BRIT shoppers have been left baffled as the Co-op appear to be prioritising the protection of their instant coffee – by locking the jars in GPS tracked boxes.
The bizarre move, which appears to have been taken to protect the goods from shoplifters, was spotted on the shelves of one of the supermarket chain’s stores in East London on Thursday.
Despite retailing for between £7 and £11, the jars of coffee have had a ramped-up level of security applied to them, being placed inside plastic lockboxes which are tracked by satellites.
The precautions mean any light-fingered thieves will face a real headache if they fancy trying to swipe a jar of the granules.
An image of the over-the-top measures shows several jars of coffee from various brands sitting on a shelf in the supermarket.
Various different kinds of coffee from the likes of Nescafe, Douwe Egberts and Kenco are locked behind transparent plastic boxes which require removal at the checkout.
Writing on the boxes reads, “Caution, security device must be removed at checkout before leaving store”, whilst additional print advises shoppers that the product is “protected by GPS”.
Pricetags accompany the boxes, with the lowest locked-up Kenco jar costing £7.25 and the highest price of £10.50 slapped on certain blends of Nescafe.
Additional deterrents come in the form of two yellow labels that line the shelves advising browsers that CCTV is also in operation above the aisles.
Bizarrely though, it appears to be only select varieties of coffee that have been chosen to receive the robust security measures.
Two jars – a Kenco product and a Nescafe blend – have been left sitting openly on the shelf with no protection whatsoever.
The increased measures come after the Office for National Statistics revealed that shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales have spiked by a quarter in the past year.
Meanwhile, more than 200,000 shoplifting cases went unsolved in the same time period, new figures show.
The image was shared to social media on Thursday with the caption: “Is this where we are as a country now?”
The post has since received over 14,000 likes and more than 890 comments from stunned users who chipped in with their thoughts on the move.
One user said: “I work in retail, the current amount of shoplifting is disgusting and very little is done about it by authorities.
“I get they have more important stuff. However I was assaulted by a shoplifter in November and no follow up from police, [they] haven’t even came to pick up CCTV footage.”
Another added: “Very interested in the economics of using GPS tracking for a £7 or £10 jar of coffee.”
A third replied: “I’m still trying to work out my local Co-op’s policy for what gets protected.
“Fillet steak? No. Single tin of tuna? Yes. 360kg bar of Dairy Milk? Protect at all costs. 1kg Dairy Milk in the Easter section? Have at it.”
A fouth wrote: “How much additional loss is it with all the fancy GPS tracking tech if someone nicks it?”
A spokesperson for Co-op, said: “Co-op is committed to the safety and security of its stores and communities.
“Security cases have been used for a number of years and are among wide-ranging measures, where local challenges exist, to deter and prevent prolific and persistent offenders who drive the majority of retail crime.
“Crime affects all retailers, and is also a flashpoint for attacks and assaults on shopworkers, and Co-op also urges MP’s to back amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, making attacks on retail workers a stand-alone offence and giving all shopworkers the protection they deserve.”
