Hannah Shrimpton, the Ipsos head of crime, cohesion and security said the majority of the public still believed even low-value shoplifting was wrong even if there was a minority which admitted to it.

“While a quarter of Britons admit to unintentionally failing to pay for an item, with a third finding this acceptable, the overwhelming majority think intentional theft is unacceptable, even of low-value items,” she said.

“This suggests a clear distinction in public perception: accidental oversights are seen by a minority at least as forgivable, and by most as not worth criminal sanction, while deliberate theft, regardless of value, faces strong disapproval.”

Cary Cooper, a professor of organisational psychology at Manchester Business School, said the cost of living and risk-taking were often drivers for shoplifting along with a belief by people that they could beat the till and sneak through items “for free, as it were”.

He said the stores were paying the price for removing human contact, adding: “I think we have lost the whole concept of being consumer friendly. We are not interested in that, whether for insurance or online banking.”