More than 279,000 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2018 by just 20 large retailers who recovered more than $114 million from thieves, according to the 31^st Annual Retail Theft Survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International.

“Theft case values soared in 2018 with the average shoplifting case value ($301.97) increasing 11.8%; the average dishonest employee case value ($1,361.37) increasing an amazing 30.1%; and the total average theft case value ($408.77) up 17.0%! While the retailers participating in this survey did not apprehend as many thieves as they did the previous year, they were recovering more dollars from the thieves they did apprehend,” said Mark R. Doyle, President of Jack L. Hayes International, Inc. “With the increase in dollar recoveries, retail theft overall continues to be a serious problem for retailers negatively impacting their bottom-line, which results in higher prices to consumers.”

The survey says:

• Participants: 20 large retail companies with 13,674 stores and more than $330 billion in retail sales (2018).
• Apprehensions: 279,196 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2018, down 11.8% from 2017.
• Recovery Dollars: More than $114 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2018, up 3.2% from 2017.
• Shoplifter Apprehensions: 251,051 shoplifters were apprehended in 2018, down 11.7% from 2017.
• Shoplifter Recovery Dollars: More than $75 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters in 2018, a decrease of 1.4% from 2017.
• Employee Apprehensions: 28,145 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2018, down 12.7% from 2017.
• Employee Recovery Dollars: More than $38 million was recovered from employee apprehensions in 2018, up 13.5% from 2017.
• Average Case Values: Total Theft: up 17.0%; Shoplifters: up 11.8%; Dishonest Employees: up 30.1%
• Shrink: 55.0% of survey participants reported an increase in shrink in 2018, with 35.0% reporting a decrease in shrink, and another 10.0% reported shrink stayed about the same.

Full survey results are available at: http://hayesinternational.com/news/annual-retail-theft-survey/