Shoplifting on the rise in Germany, especially among pensioners

Cases of shoplifting are on the rise in Germany, according to a report by the EHI Retail Institute. Expanded self-checkout services and higher prices are cited as an explanation.

Shoplifting in Germany reaches record high in 2024

In 2024, around 4,95 billion euros worth of goods were shoplifted in Germany, around 3 percent more than in 2023. According to the EHI, shoplifting figures have risen for three consecutive years, and the value of stolen goods reached a record high in 2024.

The institute surveyed 98 companies with a total of 17.433 branches in Germany. They found that customers stealing goods was the main reason behind lost inventory (59,5 percent of cases), then employees stealing inventory (17,9 percent) and delivery workers (7,3 percent), while in 15,3 percent of cases goods were lost due to poor organisation.

What are shoplifters stealing and why?

All major German supermarkets participated in the survey, but the number of goods stolen from chemists amounted to a higher overall value. In all types of shops, the most commonly stolen items were alcohol, clothes, trainers, vapes, tobacco, perfume, cosmetics, baby food and razor blades. 

The EHI concluded that the decision of shops to install more self-checkouts was one explanation for increased theft. According to another study by the organisation, the number of goods stolen is between 15 and 30 percent higher at self-checkouts than at checkouts where a cashier is working. 

Rising prices were also cited as an explanation, with the EHI pointing out that pensioners and families were among the groups more regularly caught stealing. “There are constantly new people who cannot afford certain products any more or [shoplift] out of protest against the prices,” study author Frank Horst explained.

According to a report by French publication Le Monde, supermarkets in Greece, Spain, the United Kingdom and France have all seen shoplifting cases increase, especially since prices rose. Food inflation across the eurozone peaked at a historical 15 percent in March 2023. Food inflation has since declined to 3,1 percent as of July 2025 but remains above the pre-pandemic, long-term average of 2,1 percent.