Most places will just pay to avoid long court battles and keep it out of the news. This happened at Walmart. Walmart has more money than any other business like this. They will fight and keep you in court forever.

I think the reason kids do stuff like this can be laid at the parents' feet. When the kids are younger, the parents give them things like toys to keep them quiet while they shop. Then they take them away at the register because they don't want to pay for them. I've even see parents take a pillow and lay it inside the cart for kids to sleep on and then hand it to the cashier saying "I don't want this."