A report has revealed a concerning change in attitudes as Australians become more accepting of shoplifting and other “deviant retail behaviours”.

It comes as retailers say organised crime is emerging as a major threat and push to expand controversial facial recognition and other biometric technologies to fight it.

The Consumer Deviance Spotlight report, developed by Monash University and released on Monday, surveyed more than 1000 shoppers across Australia aged 18 years and older to gauge the attitudes and behaviours of shoppers.

Lead author Stephanie Atto said the study sought to better understand Australians’ views of different elements of retail theft and other deviant behaviours, including manipulation of deals and promotions, taking advantage of customer service, and shopping centre safety and security.

The study found that more than one in four consumers believed retail theft was justifiable to some degree, including specifically taking an item without paying for it (27 per cent), changing price tags (30 per cent), not scanning some items when using self-checkout terminals (32 per cent), and scanning items as cheaper products  (36 per cent). 

Atto said that although some shoppers considered these forms of theft justifiable, the vast majority (85-89 per cent) still acknowledged they were illegal.

Generation divide

The acceptance of theft was more prevalent with younger shoppers.

While some 93 per cent of consumers aged 55 years and older said stealing an item was not at all justifiable, 54 per cent of consumers aged 18-34 believed it was justifiable to some degree.

“These findings are concerning because, while most people acknowledge such behaviours are illegal, there is a growing acceptance of them in practice,” Atto said. 

She said many Australians considered manipulating deals and promotions to be justifiable, including increased acceptance of lying about a child’s age to get a cheaper price, creating multiple email accounts to redeem a one-time offer and claiming a lower price at a competitor to secure a discount,.

She said 47-64 per cent of Australians said these behaviours were justifiable to some extent.

The report showed a similar trend in attitudes towards taking advantage of customer service.

Consumers said it was justifiable to mislead shop assistants about unpriced items (34 per cent), write negative reviews for compensation (40 per cent) and stay silent when a bill was miscalculated in their favour (60 per cent).

Source: Monash University Australian Consumer and Retail Studies

Crime crisis

The report adds to recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data showing 595,660 victims of theft nationally in 2024 – the highest in 21 years and a 6 per cent increase on the previous year.

Almost half of all incidents were in retail settings.

With the marked increase in retail crime, retailers and peak bodies have stepped up efforts to crack down on repeat offenders, called for consistent national crime laws and police responses, and launched awareness campaigns to encourage Australians to be vigilant and report suspicious activity.

“Retail crime is a shared problem that requires a united approach, integrating technology, stronger communication and consistent legal frameworks across retailers, law enforcement and government bodies,” Atto said.

“While retail crime in Australia has escalated in recent years, these collective efforts represent important steps towards addressing the problem.”

The Australian Retailers Association reports that 70 per cent of retailers experienced an increase in customer theft across the past financial year.

Crime Stoppers Victoria reports that nearly 70 per cent of retail theft in Victoria is committed by repeat offenders, many operating in well-organised networks.

In response to the alarming escalation of retail crime, the Shop Distributive Alliance, Victoria Police, Victorian government, ARA, National Retail Association and retailers met in late July for the 2025 Retail Crime Symposium to discuss a united and consistent national action plan against retail crime and violence.

Retail fightback

Hardware giant Bunnings in August joined other major retailers  identifying organised crime as its biggest shoplifting threat.

Speaking at the release of its 2025 financial year results, Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott said criminals were coordinating through gangs to steal high-end power tools and sell them online.

Coles CEO Leah Weckert has frequently claimed out that meat stolen from Coles supermarkets turns up in restaurants, pop-up shops and even at footpath stalls.

Dan Murphy’s and BWS have also experienced coordinated theft and have taken to locking up expensive spirits and premium wines.

Discount department chain Kmart was last month found to have  breached shoppers’ privacy by scanning the faces of unwitting customers through a facial-recognition technology system designed to tackle refund fraud.

Signs at Kmart warned it was using facial recognition technology. Photo: Choice

Last October, Wesfarmers-owned hardware chain Bunnings was similarly found to have contravened the privacy of its shoppers across 62 of its stores.

Bunnings managing director Michael Schneider has called for Australia’s privacy laws to be changed to allow the use of facial recognition in its stores to reduce shoplifting and protect staff.

In a submission to a Productivity Commission review, Schneider refuted a previous ban by the Privacy Commissioner, saying that facial recognition technology could be used safely, responsibly and ethically.

“These technologies are essential to protecting team members and customers from rising incidents of violent and threatening behaviour across the retail sector, and other losses that come from retail crime,” he said.