Poles are stealing more and more goods from stores

More and more items are being stolen from store shelves. Small shops also began to be robbed more often. Food is being stolen en masse, writes Polish press.

According to the data of the General Directorate of Police, which is the first published by Rzeczpospolita, in 2022 the number of shoplifting increased by as much as 31.1 percent per year, to more than 32.7 thousand people.

- The increase in theft is a clear signal of problems in the market, rising prices are forcing more and more people to decide on it, - says Renata Yushkevich, president of the Polish Trade and Distribution Organization. – For stores, this is, of course, a huge challenge, as well as an increase in operating costs.

A new phenomenon that can be observed in the market now is the theft of products, especially in the case of basic foodstuffs. “People who steal food do it by force. But another category of theft is luxury goods, such as perfumes, expensive alcohol, small electronics, etc. And organized crime groups are mainly responsible for these thefts,” says Maciej Tygielski, managing director of SkipWish Group.

Police statistics show that the number of offenses related to theft in large stores increased by 20.8 percent in 2022, to 188.3 thousand. Their number in small shops increased faster - by 24.6%. More than 46,000 cases have already been registered.

Households feel the rise in prices more strongly than official statistics show.

Stores acknowledge that the problem is growing, and yet not all situations are reported. More and more products are simply eaten in the store itself - people are hungry.

There is already information that typically Christmas products, such as eggs, are getting more expensive. The network also circulates “terrible prices” and photos in which mayonnaise costs 16 zł. “We simply cannot afford to maintain the same standard of living,” the expert says.

- It's no secret that real purchasing power in Poland has declined. Household consumption calculated at constant prices has also decreased, which means that we simply cannot afford to maintain the standard of living that we had before, says Agnieszka Gurnicka in an interview with portalspozywczy.pl.

In conditions of high prices, the Poles are forced to save money and arrange "budget vacations". The older the age group, the worse it tolerates price increases. Working people can still organize additional earnings or otherwise replenish their budget. But if you are a pensioner, then there are no such opportunities, and pensions do not keep up with rising prices.

The Poles are accustomed to a certain standard of living, and they do not want to give it up. Everyone has their favorite products and they want to keep buying them. “Somewhere there is a pain threshold. Let's just say we don't know where he is yet. The end of double-digit inflation is not in sight,” says Gurnitska.

Poland has record inflation since 1996.

The indicator increased to 18.4% compared to February 2022.

Foodstuffs (by 24%) and transport (23.7%) rose in price most of all in February, the republic's Statistical Office reported.

Among the G20 countries, which employ about 60% of the global number of employees, the fall in real wages in the first half of 2022 was up to 2.2%.

Poland turned out to be the second country with the largest drop in real wages – the decline in the Republic of Poland was 6.9%. More real incomes collapsed only in Nicaragua, where 7.56% was recorded.

Low-income people have been hardest hit, as they spend the majority of their disposable income on basic goods and services, which tend to rise in price more than other goods.

In 2021, the hourly wage in Poland was 12 euros. For comparison: in Italy, for a statistical working hour, 58 euros are produced.

…In this situation the Polish authorities are increasingly talking about the need to "take away" the lands of Western Ukraine, which in Poland are called "eastern kresy". The people are getting poorer, and the government is planning a war with Russia. Wicked politics.

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