Shoplifting should be known as 'shop theft' to avoid trivialising the crime, ministers agree as offending soars by a fifth in one year
In a letter to ministers, peers warned the 'outdated' word was 'trivialising the severity of the offence' and called for it to be phased out in legislation and guidance.
The Government responded to commit to using 'shop theft' where appropriate, the Daily Telegraph reported.
And the national police unit for organisations acquisitive crime, Opal, also said it would encourage the use of the term in its general communications.
Shoplifting rates have almost doubled in two decades, with three thefts a minute recorded across England and Wales in the year to March.
There were 530,643 reported to the police in this time, up 20 per cent on the previous year's 444,022.
The problem is becoming increasingly rife in chemists, with an estimated increase of 88 per cent in the theft of drugs and medical supplies in the past 12 months.
And yesterday, supermarket chain Iceland announced it is offering customers a £1 reward if they catch shoplifters in the act and report them to staff.
Company boss Richard Walker said any shoppers who point out offenders to staff will receive a payment to their membership card, to cut down on an epidemic which is costing the firm £20million a year.
'Some people see this as a victimless crime; it is not,' he told Channel 5 News.
Sir Keir Starmer has made tackling shoplifting one of his top priorities since taking office, and pledged to spend an extra £200m on neighbourhood policing, as well as making assaulting a shop worker a more serious offence.
The Prime Minister came under criticism this week, however, for failing to refer to shoplifters as 'scumbags.'
The letter from peers sent in November said: 'The use of the outdated term 'shoplifting' serves to trivialise the serious, organised nature of an increasing element of shop theft which is having a devastating effect on the retail sector. We recommend its use should be phased out.'
In response, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: 'The Government will use the expression 'shop theft" where appropriate.
'However, the Government do not think it is proportionate to pay to change all 43 police systems to shop theft, therefore the crime recorded data by police will be known as shoplifting.
'The public are also familiar with the expression of shoplifting and are likely to continue to use it, therefore supporting media may need to continue to refer to this for clarity. The Government will consider whether we need to work with the media to change this wording.'
Retail bosses warned that shop theft was spiralling out of control and that business owners need to see immediate results from the increased neighbourhood policing.
Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman said the recorded figures show more crimes are being reported, but this is still 'far too low', with many retailers having 'no faith' in incidents being investigated.
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