Residents in this city have been revealed as the worst Woolworths shoplifters — and it’s one particular product they’re after.
Supermarket giant Woolworths is trialling new inventory cameras to assist with stock levels.
High-priced baby formula is one of the most stolen items among the ACT’s 15 stores, which have each seen more than $1.1 million lost to thieves in the last year, according to data obtained by The Canberra Times.
Analysts and social researchers suggest surging cost-of-living could be contributing to the increase in shoplifting rates, the newspaper reported.
The Woolies stores in Dickson and at the territory’s airport were the most targeted last year. Overall 5.27 million items worth $16.27 million were stolen in Canberra.
Woolies stores in Canberra had the highest theft rate. Picture: Nikki Short/NCA NewsWire
The Northern Territory took out second place but had a far lower average store loss, according to the report.
While more items overall were stolen in more populous states such as NSW and Victoria, they were spread out across far more stores. For example, Woolworths stores in NSW recorded total losses of $217 million, but spread across 287 stores.
Baby formula was the most prized item among Australian thieves, with this item snagged off Canberra shelves at a higher rate than other parts of the country.
More than $18,000 worth of the baby product was looted from Canberra’s stores in the last year, more than doubling the average store loss of the product in Victoria.
An average of 739 tins of the baby food substitute were stolen from the ACT’s 15 stores, which equates to more than 15 tins a week from each store.
According to the Woolworths website, baby formula products range from $14.50 to $42 each depending on the brand and size of the formula.
Baby formula is the most sought after item. Picture: Supplied
The product was highly sought prior to and during the pandemic, with an organised syndicate stripping the item from Woolworths shelves on one occasion in July 2019.
Footage aired by Nine News at the time showed a group of Asian shoppers frantically running in and out of an Adelaide Woolworths repeatedly buying the two-tin limit.
“Oh you’ve got plenty of babies, plenty of babies, huh?” the man sarcastically asked one of the group as they crouched next to their haul outside.
There was also a baby formula shortage mid last year in the United States, with Australia sending 95,000 tins to the country to kerb a mounting supply shortage.
Woolworths declined to comment.
It’s understood the supermarket giant has a number of programs in place to combat retail theft.