Retail Theft and Inventory Shrinkage

Nalinrach SuksathapornPereya SuviwattanachaiSithiphon Suwanboriban

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPDqOmHY20o

Retail Theft• Employee theft

• Shoplifting

• Vendor fraud

• Administrative error

Statistics• 2002 Losing $31 Billion to Theft

Source - National Retail Security Survey

• 1.7% of their total annual sales

• Last year - Losing $40.5 billion to TheftSource: University of Florida

Where Inventory Shrinkage Happens

Where Inventory Shrinkage Happens

 

Source of Inventory Shrinkage % of Loss* $ Lost

 

Employee Theft 48.50% $15.1 billion

Shoplifting 31.70% $9.7 billion

Administrative Error 15.30% $4.8 billion

Vendor Fraud 5.40% $1.7 billion

Total Inventory Shrinkage  $31.3 billion

*total not equal to 100% due to rounding

What's the Harm? • Impacts everyone especially Consumers

• Average family of four : > $440 this year in higher prices because of inventory theft

• Theft’s Target: hot selling items on the holiday shopping season

Source: University of Florida criminologist Richard C. Hollinger, Ph.D.

Stopping Retail Theft

• point-of-sale systems:– detect potential theft problems at the cash

register– alert appropriate personnel in real-time – can be tied to digital video recorders

Stopping Retail Theft

• Source tagging programs:

- tiny anti-theft labels are placed inside an actual product

• Self-alarming anti-theft tags:

- broadcast an audible alarm throughout the store

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT3sz2p7oUg

References• Retail Theft and Inventory Shrinkage. <

http://retailindustry.about.com/od/statistics_loss_prevention/l/aa021126a.htm>.