Theft cost equates to a ‘tax’ on households of £180
Light-fingered thieves* have stolen a massive £4.4 billion worth of goods from stores in high streets up and down the country this year, according to the Global Retail Theft Barometer 2010, published today [19 October 2010].
The annual independent study, conducted by the Centre for Retail Research on behalf of tagging company Checkpoint Systems, highlighted that whilst theft has decreased by 5.8% in the UK since it surged globally in 2009, it is still considerably higher than the £3.7 billion lost in 2008, continuing the upward trend that has been visible over the last five years.
“Even with the decline in retail theft, crime put an extra £180 on the average British family’s yearly shopping bill”, said Professor Joshua Bamfield, Director of the Centre for Retail Research and author of the study. “And that is a cost many people can ill-afford, with the recession only just behind us and the looming VAT rise”, added Bamfield.
However, most worrying from the report, was the increase in staff theft. 36.8% of loss in the UK retail industry is down to dishonest employees, which is significantly higher than the 29.8% European average and disturbingly, greater than in 2009. In fact, internal theft is the highest in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.
Neil Matthews, Vice President, Northern, Central & Eastern Europe at Checkpoint Systems, commented: “It is extremely concerning that the proportion of staff stealing from their employers is on the rise, particularly as we approach the Christmas period. Whilst I am aware that employees don’t represent the largest source of theft, it would be remiss of retailers to simply accept this as part and parcel of business. Ignoring these silent thieves from within could result in even greater consequences for consumers in the future.”
On average this year, thieves managed to get away with stealing approximately £93 worth of goods per ‘shopping spree’ – needless to say, the typical customer theft was not a tin of cat food or a loaf of bread. Expensive branded clothing, accessories, children’s wear and lingerie topped the list of most stolen items accounting for 1.79% of sales, with natural and speciality foods, in particular fresh meat, cheese, alcohol and high quality seafood following closely behind at 1.77%.
“2009 was a difficult year for the retail industry, with shoplifting reaching an all-time high. Whilst the situation is certainly starting to improve, there is still along way to go before it ceases to be an issue of real national concern. Last year there was a recession, which explained to some extent, the exorbitantly high theft levels, but we are now well into the recovery phase and are still up there amongst the three worst countries in the world for the total amount lost to theft”, commented Neil Matthews.
“However, whilst the amount stolen in the UK may well have gone down, that doesn’t mean the overall impact on the general public, is any less significant. Shoplifting results in a £180 financial burden on every family in the country and so there is a real social obligation on the retail industry to do everything it can to tackle retail crime”, added Matthews.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. These figures are lower than they may have been had retailers not invested more than ever before on improved security measures. Whilst 33.1% of those surveyed reported an increase in attempted shoplifting, the recent economic turbulence has led retailers to adopt new loss prevention policies in a bid to crack down on crime. In the UK alone, over £970,000 was spent on loss prevention accounting for a mere 0.29% of sales.
Matthews continued: “Retailers are definitely making strides in the fight against shoplifting and their efforts have already started to pay dividends.”
*Loss from customers, employees and the supply chain
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