Personally I think it is cowardly and deplorable not to fight theft. God tells me to pray for these thieves, but if I had it my own fleshly way I would get security to prosecute most of them. People need to be taught to obey the laws of society rather than flaunting their addiction and hurting the jobs of others.
I'm not sure about Colorado but in Texas the level of offense is based on pecuniary loss... the greater the dollar amount, the higher the charge. But it also has a stipulation that for any theft after two previous theft convictions, even if all you stole was a stick of bubble gum, its an automatic felony. If you don't offer real consequences there will never be any appreciable change. While I think its certainly a bridge too far, there's a reason why China has a low crime rate - because the consequences are often grave. Again, I'm not suggesting we start adopting medieval punishment but there simply has to be offered a reasonable deterrence. All human beings are motivated both by incentives and disincentives.
But even Texas stops at a State Jail Felony (4th degree). I think it should just continue on and on... play stupid games, win stupid prizes. If you can't figure out that you should probably stop stealing shit after 4 convictions, then it goes to show that lax laws encourage criminality. What good is a law without effective enforcement?
As to the businesses that choose not to prosecute, let them. Its their right. But their customers should know that every dollar that is stolen in merchandise gets shifted on to the consumer via higher prices. And if Safeway, or whoever, decides to not makes a reasonable attempt, then boycott them into submission and take your business elsewhere.
"Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it" -- Thomas Paine