Global Retail Theft Barometer Study Finds Shrink at Highest Levels Since 2007
Shoplifting, employee or supplier fraud, organized retail crime and administrative errors cost the retail industry $119 billion in 2011 or 1.45% of sales. This global shrink rate is 6.6% (6% in the U.S.) higher than the previous year, according to the Global Retail Theft Barometer, and represents the highest percentage recorded by the survey since it began in 2007.
The study, underwritten by an independent grant from Checkpoint Systems, Inc., monitored the cost of shrink (loss from shoplifting, employee theft and administrative errors) in the global retail industry between July 2010 and June 2011. It found that shrink increased in all regions surveyed. Customer theft, including shoplifting and organized retail crime, up 13.4%, was the primary cause in most countries costing retailers $51.5 billion or 43.2% of shrink.