askchapo

Not a clue where you’re located, so maybe this isn’t relevant to your situation, but when I worked at Target they explicitly told us they’d let shoplifters steal many times, until they had evidence you’d stolen enough to get a felony charge. Then they’d call the cops to ambush you outside the store.
And stores would communicate about specific shoplifters who went on sprees at a bunch of different stores in an area.
I imagine other retailers have roughly similar policies. So, all that to say, keep the monetary value low, shoplift at stores not close to where you live, don’t hit a place too many times, and mix up the places you shoplift from.

Don't park your car in the parking lot of the shop that you intend on stealing from.

Wear things that conceal your face but try to balance concealment with being inconspicuous; if you overdo it then you risk drawing attention to yourself.

Wearing headphones can often reduce the amount of interaction you have with staff at the exit and it provides you with plausible deniability if you just walk out and "accidentally" ignore a staff member.

Bag checks are almost always surface level. Conceal your shoplifting beneath something big or bulky, including stuff like your own personal clothing. Often staff policy is that they cannot put their hands in your bags because then you are able to argue that they planted something/took something/broke something, and staff putting their hands in your bags also poses a personal risk to staff members.

Most receipt checks are cursory at best, often staff don't even bother actually looking at the receipts at all but it's just theatre.

Your receipt is going to be valid for the whole day. It's possible to exploit this by buying once and carrying the same item(s) out a second time.

Practice by shoplifting extremely low value items that nobody in their right mind would intentionally shoplift, such as mints or a packet of gum. If you get caught you can just pretend like it was an accident and you can refine your shoplifting techniques through a low-risk process of trial and error.

Beware of RFID tags.

there are usually spots that the cameras don't reach. just small little blind spots, where at least they can perhaps only see you from one angle. you can wander calmly around the shop, take those things to the area you have scoped out and stash them.

and yes, buy things for real as well, as others have suggested

and don't steal from ur local shop. if ur caught u are more likely to get banned than have them call the cops on u. then u can't go into ur local shop and buy things when u have to.

not all shops have people actively monitoring the cameras. they are mostly for deterrence. try not to get caught on camera but it's not the end of the world if you do.

avoid shops with security guards if possible. at least in my neck of poor europe, most shops don't have them. mostly shop workers won't stop you, and if they try to they mostly won't do anything other than ask you to turn back. when i worked in a shop we were actually told not to engage anyone physically. be very nice to everyone who works in the shops u pick, since workers who like you are less likely to do anything to stop you. and yk be nice to workers generally.

avoid shops in commercial districts where there are likely to be cops patrolling outside. the one time i got caught it was cuz there were cops on the street outside.

Back in my shoplifting days I didn't care about the cameras. They're there but it doesn't mean someone is watching you, what matters is not being physically stopped. Most of what I did was robbing extra stuff from the supermarket while buying other things. If they're onto you they would send someone to tail you around the shop who'd stand at the end of the aisle and lurk glaring at you. Self checkout is the easiest, since you look totally normal carrying around stuff to go to self checkout. If you learn to keep an item you're not paying for off the scales (most have a starting scale and ending scale) you can just not ring it through.

If you look like you have other shopping with you then you can just drop stuff in your other shopping bags.

I'm not sure if it's a different situation in Europe than where I'm at as far as things like self checkout, surveillance, how much store employees care, etc., but I'll tell you what works for, uh... some friends I know in the US. This is only for grocery stores with self checkout and using a handbasket. First, buy one of those reusable grocery bags you bring from home if you don't already have one. It should be opaque and fairly rigid. Grab a handbasket and put your normal, green-friendly grocery bag in it with the bag open. Expensive + small things go into the bag. Larger, hopefully cheaper things go in the basket but on top of the bag. You will be paying legit for the latter things. Do not put things into your bag if it would exceed 1/3 of your bag volume and don't put stuff on top that would exceed 2/3 (a little bit more is fine). Go to the self checkout. Take the things out of your basket but not out of your bag which stays in the handbasket along with its contents. Scan those items and pay for them as normal. Start loading your purchased groceries in your grocery bag on top of your unpurchased groceries that never left your bag. Casually leave the grocery store with bag in hand, along with a receipt for a bunch of stuff in your bag, right there filling the top 2/3rs of it. There's just more stuff beneath it that isn't on the receipt.

There are a few things that can go wrong and you can probably think of them. However, having known people who have done this for years and never had a problem is a pretty good indication that these things rarely do (if ever) end up going wrong, so long as you're really careful, casual, and only do it in the appropriate stores. And yes, this is done with cameras all over the store and at least one employee managing all the self checkouts. That last part is why it's better to do this when it's busy at the store, but it usually seems to work fine even when it's not.

edit: typos fixed.

I'm not a shoplifter but have worked in retail for a while. I would think the best thing to do would be assuming you will be noticed because between cameras, other customers, and employees you almost certainly will be seen. The question then boils down to if they can identify you and build a case against you. To avoid this, knowing company policies and applicable laws is key. How much do you have to lift before you'll be hit with a felony charge? Can employees detain you or forcefully recover product? Are police on site? Are you a known entity to police or the stores you're lifting from?

If you disperse your lifting over location, company, and time, don't take anything too valuable, and make yourself hard to identify you'll probably be fine. Also if you get caught immediately leave, don't listen to store employees who have no legal authority over you and whatever you do never admit to knowingly stealing anything unless your lawyer instructs you to do so.

Shop at casual pace. Be nice to the store employees but don't try to keep track of where they are (because it's obvious when you do). Do not be greedy.

Store employees see people stealing or at least people who look like they're stealing everyday but will generally only confront those who are either stealing high quantity/value of stuff, steal at that store frequently or are annoying to the employees in some way (are rude, noisy, cause hold ups or make work by leaving stuff around or making demands).

If you ever get confronted then it was an oversight and you ask to pay for whatever it was (because you want the item, not because you were caught). You do not try to defend yourself as not stealing, why would you? the very idea of stealing has never occurred to you in your entire life.

A lot of people will bring way more cloth grocery bags than they need and then just shove things underneath those. If there are so many cameras you can't sleight of hand it I'm not sure what to recommend though.

doing a small shop while lifting so you have a valid receipt, a valid excuse (oops I forgot to scan xyz) and largely avoids suspicion. most people have a stereotype of how a lifter looks or acts which gives you an instant advantage if you just act like a regular customer

Couple points to add on to things there: I'm not aware of any Eurocountry where shop workers are allowed to forcefully detain you and/or check your bags, without directly seeing you shoplift, and so long as you don't agree. Even if laws permit it, it's exceedingly rare that workers are allowed to enforce it because of the huge liabilities.

If someone tries to stop you, inform them you won't be detained and that you're leaving, then just leave by any means you peacefully can, even calmly hopping barriers. This is what I do even though I'm not stealing stuff.

Be aware of your rights, any wannabe cop security guards who do actually detain you might be guilty of assault, depending on their actions and local laws, for which you might be able to sue the company, or even just threaten to sue if you're not released.

step 1: don't make an internet post about it

nah but fr good luck comrade

Most advice you get on the internet is only going to be things well known enough that random security guards see frequently.

You act like you usually would, except actually you've got a loaf of bread in your undies

Another piece of advice, in addition to what I’ve read here: try using a moderately large bag, in which you have a somewhat spacious and hidden inner pocket —this is where you’ll put the items you stole. To avoid the detectors at the store entrance, turn that pocket into a Faraday cage. In the main part of your bag, put personal items so that if a guard checks your bag when you leave, they won’t suspect anything upon seeing your personal belongings, such as a jacket, cap, or personal accessory. After placing the stolen items in your Faraday cage, buy a not-too-expensive product (obviously). If they give you a store bag for that product, better. Place the product on top of your personal items in the main pocket.

To test your Faraday cage, place a cellphone inside it and call the phone. If it rings, it means the cage isn’t working.

Faraday Cage (Wikipedia). Booster bag (Wikipedia).

Buy fake license plates on AliExpress

There are like a bazillion cameras covering every aisle in my local shop and I'm confused as to how not to get caught stuffing my bag full of stuff?

Perhaps the best way is to simply be hiding in plain site. Dress in a dirty, sweaty, construction outfit, rugged boots, hard hat, and most importantly, gloves and facemask. And just fill up your cart like normal and find a low traffic area that leads to the outside pathway (the area where people stand to wait for their families to pay for stuff, where the restrooms are located, etc.). You will likely find an empty register lane that’s blocked off by a simple magnet chain. Remove it, walk out, and casually walk out the store. (Not sure if applicable, but) If the greeter stops you for a receipt, you are not obligated to do anything, and you will only be lawfully detained by non law enforcement if you volunteer to comply.