Sticky Fingers: Billions of Dollars Worth of Merchandise Will Be Shoplifted This Christmas
- Posted on December 24, 2011 at 11:50am by
Becket Adams
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We know that Christmas is a time of giving but, apparently, it’s also a time for taking — a lot.
During the four weeks leading up to Christmas, an estimated $1.8 billion in merchandise will be shoplifted this year, according to The Global Retail Theft Barometer, a survey of retailers worldwide. That’s up about 6 percent from $1.7 billion during the same period last year.
“They shoplift for Christmas gifts, they steal for themselves, for their family,” says Joshua Bamfield, executive director of the Centre for Retail Research and author of the survey.
Unfortunately, this is not new. “Sticky fingers” are common during the holidays. The crowded stores and flustered clerks make it easier to slip a tablet computer into a purse or stuff a sweater under a coat undetected. But higher joblessness and falling wages have contributed to an even bigger rise this year. People steal everything from necessities (food) to luxuries they can no longer afford (e.g. iPods or a Gucci purse).
“It’s really a question of need versus greed,” says Joseph LaRocca, senior adviser of asset protection for the National Retail Federation trade group. “People will rationalize what they are stealing: ‘Oh, I’m feeling the economy. I lost my job.‘ But it’s hard to make the argument you need a $900 handbag.”
Some experts say the economy’s influence is largely a cop-out. They say shoplifters are stealing for myriad reasons this holiday season that have nothing to do with economic turmoil. Among them, some do it for a rush or thrill. For others, it’s about filling a void. Still others are trying to relieve anxiety, boredom or depression–all emotions that are particularly common during the holidays.
“Shoplifting is generally a crime of opportunity- and opportunities abound at the holiday,” says Barbara Staib, a spokeswoman for the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention. “The ‘stressors’ that come with the holiday will certainly help them rationalize their need for bad behavior.”
Shoplifting is surprisingly common. An estimated one in 11 Americans shoplift, according to the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention. It bases its information on academic research and information from those who are ordered or choose to enter its counseling programs for shoplifters.
About 75 percent of shoplifters are adults — equally men and women — while kids make up about 25 percent of them. More than 70 percent of shoplifters say they did not plan ahead to steal and they acted spontaneously.
It adds up to billions of dollars in losses for retailers.
Theft of all kinds–including shop lifting, organized retail crime, employee theft and vendor fraud–cost retailers more than $119 billion worldwide in the 12 months ending in June, up nearly 7 percent from the same period in 2010. That’s the biggest increase recorded by the Global Retail Theft Barometer since it began the survey in 2007.
In the four weeks leading up to Christmas, retailers in the U.S. are expected to lose $5 billion in theft and other crimes. About 36 percent of those losses come from shoplifting. Employee theft represents about 44 percent. Vendor theft and administrative error make up the remainder.
Several major chains declined to discuss their efforts to thwart the growing theft in stores by shoppers and employees. But the National Retail Federation says big merchants are spending about $11.5 billion a year to fend off losses.
They’re trying to improve their technology, such as surveillance methods and tagging of merchandise with security devices. They also are working with competitors and law enforcement agencies more than ever by sharing more information, such as what criminals are taking and how they are targeting individual merchants.
Retailers’ efforts are important, prevention experts say, because theft not only costs them, but society as a whole. Theft drives up retailers’ costs and those are often passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices on everything from blueberries to blouses.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Comments (57)
the point
Posted on December 25, 2011 at 11:09amMost , or at least a huge part of shoplifting (shrinkage) is caused by the employees of stores .
Report Post »ptruth
Posted on December 25, 2011 at 2:08pmMy wife and I were in WalMart on Friday and we saw two separate incidents of one older Mexican woman stealing a wristwatch and one Mexican young adult shoplifting an autopart. We thought to ourselves, where are the security agents for the store. Why aren’t they watching the obvious stealing going on here?
Report Post »COOLONE
Posted on December 25, 2011 at 9:35amWhy do people steal? Just look at the photo op with the Commander-in-Thief and Bo, did he just stick something in his pocket?
Report Post »INTHEBEGININGGOD
Posted on December 25, 2011 at 5:28amHas to be them stinken Liberals who always want something for nothing. Their the ones voting for obama give me, give me, give me. Do you remember the lady on the Beck radio when asked by a reporter well where is the money coming from, the liberal lady answered obama obama.
Report Post »TAXEVERYONE
Posted on December 25, 2011 at 11:09amWhat should we expect when have such a dishonest President and Attorney General?
Report Post »WeDontNeedNoSteenkinBadges06
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 10:22pm[continued]
Report Post »“… blacks, 24 percent of New York City’s population, committed 68.5 percent of all murders, rapes, robberies, and assaults in the city last year …“ ”… hundreds of thousands of data points that reveal a hard truth: any given violent crime in New York is 13 times more likely to have a black than a white perpetrator.”
fancydancy
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 10:10pmTake morals out of the society and everyone pays in many ways. I’d think the retailers of all people would be happy to see values and character taught in the schools. I am so tired of the PC police making everyone do what only a few want. Bleh! Of course when enough time has gone by, none of us will be safe and of course we can all shop online and prevent the damages for shoplifting and then they will demand that everyone have the mark that Revelation talks about where no one can buy or sell unless they have the mark of the beast. They will use this shoplifting statistic like they did the zip code to get a few to comply and eventually pass a law that everyone has to comply.
Report Post »MCDAVE
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 10:56pmMore than 90% of Americans don;t Shoplift.That is the good news I raised my Children with christian values I know they won’t steal
Report Post »MCDAVE
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 11:20pmTeach your children the way they should go;Practice what you preach and they will follow it I thank my parents for there wisdom and guidance raising me.my family is generations of honest hard working people
Report Post »Archstone
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 7:12pmA million still-frames available of black flash mobs cleaning out store shelves, and this story has a
Report Post »picture of a white woman stealing. I realize whites steal too, but damn…. insult me again.
oldsoldier10
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 7:37pmCould not agree more, just had a story of 1000 blacks breaking into a Mall in Detroit to buy some new tennis shoes beating the hell out of each other and many getting arrested and they put a pic of a white person stealing this is UTTER BS!
Report Post »whomping fool
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 9:39pmWhen will a picture of a shoplifter just be a picture of a shoplifter? Right away with the color and the race and the ‘I’m offended’ b.s…. Damn. Sure sounds like the other side to me!
Report Post »Complain about how hot the race fire is yet keep pitching wood into the flames.
SHIPMONEY100TRILLION
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 5:32pmOh! Just wait for the Food Riots. Shop lifting is tame campaired to what is coming.
Report Post »B-Neil
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 4:07pmHow much money are the stores loosing on overpaid Actors each year?? I don’t hear them b-tchen about that. How much money are they saving on not putting up Holliday decorations like they used to?? How much money are they saving on Employee low wages and no benifits?? You get reenbursed by the insurance company and you get tax write-offs for lost mechendice. Start forcing your suppliers to produce there products in the U.S.A. People would have jobs and the shop lifting will decrease significantly. CARRY ON McDUFF p.s. MERRY CHRISTMAS to all and to the atheists and all the unemployed shop lifters
Report Post »Constantine Ivanov
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 4:20pmYou propagate a very false (and stinky) idea that honesty depends on the income. What a B.S.!
Report Post »Constantine Ivanov
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 4:05pm“An estimated one in 11 Americans shoplift, according to the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention” – a very interesting number.
Report Post »Based on the US & World Population Clocks, we are 312,832,503 individuals now.
It means that 28,436,474 are thieves. How nice!
And based on the photo included in the article, all of them are Whites. Sure, no doubt…
America, America, what we became!
Thank you, dear Liberasty.
Zpro
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 3:39pmWhat these kids don’t understand is that Level 2 of the game is called Electric Chair, Lethal Injection or Hang Man.
Report Post »DieBambi
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 3:28pmWhy is it a white person in the photo? That doesn’t seem right.
Report Post »YepImaConservative
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 3:34pmWhite guilted Obama supporter. Seems a guilty conscience only goes so far for some.
Report Post »johnokee1
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 3:52pmOWS Flash mobs need to Christmas shop too….
Report Post »jcannon98188
Posted on December 25, 2011 at 7:59amBecause White people steal too? I will admit, when I was younger (and much dumber) I used to shoplift quite heavily with my friends. All of us were white by the way. I of course realized the stupidity of my ways and never turned back, but the fact still stands. White people steal stuff too, and to claim otherwise is quite honestly racist my friend.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Report Post »Ron Paul 2012!
ThankBabyJesus
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 2:32pmFree cell phone necessities. Yippee!
Report Post »saltwater
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 2:30pmA thief is a thief is a thief, no matter the reason for stealing.
Report Post »NOBAMA201258
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 5:53pmTRUE Salt you got that right!
Report Post »ONE PERCENT
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 2:30pmOn the bright side, crooks have the lowest unemployment in the nation, although jail time does tend to increase the percentage a bit….
Report Post »CatB
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 1:29pmBeing poor is no excuse .. most of us at some time will be “without funds” .. I know I have been. It is a question of morals .. some people will “steal” whether rich or poor — because they can justifiy it in there sad little heads.
Report Post »nobull14
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 1:14pmIts a shame that people do not follow the 10 commandments !!!!! If we got rid of government telling what should be taught in schools and are life’s we would all be better off.
Report Post »The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 12:53pmIn the store I manage at, on a 10-12K day in sales, we open with 5 people and close with 4…and maybe have 1 mid shift. Today & tomorrow we will do 29-30K each day (based upon on last years numbers) and will have the exact same number of people scheduled. All because our new manager and his 2nd in command are the laziest, useless twits I’ve ever seen. They’ve written the schedules with extra people all week during THEIR shifts so they can stay in the office…and that means 3 people on saturday & 5 people on sunday have to be scheduled off to keep them below 40 hours and earning overtime. In the past it has been “all hands on deck” for xmas eve and xmas…but not with these two…it‘s a shame they will get nice bonus’s in a few months to compensate for their “extra” efforts.
Oh…well…I guess it will be a thieves paradise the next 48 hours there.
Report Post »TXPilot
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 1:03pmYet another example of the selfish OWS attitude that has become the norm in this country. I remember the “good old days”, when people actually expected to have to work to obtain things.
Report Post »thekuligs
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 2:43pmSounds like when I worked retail.
Report Post »Canuck GB Fan
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 5:46pmSounds similar to where I worked till 2 mths ago
Report Post »jcannon98188
Posted on December 25, 2011 at 8:01amMore shoppers + Less Employees to catch me = Where do you work???
Report Post »I mean uhhhhh, stealing is wrong…
:)
Merry Christmas!
scuba13
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 12:34pmHow else can Encinom and Monicne get their Christmas shopping done?
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 1:11pmLOL, good one!
If there is so much theft, how can Christmas be a religious holiday?
Theft and religion are incompatible.
Seems to me, the theft is being done by people who are NOT celebrating a RELIGIOUS holiday, but, rather, a social / sectarian holiday.
RESTORING LOVE , July 26 27 28 , Dallas, TX
Report Post »htttp://www.meetup.com/MercuryOneHQ
Do you GBTV?
Detroit paperboy
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 1:40pmThe Liberal Democrat goal is to get 51 % dependent on GOVERNMENT HANDOJTS, BENEFITS, or EMPLOYMENT OF SOME KIND!!! when this happens, they think they will never lose another election !!!!
Report Post »YepImaConservative
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 12:21pmDamn THIEVES!! I know what I do when I catch a thief, but that’s a story for another time.
Today, I would like to talk about another type of thief and treasonous POS… Bradley Manning, the Army Private who stole government secrets and then provided them to WikiLeaks.
And who has supported Bradley Manning with kind verbage? Well, Ron Paul of course. Paul has even positioned himself further left than the Obama administration regarding this treachery. Further LEFT of the Obama administration you say? Why yes… yes indeed!
I know what I would do with thieves and those that pat them on the back… but that again, is a story for another time, lol. Damn THIEVES!
This has been provided as a public service announcement, ty. Ha!
Report Post »13th Generation American
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 4:26pmwhy does the truth scare you so much?
Report Post »sWampy
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 12:11pmI’d bet 3/4ths of it are inside jobs. I’m always amazed these days, when they have blacks guarding the doors at walmart/target/best buy, and you will notice they search the bags of every white person that walks out, and just wave the blacks with buggies full of unbagged stuff on through.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 12:18pmI worked retail for nearly 17 yrs, 3/4 is actually low.
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on December 25, 2011 at 12:34pmBS…do any of you know how many security people they (WallyWorld) have on the floor nowadays? Do any of you know how many cameras they have?
Report Post »chips1
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 12:02pmIt’s a Flash Mob mentality. But, don’t get caught profiling or you could be in trouble. Holder is making a list and checking it twice.
Report Post »Bluenose177
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 12:01pmas an LP manager I’m taking great joy in sending a shoplifter to jail this festivis season
HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS, I HOPE THE JAIL FOOD SUCKS
Report Post »brother_ed
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 12:00pmJust think how much cheaper things would be if the stores didn’t have to factor in shoplifting loses.
Think how much cheaper are taxes would be if people were self-reliant.
Report Post »brother_ed
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 12:01pm*our
Report Post »cjd16585
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 12:15pmThank you for mentioning this. Every time some dishonest person steals an item from the store it hurts the rest of us.
Report Post »FlowerBell
Posted on December 25, 2011 at 2:21amIt is another form of redistributing wealth. Happening in so many ways it’s having a compound effect for the recipients. The parasitic, entitlement type get the items free thanks to having no moral trigger about stealing, and the working class pay more to make up the difference. It’s the same with health care, insurance, blah, blah, it’s free lawyers for life. A situation made tolerable when money seemed to solve things, but that was then. Scary to be a shop owner now, the very idea of dozens of aggressive flash mob types flooding into your store unexpectedly, while you stand there, a small business owner without an armed guard in sight. It’s a thought paralyzing enough to make you run for the hills.
Report Post »ZAP
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 11:58amYes,get rid of the Bible and commandments.Then live with the consequences.
Report Post »GNothac
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 1:11pmSo true ZAP
Report Post »drhunt
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 11:58amThis is just an extension of the entitlement mentality that is so pervasive in this country. Mob rule will reign supreme, probably this coming Spring. By summer, our inner cities will be a war zone. It’s all been planned by the marionette…
Report Post »netmail
Posted on December 24, 2011 at 1:15pmAnd whether it’s government or business, once more goes out than comes in, and accountants can’t hide it anymore, EVERYTHING is going to fail. Riot gear stores may do real well by this spring. Gear or no gear, like you, I believe major riots are coming in a BIG way next year. And will probably affect outcomes of elections too.
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