A shop owner has resorted to locking up all stock and making shoppers place orders at the counter following a wave of crime in store.

Gopthias Gnanasekaran, owner of two GoLocal stores, installed transparent screens in his shop in Carlisle, Cumbria, five years ago, as shoplifting took a toll on the site.

“We installed the screens because I wanted to avoid losses from theft and test the safety of the screens, and it was always going to be women working in that store. Thefts still happen here and there, as some customers will ask for an item, and you leave it on the counter – then when your back is turned they take it. But most of those people who steal from me in the area have either moved away or died or in prison.

“When I first put them up the customers reacted saying shoplifting wasn’t that bad, and then they began to understand why its that way – the store used to close at 11:30, but then had to close at 9pm.”

Gnanasekaran added that the screens can “restrict” sales, “but it’s steady sales, and you don’t really have losses to theft,” he continued.

The screens have also offered an alternative shopping experience which Gnanasekaran has said customers “love”.  

“They say what they want at the counter, behind the screens, and they get it quickly and they’re done. There’s Spar next door but you have to queue and wait at the counter. This one you walk in say what you want and you get it. Job done. It’s way more efficient for the customer. Some aged between 45-55 prefer picking up the stocks themselves, but the younger people definitely prefer it.”

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