Retail Shrink and ORC: Shoplifting and Theft Patterns from Government Data, Anti-Theft Measures and Retailer Commentary

What's Inside

Retail shrink through theft continues to be a persistent and intensifying headwind for retailers globally. Retailers have increasingly been impacted by a wave of shoplifting and organized crime that has put a dent in their margins and has become a growing focus for the sector.

Continuing our new monthly series on retail shrink and organized retail crime (ORC), we focus on the US, the US and Australia, discussing policies instituted to combat retail crime and providing commentary on the topic from retailers’ earnings calls.

Data in this research report include:

• The scale of retail shrink losses in the US, 2022
• Recently released administrative data on shoplifting and retail theft since 2018 in the US, the UK and New South Wales (Australia)
• Age breakdown of shoplifting offenders and incidents of shoplifting by location type in the US

Companies mentioned in this report include: Albertsons, Coles, Tesco, Tractor Supply, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Woolworths

Other relevant research:

• Read the first report in the Retail Shrink and ORC series.
• RetailTech: Leading-Edge Loss Prevention—Tackling Theft and Fraud Through RFID, Video Surveillance and More, a free report, sponsored by Sensormatic
• Retail Challenges Drive Edge Technology Investment, a free report, sponsored by VMware
• Organized Retail Crime: A Growing Threat for All Retailers
• Retail-Tech Landscape: Loss Prevention
• Is the Future of Security Locked in Technology?: Insights Presented at NRF Protect 2023
• Retail Shrink and Loss-Prevention Methods—Presentation
• Watch our Insights Video for more insights from our analysts on loss prevention.