelves I thought she may be sick (because this was boots chemist) but she had deliberately crashed into the shelves and swept the whole shelf into her arms/ bag and raced out!
nikhkin@reddit
They help slow down potential shoplifters, while only slightly inconveniencing shoppers. With these in place, you can't swipe the whole shelf-full of products into a bag or trolley.
gingernoodle1@reddit
Depressingly it doesn’t stop the London thieves, who manage it anyway and nobody stops them (:
light-heart-ed@reddit
It sucks because we can't do anything. Employees get in more trouble for chasing someone or knocking a product out of someone's hands than the actual shoplifter does. The company will find every way to implicate the employee before it'll get the guy who stole thousands in products and destroyed the shelves 😭
Jigglypuffs_quiff@reddit
Shoplifting probably.... coffee is expensive
thisissockwormadness@reddit
This is what years of Diversity has brought us❤️
Beautiful_Hall2824@reddit
eew, you really wrote that and hit enter.
IHateTheLetter-C-@reddit
I've only ever seen these on baby formula shelves. Depressing really.
Beautiful_Hall2824@reddit
yeah, lock up everything but idc if baby formula is stolen.
allthingskerri@reddit
It stops a whole shelf being cleared in a second. The fact it's on things like coffee, chocolate and cheese is a sad state of the world we live in right now
Beautiful_Hall2824@reddit
i die a little inside when I see formula milk locked up. If someone needs to steal formula milk, maybe let them?
Cela111@reddit
I mean it's also a fact of it being £8 per tin. At that price 2 tins of coffee = 1 bottle of spirits (and much easier to nick as it's lighter and less likely to break).
PsychedelicPistachio@reddit
The £6 steaks in my local tesco express have lockboxes on them that the staff have to go and unlock
SpareSurprise1308@reddit
It’s this at first, then locking it up, and eventually the shops close down. It’s happening in Americas poorest black neighbourhoods.
BeatificBanana@reddit
Shops are closing down? What are people doing for groceries?
Fantastic-Dingo-5806@reddit
Online delivery only. It wouldn't surprise me if it came to that one day.
EveningHere@reddit
I did see the other day that some Co-Op stores are considering turning into dark stores, basically warehouses, where they sell online only due to the amount of shoplifting.
Myorangecrush77@reddit
There’s a coop by me where the jobless walk in with carrier bags. Fill them with Pringles, rustlers burgers and wine and walk out.
Staff can’t do a thing.
They keep the baskets behind the counter as they were taking them to nick more.
abitofasitdown@reddit
Reminds me of the corner shop outside the entrance to HMP Holloway, where you basically walked into a cage, pointed to a Double Decker, and the shopkeeper passed it out to you through a slit in the cage after you'd paid.
(I haven't been since they shut down Holloway, so don't know if it's still all caged up!)
SpareSurprise1308@reddit
Travel out of their communities.
iffyClyro@reddit
So sad, all my wee Justin will eat is Gillette razor blades and Nescafé Gold blend. I’m not stealing to resell and fund an addiction or anything I’m a poor struggling single parent.
Bethlizardbreath@reddit
Thorts n prayers 4 u hun!
Shared Scunthorpe x
Coat-Trick@reddit
Ahahahhaa the 'shared' got me 😂😂😂
Mr_Blott@reddit
This user was banned for inappropriate language
hamstertoybox@reddit
It’s not even nice coffee!
Prefect_99@reddit
Quiet peasant! Back to your turnips!
Level-Location1679@reddit
Me turnips are all behind plastic sliders tho m'lord
No_TsandCs@reddit
It doesn’t stop that at all. They’re plastic. Plastic snaps. 1 swipe and you’ll have all the goods plus a few extra plastic bits…
BeatificBanana@reddit
What's it for then, if it doesn't prevent/reduce shoplifting?
No_TsandCs@reddit
To justify a jobs worth sat in an office
BowiesFixedPupil@reddit
Yeah, it'll only get worse when lower value food items are also unaffordable for more people. You'll have gangs raiding the fresh bread at the bakery or mass stealing the eggs.
Sad thing is, this right now is as good as it will ever be. There is no hope for it getting better.
Sure, you can lock up the criminals en masse but lets not pretend that isn't fraught with downsides equal or greater than the problem it solves.
blackcurrantcat@reddit
I read it’s so it takes you long enough to retrieve the item so that even if you do shoplift it, the cctv has had long enough to get a shot of your face.
devilslittlesisterr@reddit
I saw these today in a sainsburys local next to my house and the plastic sliding things barely moved enough to get the item behind before hitting into the next plastic sliding thing. Very irritating
Greedy-Cranberry-164@reddit
We’re no longer a high trust society
KDf12002@reddit
Capitalism and unaffordable costs of living will cause that.
Greedy-Cranberry-164@reddit
Well of course, in communism countries shelves are empty anyway
BiGMTN_fudgecake@reddit
For fun innit
Ok-Foundation1346@reddit
These were installed because of my best friend, Nigel, who seems to be utterly incapable of taking anything off a supermarket shelf without knocking the adjoining items onto the floor.
dutch2012yeet@reddit
£8 for coffee is madness
Dreadheaddanski@reddit
Slow down thieves. You can't swipe the entire lot into a holdall
CanIhazCooKIenOw@reddit
One more of those things you really only see in the UK for some reason.
ihavetakenthebiscuit@reddit
Loss prevention. Alot of "roadmen" like to raid shops to sell on the black market.
Books_for_Steven@reddit
A lot is two words bruv
Lloytron@reddit
They have them in front of chocolate bars in my local Sainsburys
RennoSeenik@reddit
£8 for 90g of shitty coffee ? Fucks sake !
theabominablewonder@reddit
It’s a dog puzzle, if the dog can work out how to get to the full tin of azera coffee then they get to spend the rest of they life off their tits on caffeine. Which admittedly might only be a few hours if it consumes it all at once.
wallpapermate@reddit
The secret ingredient is crime.
DiskBytes@reddit
£8 for that shite?
Wide_Obligation4055@reddit
Designed to trap people's hands and stop them buying expensive shit.
BTZ-25@reddit
Saintsbury's is becoming impossible. This crap. Huge contractions on cans and no staff in sight to serve. Its ridiculous. I only go there as a last resort.
retrobanjo@reddit
Saw these the other day protecting chcolate bars and I couldn't help but think it's a load of nonsense. Turned the corner and witnessed a bloke stuff 5 boxes of Thorntons chcolates in his jacket and leg it. I flet slightly stupid purchasing my Yorkie after witnessing that.
LaurenNotABot@reddit
It’s to stop those bastard shoplifters from being able to quickly grab all the products off the shelf
Noitche@reddit
But statistically shoplifting is a non-issue...
Right?
dataisok@reddit
Wrong
FreeAd2458@reddit
Have you not seen any shoplifting videos mainly in london the last few years.they even have these ovee chocolate.
Dramasticlly@reddit
Just look at those prices wtf
AussieManc@reddit
Nescafe Azera and Kenco Millicano were about half that before Nectar and Clubcard prices ruined everything…
AmzyYT@reddit
£88 a kilo?????
korg64@reddit
They've got them on the sausage rolls in my Tesco....
Sausage rolls.
Poo_Poo_La_Foo@reddit
I can't say it's ever occurred to me to nick stuff 🤷🏼♀️
In the supermarket near my office everything is in fkin plastic boxes. Mad. I wanted to buy deodorant and had to take it to be unlocked. I'm not nicking a roll on! I just want fresh pits!
Guilty-Struggle5028@reddit
Christ, 8 quid for a 90g azera
Lost_Exchange2843@reddit
It’s to stop thieves from clearing a shelf quickly.
landwomble@reddit
I was chatting to a cashier on my local Tesco express. Small place. Asked about this and at that one branch they'd had £30k of theft that month. People coming in, sweeping a shelf load of meat/chocolate/washing powder into sports bags and buggering off. Staggering
heroics-delta8s@reddit
To stop Jamal McStabby from putting it all in a bag and walking out with it.
tambi33@reddit
Increases the time it takes for shoplifters to shoplift
Squiggally-umf@reddit
To stop yas nickin’
Opening_Rub5605@reddit
Diversity barriers
invertebrett@reddit
I thought it was just to stop adjacent jars falling accidentally when you take one out
Isgortio@reddit
Can we bring back the COVID rules where these need to be regularly cleaned? I can't imagine how gross they'd be after a few days.
Cultural-Meaning5172@reddit
Stops you stealing things in bulk
Expensive_Peace8153@reddit
To be an awkward PITA when you want to put an item back.
gpowerf@reddit
Their purpose is making me go to another store. I hate them!
NoChoiceForSugar@reddit
Modern Britain.
metroracerUK@reddit
It’s to remind you to think twice before purchasing Nestle products, since they are a pure evil company.
Seriously, do not buy Nestle.
PM_ME_UR_VULVASAUR_@reddit
It's t'keep stuff on t'shelf when we have t'earthquake.
Unstableavo@reddit
To slow shoplifters down. Supposedly.
WildKey9307@reddit
It’s to irritate honest people who try to shop because this country doesn’t deal with shoplifting effectively
PapaGilbatron@reddit
Who cares. At those prices who shops there?
PKblaze@reddit
A farcical thing to get in the way.
I'd love to know if they actually do anything to prevent whatever the problem they're trying to combat is.
Johnny_Vernacular@reddit
Supermarkets trialled them and found them to be somewhat effective at reducing the volume retail crime.
PenneTracheotomy@reddit
Does make me wonder what other things they trialled that were somehow worse that what we’ve ended up with
BeatificBanana@reddit
Let's hear your bright ideas then
PenneTracheotomy@reddit
I think you misread. My comment was about the other things the supermarkets had trialled before going with this solution
PKblaze@reddit
Fair enough. Still hate em though. Honestly I think we should just give security more power to deal with thieves.
W35TH4M@reddit
Stuff like this is similar to security guards, just a visual deterrent. People are less likely to do something when it’s not a piece of piss
IdioticMutterings@reddit
To irritate you to the point where you start shopping elsewhere.
burgertwot@reddit
Stops would-be thieves sweeping shelves and running.
Little do the stores know that I am a specialist in the pilfering of long life and alternative milks! Muahhahahahah
Which-Raise-7789@reddit
Romianians go in and sweep whole shelves of stuff in the £3-£10 range.
Anything from cosmetics and beauty to chocolate and sweets. They target the stuff that you can get large mutliples of in holdal and can carry.
See them selling it at car boots for £1-£5 range.
Unusual-Art2288@reddit
Because of scum shoplifters.
Tight-Principle-743@reddit
It’s to stop theft, although I didn’t know this was happening to coffee, I just thought it was chocolate and sweets only.
Austen_Tasseltine@reddit
I remember the coffee going behind the tills in the Co-op I worked at in the 90s. Anything relatively small, with a long shelf life and/or decent resale value, would get taken otherwise. Plus bacon, as it fit unobtrusively down the sleeves of the baggy tracksuit tops of the era.
iloovehugecock@reddit
It stops people sweeping entire shelves of goods in to their back and running off with it. The Waitrose near me quickly put them up after I spotted a bunch of yobs sweeping skincare products by the armful in to a rucksack and running out with it all.
Exciting_Top_9442@reddit
Supermarket Sweep!
Zealousideal-Low3388@reddit
You can’t sweep an armful of whatever into a bag and leg it. Petty crime is reduced by degree: you can’t really stop the determined thieves but you can put off a lot of it with minor speed bumps
Also, when I lived in an earthquake prone country they stopped everything falling off during every little tremor, but that’s less relevant here
davidhampshire@reddit
I thought this but they make a lot of noise so it's I think to alert security guards if they get a bashing
LoveBeBrave@reddit
Stops someone just sweeping £200 of stock into a basket and running off with it.
They can still steal the stock if they’re determined, it just takes them a minute or two instead of five seconds.
TapeDeckSlick@reddit
Probably kept falling off the shelf or something
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