Sainsbury’s shoppers feel trapped

Sainsbury’s shoppers aren’t happy with the retail giant’s new system.

Complaints have been flooding into Sainsbury’s about the installation of a new security barrier in some of their stores.

The barrier means you must swipe the bar code from your receipt to exit the store. If you don’t buy anything, you must find a security team member to let you out.

The anti-theft system was installed in a few stores last December, but now Sainsbury’s has extended the installation into stores in London and Berkshire.

Many customers took to social media to vent their anger. One user said “Probably the last time I use Sainsbury’s! The town supermarket has installed a barrier and receipt scanning system. It is not security it is surveillance and imprisonment.”

Another user said: “Our Sainsbury’s has also gone DIY and you have to scan your receipt at exit gates, or you can’t get out! Ridiculous. It also causes a pile-up of people waiting when some are slow at doing their scanning job for them!”

The security measures come in light of new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last September when they reported that shoplifting had increased by 22 per cent in 2022.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s refused to give an official number of how many stores will be using the new gates but they said the gates had: “only been installed in a small number of stores and self-service check-out areas.”