Shoplifting During The Holidays

As a retailer, your holiday season has started.  During this time of year, retailers big and small profit from a big and busy holiday season.  With the honest shopper, this is a season that retailers look forward to.  It means more sales for the retailer, and hopefully more profits as well. For every retailer, preparing and training their loss prevention personnel during this holiday season is also paramount, it can mean thousands of dollars lost to shoplifting if personnel are not properly in place, or trained. Knowing what items are most likely to be stolen can help your loss prevention team take preventive measures to ensure they are not easily snatched.

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10 Things Shoplifters Love to Steal During the Holidays

It’s a $6 billion problem for retailers.

Retailers like to call the holiday season the Super Bowl of shopping. Shoplifters feel the same way.

According to a recent forecast by Checkpoint Systems, shoplifting as a percentage of sales spikes during the holiday season as thieves (including many retail employees) gravitate to pricier items as more shoppers come into stores.

The holiday season, which kicked off last week, generates 34% of annual sales for retailers, but 37% of their annual “shrinkage,” which is inventory loss for whatever reason—from supply chain inefficiency to employee theft to shoplifting. The latter two account for the bulk of shrinkage.

Shoplifting is $6 billion problem for retailers during the holidays.

According to Ernie Deyle, author of the Checkpoint Systems report, shoplifters are more apt to rationalize their theft during the holiday season. “It’s much easier to do so when a child’s Christmas present is at stake rather than an extra bathing suit for the summer,” he wrote.

It was likely back in the teenage years and little more than a pen or something of similar value, but many people have shoplifted at least once in their life. It’s one of those crimes that, while far from victimless, is undertaken by a large swath of society because it’s seen as no big deal (which, of course it is for the shopkeeper) and can be done swiftly and spontaneously.

It’s also undertaken for various reasons, perhaps a mini act of rebellion against consumerism; or a product of self-assessed entitlement; sometimes it’s just for thrill-seeking; and for some it’s thought of as a desperate act of necessity. It’s also the subject of a new show from British artist Lucy Sparrow, a.k.a., the Queen of Felt,at London’s Lawrence Alkin Gallery. Known as Shoplifting, the show features some of the most frequently shop-stolen items in the UK, including luxury products like Chanel No. 5 perfume, Creme de la Mer moisturizer, a Chanel handbag, and a Fabergé egg—all of them crafted in felt and displayed behind glass cabinets, to entice but prevent would-be thieves.

How stores plan to fight organized retail crime during the holidays

With Halloween over, retailers are in full-fledged holiday season mode. Which means they’re gearing up for Black Friday, holiday staff schedules, stampedes of customers… and theft. That’s right — the holiday season might bring stores a nice sales bump, but it also brings an increase in shoplifting. And retailers are stepping up efforts to crack down on the crime.

We’re not just talking about customers stealing a pack gum in the checkout line. Loss prevention specialists have their eyes on a much bigger target.

Organized retail crime (ORC) is a strategic and highly sophisticated brand of shoplifting where a network of professional thieves work together to rip off retailers. According to a survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF), organized retail crime is on the rise, with 100% of retailers saying they have been a victim in the past 12 months. Furthermore, 83% said ORC activity had increased in the past year.