Some argue that shoplifting is not really stealing at all, but a victimless crime. I disagree. I don't see how shoplifting is different from any other type of stealing - true, there are types of stealing that are worse (mugging, stealing from a friend etc) but that doesn't mean that shoplifting is not stealing.
For one thing, it's not the corporations that lose out on the money - they just put their prices up so that their paying customers have to cover the cost.
However, I would be more understanding if someone needed to shoplift if they or their family were starving because then it would be for necessity rather than greed. Having said this, a lot of the people who shoplift don't actually need to. The recession saw a rise in shoplifting by the middle classes, who swiped a variety of expensive items in order to sustain their lifestyle and celebrities, such as Winona Ryder, Jennifer Capriati and Farrah Fawcett, have also been caught shoplifting.
Those who do not shoplift for financial or material gain in itself may shoplift simply because it gives them a thrill (this was explored in an episode of Family Guy). In fact, shoplifting may be closely linked with kleptomania, which is an irresistable compulsion to take things which don't belong to you (Winona Ryder is believed to be a kleptomaniac). Others (mainly younger people), however, might just do it for a dare, or because of peer pressure.
An article about middle-class shoplifting:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1226520/The-rise-middle-class-shoplifter.html
A priest advises poor people to shoplift: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1237470/Priest-advises-congregation-shoplift.html
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