A new report on global retail crime and loss prevention (LP) trends since 2001 has found that the number of retail thieves apprehended annually continues to be about six million. This is just the very tip of the iceberg, the Nottinghamshire-based Centre for Retail Research suggests.
More than 78 per cent of shrink is indeed due to shoplifting by dishonest customers or retail employees. New products in fast-paced categories such as electronics, perfumes and sportswear being brought to market every year at premium prices are among the most likely to be stolen. Fresh meat remains a high-theft category for supermarkets and hypermarkets.
Retailers have, however, taken action in recent years. Of the 50 most stolen products, the number of items protected from theft has increased from 60 epr cent in 2007 to 75pc in 2011 with EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) source tagging and special high-theft solutions implemented by more retailers each year. More than 86pc of the LP people surveyed saw inventory management and/or loss prevention as primary drivers to implement RFID (Radio Frequency identification).
The report also points out that the role of LP departments is evolving to increasingly provide a strategic service to the other areas of the business. Online retailing and new payment systems such as smart-phones bring new risks to the industry, meaning that LP professionals would benefit from working closely with IT, store operations and marketing in the fight against crime. The report notes that this collaboration draws on joint methods for analysing shrink while data obtained from electronic surveillance and RFID solutions is often used to make improvements in marketing, operations and logistics.
While the report points out the clear correlation between loss prevention spending and lower shrink, the length and depth of the global recession has resulted in increased rates of shrink since 2007. The report, produced by the Centre for Retail Research, includes recommendations for the retail industry. The report is available via free download from Checkpoint Systems (www.checkpointsystems.com).
“Changing Retail, Changing Loss Prevention” analyses the evolution of retail crime and loss prevention uncovered by the “Global Retail Theft Barometer” publications since 2001. Per Levin, president, Shrink Management and Merchandise Visibility Solutions, Checkpoint Systems, said, “In this ever changing environment, we are pleased to support the global retail community with research that offers benchmarks and practical insights with the objective to help retailers improve their merchandise availability and grow sales profitably.”
Sample topics within the report include the following:
•Sources of Retail Shrink
•Trends in Shrink
•Explanations for Shrink Growth During the Recession
•The Impact of Organized Retail Crime
•Refund Fraud
•Impact of investment in Loss Prevention
•Changing Patterns in What People Steal
•Most Stolen Items
•Electronic Tagging and RFID
•Report Conclusions.
