Sainsbury’s has issued a major update as it has made a huge change to its self-checkout counters in a bid to crack down on theft, it has been reported. Shoppers who failed to scan their items properly at the self-checkout will be shown VAR-style replays before leaving the supermarket. 

A camera that is placed above the counters records packing actions at the till and if any item is bagged without scanning, the video of it will be shown to the shoppers and told: “Looks like that last item didn’t scan. Please check you scanned it correctly before continuing,” reports The Sun. 

The stringent move comes after the police filed 516,971 incidents of shoplifting last year, up from 429,873 in 2023.

A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: "We regularly review the security measures in our stores and our decisions to implement them are based on a range of factors, including offering our customers a smooth checkout experience."

However, the move has experienced mixed reactions from the shoppers. 

One of them said they were sent the warning because the packet of basil they bought was “too light”.

Another added: “Thanks to Sainsbury’s, I can now re-live and learn from my packing mistakes.

“I can almost hear (Sky pundit) Jamie Carragher lamenting my positioning.”

A retail source said told the publication: “It’s a deterrent to shoplifters.

“Most people have made a genuine mistake while scanning, which is detected by the scales.

“It’s a more gentle reminder than red flashing lights and a member of staff coming over.”