Shoplifting news and archive

UK retailers call for widespread adoption of Scottish retail protection laws

Following a significant uptick in retail theft and crime, UK retailers are now calling on the rest of the region to more widely adopt laws to protect retail workers akin to those that have already been put into place in Scotland. The Protection of Workers Act was brought into force by Daniel Johnson, of Scottish Labour, and created a new...

Retail

New York City to crack down on retail theft through new task force

A new task force launched by Mayor Eric Adams is looking to tackle the rising issue of retail theft across New York City after reported cases of shoplifting rose 44 percent between 2021 and 2022. The task force, made up of elected officials and led by deputy mayor for public safety Philip Banks III, will advise the Adams administration on...

Retail

UK Police to unveil “zero-tolerance” shoplifting plan

Ministers, law enforcement, and retailers are collaborating to implement a robust "zero-tolerance" strategy targeting the pervasive issue of shoplifting. Law enforcement authorities, in a summit at Downing Street, will outline their plan to combat shoplifting, which occurs over 1,000 times daily. Retail industry leaders have criticized the...

Retail

Is the retail industry entering a pandemic of shoplifting?

Retail sales in September declined by 0.9 percent, while shoplifting incidents surged, with reported offenses spiking by 25 percent in the past year, totaling eight million incidents. The British Retail Consortium reported losses amounting to 1 billion pounds due to this trend. Over the year leading to June, the police recorded 365,164...

RetailFeatured

Project Pegasus: John Lewis and Next among those joining crackdown on shoplifting

As the UK continues to battle on through its cost-of-living crisis, an increasingly prominent offset of the financial crunch has become front of mind for many retailers in the region. Shoplifting and retail theft is up 27 percent across 10 of the largest cities in the UK, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which had been calling...

BusinessPartner Content

Shoplifting during the global pandemic

The ongoing global pandemic has heavily impacted the retail industry. Following months of lockdown measures, social-distancing rules and new working regulations, many retailers continue to struggle to come to terms with the "new normal." Several studies have predicted that the effect of COVID-19 on the retail industry will be worse than the...

Retail

Nation of shoplifters as shoplifting increases in the UK

London - Trading conditions are not getting any easier for retailers across the UK. Facing increasing competition from international rivals, discounters, and shifting consumer shopping habits retailers have another growing concern - shoplifting. Although the concept in itself is nothing new, a new survey from OnBuy.com, online marketplace, has...

Retail

Leather jackets most at risk of being nicked this Christmas

London - While different reports indicated that UK retailers could be in a bumper Christmas, retailers would be wise to keep a sharp eye out for the festive shoplifter as up to 1 billion pounds worth of products is set to be nicked during the Christmas shopping season. A new report from Checkpoint, merchandise availability solutions, predicts...

Business

'Shoplifting is one of the most invisible, underreported and costly to society' warns Labour MP

"Of all property crimes, shoplifting is one of the most invisible, underreported and costly to society," warns Labour MP for Tottenham and London Mayoral candidate David Lammy in a report released by influential think-tank Policy Exchange. In the report, entitled "Taking its toll: the regressive impact of property crime in Britain," Lammy...

RetailFeatured

Global theft costs retailers 128 billion dollars

A report that shows the global cost of shrinkage for retailers, comprising of shoplifting, employee or supplier fraud and administrative errors, has shown a loss of 128 billion dollars. The study, called the Global Retail Theft Barometer provides data to help retailers around the world benchmark their performance against averages for specific...

Design

Shoplifting at four year high

UK shoplifting is at a four year high, according to the latest figures. The problem is especially severe in the Midlands, where a 20 percent rise in retail theft rose tp 15,800 cases. Theft in stores across the UK rose to 6 percent last year to 315,000. In London, theft figures dipped 1 percent but shoplifting was also on the rise in the rest of...

Fashion

Retail crimes cost retailers £4.9bn

Fashion businesses suffering during economic downturn is a well-known news topic, however retailer's losses are also greatly affected by shoplifting, fraud, organised retail crime and administrative errors, all of which cost the UK high street an estimated £4.9 billion over the past 12 months, according to new figures. The total amount of retail...