A customer said they are planning to shop elsewhere after spotting people 'trapped' in new receipt activated barriers.

Sainsbury's began trialling receipt activated barriers in the self-service areas of its UK stores in December 2022.

As the roll-out continued this year, the supermarket chain has experienced a wave of backlash to the new measures, which have been criticised for placing customers "under suspicion of stealing".

A Marlow resident who asked to remain anonymous told the Bucks Free Press that they were concerned the barriers were failing to act as a preventative measure against actual criminals. 

Last Thursday, they saw three customers in the Marlow store on West Street become "trapped" in the self-service area, which requires a receipt to activate the exit barrier. 

"Of the three customers, one was browsing and hadn't bought anything and the other two had thrown away their receipts.

"The store assistant refused to let them out and told them to wait for someone else to go through and then tailgate them."

The resident voiced concern over the encouragement given by staff to customers slipping through the barriers behind other shoppers because of the advantage it poses to shoplifters. 

"These barriers mean everyone's treated like a criminal. I previously didn't bother with receipts and you've also got lots of paper being unnecessarily produced.

"From a personal perspective, I may well shop elsewhere. What a way to treat customers with no real gain." 

The barriers are thought to have been introduced in response to a rise in shoplifting last year, with the Office for National Statistics reporting an increase of 22%.

According to Freedom of Information requests made by The Telegraph, Tesco and Sainsbury's stores accounted for 40% of shoplifting cases overall.

Social media users have also voiced their dissent following the introduction of the barriers in the Marlow store.

One person wrote: "Why have you blocked all exists from Marlow Sainsbury's so you can only leave after scanning your receipt?

"If you don't buy anything you are literally locked inside."

A spokesperson for the supermarket chain said the area is always manned by a Sainsbury's colleague to prevent customers from being trapped.

They added: "This is just one of a range of security measures that is used in a small number of our stores at our self-service checkout areas."