the.com/shoplifter
A customer whose checkout is purely conceptual.
means A person who steals merchandise from a store while pretending to be an ordinary shopper.
from Coined in 1670s England, when booming shops created a fresh crime; lifter meant thief, so a shoplifter literally lifts from shops.
Gendered historyEarly texts blamed women, inventing kleptomania as polite excuse.
Costly habitRetailers lose tens of billions yearly to theft.
Decoy tacticBulky coats and prams remain timeless tools of trade.