Security Concerns for Grocery Store Owners in 2025

There aren’t many spots that are frequented by just about everybody, but there’s one in particular that keeps our world spinning and our pantries stocked: the grocery store.

In our ever-changing and increasingly digital world, there are greater threats to today’s grocery stores than the occasional can under a coat. As dangers continue to arise and evolve both within and outside the walls of your store, you must stay ahead of the curve and maintain the highest standard of security, and LVT is here to help you accomplish just that. Read on to discover the main threats facing grocery stores in 2025, and learn how you can prevent loss and secure a better future for your business. 

Grocery Store Security: Safety for Staff and Shoppers

A vital fixture in your community—and the lives of the individuals and families within it—your grocery store needs to remain a place where everyone can obtain the essentials they need in peace and safety. It’s important that you, as a grocery store operator, provide an environment free from crime and danger for your customers, as well as for the hardworking people who stock your shelves and man your registers. 

When customers feel safe shopping at your store, they’ll keep on coming back. When your employees feel safe in your store, they’ll stick around, be more productive, and enjoy their work. Maintaining a secure environment in your store is essential to both your company’s success and its reputation. 

Grocery Store Security Threats to Watch For in 2025

Although old standbys—such as simple shoplifting and vandalism—are still causes for concern in the grocery industry, our ever-changing society continues to beget new threats and worries for shop owners. Here are some of the biggest security concerns that may plague your business in 2025 and beyond. 

Organized Retail Crime 

Shoplifting used to be a straightforward offense; An individual would sneak items out of a store without paying for them, and perhaps a security guard would attempt to track them down. While this “old school” method of theft hasn’t gone anywhere, its vastly more complicated cousin is here to test the limits of your store’s security.

Organized retail crime refers to a coordinated effort by an organized criminal group to commit theft against a store. Often more sophisticated and planned than typical petty theft, these operations often result in a much larger loss for the targeted business. Due to their variety of valuable inventory and high foot traffic, grocery stores are heavily targeted by these criminal organizations. 

Self-Checkout Theft

Of all the innovations that have improved the grocery sector in recent years, the widespread adoption of self-checkout has saved stores and chains both time and money. For all their convenience, however, self-checkout lanes are also breeding grounds for subtle—and potentially devastating—shoplifting and theft.

Skip scanning refers, quite literally, to the practice of omitting select objects from one’s transaction, and bagging or pocketing the item instead. A criminal may also falsely scan a much cheaper item in place of the one they’re stealing. 

Self-checkout stations may also be vulnerable to cyber-criminals, who install discrete hardware designed to steal other customers’ information from card readers.

Cybersecurity Breaches 

The landscape of the modern grocery store looks markedly different from their counterparts even just a decade or two ago. Manual tills and pen-and-paper inventories have been swapped out for computerized registers and digital logging systems. As your grocery store—like the rest of the businesses that surround you—relies more and more heavily upon technology, the risk of cyberattacks against your company and your customers only increases. Crimes such as phishing and hacking put your data at risk, especially at vulnerable points such as Point of Sale (POS) systems. 

Online Delivery 

Chances are, not all of your store’s transactions occur in-house. Digital ordering and third-party delivery services are growing ever-popular, and the more parties involved in a product’s journey, the more opportunity there is for risk. Drivers and other partners may commit tampering, theft, fraud, or unauthorized access to off-limits locations on your property. 

Employee Crimes

Unfortunately, not everyone is who you expected them to be, and such is the case with employees and partners. Insider crimes, such as theft from inventory or registers, or even collusion with outside criminals, is becoming an increasing concern for grocery store owners. 

Where to Start

Feeling overwhelmed with the seemingly constant influx of new threats to your business and the grocery industry as a whole? There’s no need to fear. With a few key security principles and the right tools in your arsenal, you can protect your goods, property, staff, and customers from nefarious actors. 

Fresh Security Tips for Grocery Store Owners 

We’ve compiled some actionable, forward-thinking advice for protecting your grocery store, no matter the threats you may face. 

Install Surveillance Cameras 

A good security system can make a world of difference in preventing crime and loss at your store. Your surveillance system should possess the following features:

• High-resolution cameras 
• Weatherproof, durable design
• Motion detection
• Night vision capabilities
• Easy integration with other systems (e.g. alarms, access control, cybersecurity tools) and local law enforcement 
• Cloud storage
• Remote access
• User-friendly interface and dashboard 
• Real-time alerts 

Grocery store security cameras can combat crime by recording suspicious activity, saving evidence, and providing a visible deterrent to potential criminals.

To maximize the effectiveness of your surveillance system, strategically place your cameras near sensitive or dangerous areas such as entrances, exits, POS systems, loading docks, aisles containing valuable products, and around your parking lot. 

Keep Up With Maintenance 

Don’t let your security infrastructure fall into disrepair. Conduct routine inspections of your equipment, check for damage, clean your cameras’ lenses, update software, and verify that everything’s operational. 

Utilize AI  

Artificial intelligence is the new technological frontier, and it’s already at work creating another layer of security for grocery stores and other retailers. 

There are a myriad of exciting applications of AI in security. Built-in system analytics can gather data to detect and analyze suspicious behavior, identify repeat offenders, and compile reports and records. Behavioral pattern analysis and automated alerts ensure that the bulk of the work is done for you. AI-powered algorithms aggregate and analyze data to help predict threats before loss even occurs. 

Invest in the future of security technology, and secure your business against the threats of 2025 and beyond. 

Train Staff Well

Whether or not you employ security guards or asset protection personnel, make sure that each of your employees is properly and regularly trained on the security protocols for your business. Ensure that they know how to identify and immediately report suspicious activity, execute emergency response plans, utilize your store’s security technology, and alert law enforcement when needed. 

Work With Local Law Enforcement 

One of your most valuable assets in securing your store will be a strong relationship with local law enforcement. Maintain open communication with the police in your area, so backup and investigative assistance is always at your fingertips. 

Secure Your Shop With LVT

Every bit of work you do, as you operate your grocery store, is incredibly important. You keep people fed and their lives running smoothly, and providing them with a safe place to get their necessities is an important cause indeed. 

Though organized retail crime, cyber attacks, self-checkout theft, insider and delivery crime are plaguing the industry at an increasing rate, when you invest in your store’s security, you have no need to fear. 

At LiveView Technologies, we’re dedicated to providing grocery store security solutions that protect your staff, your customers, your merchandise, and your bottom line. Our AI-driven analytics take the wheel so you can accomplish the rest of your to-dos with peace of mind. Our high-definition cameras capture and record and integrate with other security technologies for complete protection against emerging retail threats. 

Bring your business into a fearless new era. Schedule your free demo today, and prepare to deter crime, enjoy a safer establishment, and keep business booming no matter what comes your way.