Organized retail crime is continuing to grow, with 67 percent of retailers surveyed reporting an increase in the past year, according to the 13th annual ORC study by the National Retail Federation.
A new study reveals there is a lot retailers can do to boost future revenue by more effectively managing online purchase returns and fraud detection processes.
“Retail is never boring, and that’s a good thing,” says Michael Case, Director of Loss Prevention for Art Van Furniture Inc., an American furniture retail store chain.
U.S. businesses affected by employee theft lost an average of $1.13 million in 2016. Small and midsize businesses accounted for 68 percent of cases, and their median loss last year was $289,864.
Thefts from retailers and other inventory “shrink” grew to $48.9 billion in 2016 from $45.2 billion the year before even as budget constraints left retail security budgets flat or declining.
More than 438,000 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2016 by just 23 large retailers who recovered more than $120 million from these thieves, according to the 29th Annual Retail Theft Survey by Jack L. Hayes International.
A new report reveals that 77% of all detected ransomware globally was in four main sectors – business & professional services (28%), government (19%), health care (15%) and retail (15%).
An inexplicable rise in organized retail crime during the past couple of years, perhaps due to police passivity, has major retailers looking to upgrade their equipment, technology, policies and procedures, and training for employees to combat loss prevention.
