Some people may be motivated by hunger, but that alone does not make moral people steal. There are alternatives to theft, food banks being one. What you do see is opportunistic theft - people who see an opportunity to get something for free for their own financial gain, be it cost avoidance or resell. Police are not interested, security are interested to a point and shop staff are instructued to not interfere but they can use physical presence to deter (i.e. I can see you). Once off the premises, the thief is gone. When people don't have money, this is an easy option. At least it's not violent. The impact for most people is the costs being covered by higher prices. The sad fact is, it's a reflection of society where people just don't give a hoot. The poor security guard in Primark who people just watched and filmed and laughed. There is a sense of entitlement people have and - serious to god - shoplifting from Primark? FFS.