How Can Digital Labels Help Curb Theft in Charity Stores?
Shoplifting in charity shops is on the rise. In the UK, police recorded over 516,000 shoplifting offences in 2024 - a 20% year-on-year increase and the highest level on record. The British Retail Consortium estimates theft cost retailers £2.2 billion in 2023/24, with incidents of violence and abuse against staff topping 2,000 a day.
These numbers show just how urgent the challenge is. While not every incident can be prevented, there’s a clear opportunity to eliminate one of the most common tactics facing charity shops:cutting off tags and swapping labels.
A New Standard: One Label, One Item, One Digital Identity
The solution is simple but powerful:unique, scannable labels for every single item in your shop.
Each label includes:
- Price(e.g. £25)
- Size(e.g. M)
- Short description(e.g.Kiomi trench coat, M, £25)
- Unique item IDlinked to the store’s digital inventory
This isn’t just a new way of tagging - it’s the creation of adigital twinof your physical collection. For the first time, charity stores can know exactly what’s on the shop floor, down to the last item.
How It Works: Turning Every Tag Into a Digital Record
This new solution is built around the idea that every single item on a charity shop floor deserves its own identity. Using Minimist, just take a photo of your item and our AI will quickly generate a price, size, and short description and now for the first time, instantly print a label with a unique item ID and scannable code.
Once that label is attached, the physical item now has a digital twin in the store’s inventory. From that moment on, the system tracks the item like a proper product in a retail chain - price history, reprints, and even which staff member processed it. At the till, scanning the code calls up the item’s photo and listing, creating a secure match between what’s in the customer’s hands and what’s on record.
For stores, this means two major leaps forward:
- Operational oversight – managers know exactly what’s in stock, at what price, and in what condition.
- Loss prevention – the mismatch between swapped or missing labels and the verified digital record makes theft much harder.
Minimist’s goal is to roll this out widely across charity store networks, giving them the same level of inventory control as major retailers - without the heavy costs. The result? Less shrinkage, more funds for good causes, and greater confidence for staff and volunteers on the shop floor.
Why It Stops Label Swapping
- No more mismatched stickersWhen a customer brings an item to the till, the scanned ID pulls up the official record - complete with a photo and description. If the paper label has been swapped, the system instantly shows the mismatch.
- No more “lost tag” bargainsIf a label has been cut off, ripped, or genuinely fallen off, staff don’t have to guess the price. Instead, they take a quick photo or keyword search in the digital inventory to pull up the original listing. That means no more uncomfortable moments where volunteers/staff are pressured into re-pricing on the spot.
Why This Matters for Charity Stores
- Stronger deterrence: Opportunistic shoplifters know swapped stickers won’t work.
- Fairer pricing: Volunteers never have to improvise prices under pressure.
- Inventory oversight: Managers finally get full visibility of what’s on the floor, item by item.
- Efficiency: Items can be tracked, updated, and re-priced without starting from scratch.
The Bigger Picture
Not all theft can be stopped, but unique item labels and digital inventories mean two of the most damaging tactics - sticker removal and sticker swapping - can be effectively eliminated.
For charity shops, that means fewer losses, more confidence for volunteers, and more funds going where they matter most.