Jumbo, the Netherlands’ second biggest supermarket group, said on Wednesday that shoplifting cost it €100 million last year. 

The company, known for its bright yellow livery, is now expanding camera surveillance in stores and will take other “visible and invisible” measures, a spokesman said. “We are asking ourselves what sort of a role AI could have,” the spokesman told RTL Nieuws. 

Shoplifting is a major problem in the retail sector and Jumbo estimates that €1 in goods is taken for every €100 spent. “If we could put that into cutting prices, then everyone would benefit,” the family firm’s chief executive Ron van Veen said.

Jumbo, which also owns the La Place restaurant chain, booked sales of €11 billion last year, a rise of 7.3% on 2022. However, the group’s market share fell from 21.5% to “over 21%” according to research by NielsenIQ.

Jumbo has 692 stores in the Netherlands and 33 in Belgium.  

The company earlier announced plans to stop its skating and cycling sponsorship as a cost cutting measure.