True, Erica. But supermarkets don't have that many high priced small items, like a shop that sells jewellery would.. Mobile phones and other tech stuff is usually kept in locked cabinets now in supermarkets and dept stores.

I was a small business owner.  I learnt a while back that employee theft is as rife as shoplifting.  At a restaurant, packaged meat was put out in the "rubbish bin" to be later collected.  I had a staff member put a carton of cigs into the recycled paper bin. Another staff member used to serve her friends who paid for one item; and walked out with six.

I also retrieved 9 Gregory street directories from a shoplifter who had put them down his trousers. I gave chase (brave/stupid me). When he was well ahead of me he tossed them into a garbage bin in his bid to escape capture!! (To sell them at the local pub, would have provided him with enough cash to purchase his next "fix".)

Deb.

I have found it is only supermarkets that check bags and occasionally Target.

When I was in USA, I didnt have my bags checked at all in Wallmart, Target and the big outlet shops, or the supermarkets.

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@mugssy65 wrote:
Persactly Meep!

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and THAT's when they would have grounds for taking legal action.

Our kmart always had a lady at the door, and she requested everyone exiting to open their bags (only one at a time though, so if she was busy with someone showing her their bag, other customers could exit) 

Since the mall has been renovated and K-mart  moved to a brand new store there, they don't have a 'door person'. Perhaps they have cctv in the new store now.

We found the same in the US purple. Again maybe they have more monitored cctv cameras in their stores than they do here.

I think the 'bag checkers' especially the ones at the exit in stores can be a  bit selective/discrimatory.. they do target those with backpacks.. usually younger teens. 

Shoplifting is not a concern of mine, but rather the concern of the shop owner.

It becomes a concern of the customer because the stores increase the cost of their products to cover the losses from shoplifters.

Around $290 per person per year it costs consumers.

The retali assistants have the right to ask you to open your bag and take items out of it, so they can see what is in there.

They do not have the right to touch your bag or inspect it themselves.

As if a thief is going to put an item in their handbag lol

But they very well might if they knew their handbag was not going to be checked