Survey: More Shoplifters, Dishonest Employees Are Stealing from U.S. Retailers

  • Jun 18, 2013

Just 23 major retailers apprehended more than 1.1 million shoplifters and dishonest employees and recovered more than $189 million from these thieves in 2012, according to the 25th Annual Retail Theft Survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, a loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm.

“In 2012, shoplifting apprehensions increased 7.4 percent and the recovery dollars from shoplifters increased a amazing 22.7 percent". Dishonest employee apprehensions and recovery dollars also increased in 2012, 5.5 percent and 7.0 percent respectively", said Mark R. Doyle, President of Jack L. Hayes International. "It should be noted that these increases follow similar increases reported the previous year The seriousness of retail theft is a much greater problem than many people realize. These theft losses are stealing profits from retailers and driving retail prices higher for the consumer."

Highlights from thisannual theft survey include:

Participants: 23 large retail companies with 18,900 stores and more than $596 billion in retail sales (2012).

Apprehensions: 1,145,688 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2012, up 7.3 percent from 2011.

  • Recovery Dollars: More than $189 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2012, up 18.1 percent from 2011.
  • Shoplifter Apprehensions: 1,074,593 shoplifters were apprehended in 2012, up 7.4 percent from 2011.
  • Shoplifter Recovery Dollars: Over $138 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters in 2012, an increase of 22.7 percent from 2011. An additional $46.8 million was recovered from shoplifters where no apprehension was made, up a significant 25.2 percent from 2011.
  • Employee Apprehensions: 71,095 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2012, up 5.5 percent from 2011.
  • Employee Recovery Dollars: More than $50 million was recovered from employee apprehensions in 2012, up 7.0 percent from 2011.
  • One out of every 40 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2012. (Based on over 2.8 million employees.)
  • On a per case average, dishonest employees steal approximately 5.5 times the amount stolen by shoplifters ($715.24 vs $129.12.)

For full survey results visit our website at: http://www.hayesinternational.com.

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