New Jersey’s shoplifting statute only criminalizes knowingly or purposely taking merchandise from a store without paying the full value to the merchant. If you walked out of a store without realizing that you hadn’t paid for an item, that fact can serve as a defense to a charge of shoplifting since you did not knowingly or purposely remove the item without paying its full value. However, under the shoplifting statute, if you have concealed merchandise and walked out of the store without paying for it, you will be presumed to have concealed the merchandise with the intent to steal it.