Goods worth more than $100bn stolen from US stores last year

Retailers have seen a 20 per cent spike in shoplifting, forcing several chains to close stores, statistics show.

WORLD OCTOBER 2. 2023 16:26

Losses from retail crime ticked up in 2022, causing many retailers across the country to change the way they do business, according to a survey findings released by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

“Retailers are seeing unprecedented levels of theft coupled with rampant crime in their stores, and the situation is only becoming more dire,” David Johnston, NRF’s vice president for asset protection and retail operations, said in a statement.

The annual survey by the trade group collected insights from 177 retail brands across 28 different retail sectors — including apparel, jewelry, grocery, and department stores — and accounted for more than 97 thousand retail locations and 1.6 trillion US dollars in annual retail sales.

Shrink — a measurement of lost inventory — for total retail sales in 2022 reached 112.1 billion US dollars, up from 93.9 billion in losses in 2021, according to the survey.

It’s worth noting that when retail sales go up, as they did in 2022, shrink also tends to rise. The average shrink rate in the 2022 fiscal year was 1.6 per cent, up from 1.4 per cent the year before.

External theft — including organised retail crime — caused 36 per cent of losses, while employee theft caused 29 per cent, the survey said.

Many retailers who participated in the survey said they had increased spending on loss prevention in 2022. Forty-six per cent said they increased the use of third-party security personnel in their stores, and 34 per cent said they increased payroll to support their risk efforts.

Fifty-three percent said they have increased, or are increasing, employee workplace violence training to mitigate the risk of violent encounters associated with theft or crime.

In-store violence is a top concern. Eighty-eight percent of retailers surveyed said that shoplifters were somewhat more or much more aggressive and violent compared with one year ago, according to the survey.

“Far beyond the financial impact of these crimes, the violence and concerns over safety continue to be the priority for all retailers, regardless of size or category,” Mr Johnston pointed out.

Some businesses have taken more drastic measures to protect their assets or cut their losses. When asked if they had taken any specific actions due to retail crime the survey found that 45 per cent of retailers reduced their operating hours, 30 per cent reduced or altered their in-store product selection and 28 per cent said they were forced to close a store location.

Target said on Tuesday it plans to close nine stores in major cities, including three in the San Francisco Bay Area, due to violence and theft.

Los Angeles was the metropolitan area most affected by organized retail crime in the country, followed by San Francisco and Oakland, the report said. Houston and New York City ranked third and fourth, respectively.

Looting and violence are also causing serious problems in Philadelphia, where some shops are forced to close. Fine Wine & Good Spirits has recently announced that all its stores in Philadelphia, as well as a store in Cheltenham Township, will be closed indefinitely after 18 stores were broken into overnight.

„Fortunately, no employees were hurt, although some were understandably shaken,” Shawn M Kelly, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, said in a statement.

The decision to temporarily close nearly fifty Fine Wine & Good Spirits locations across the city was made „in the interest of employee safety and while we assess the damage and loss that occurred”, Mr Kelly said.

Besides liquor stores, one of the largest pharmacy chains in the United States has also announced a massive store closure in response to increasing violence. CVS pharmacy is poised to shutter nearly a tenth of its stores, totaling 900 outlets by the end of 2024. This move aligns with the company’s shift toward an online retail strategy, prompted by the substantial surge in shoplifting incidents.

As part of a comprehensive retail transformation, CVS is set to close numerous stores across the United States, mirroring the broader trend of retailers moving toward online platforms amidst a significant rise in criminal activity.

WORLD

Tags:

economy, riot in usa, stores closing, united states of america