Sainsbury's staff are now serving customers from inside cages with metal grating because shoplifting is so bad.
The prison-like security measure - dubbed 'an indictment of British social decay' - is now in place at Battersea Riverlight Local.
Cages have been introduced to protect staff and their goods - which include vape bars, tobacco and alcohol.
It comes as figures from April revealed shoplifting in Britain had soared to its highest level in history, with the number passing half a million for the first time ever last year.
Shoppers have taken to social media to express their concern at the change, which is thought to have been introduced within the last couple of weeks.
