Retail Crime is slashing shops' profits according to two of the largest studies ever conducted into retail crime. One of these
studies examined 54,000 shops which account for just under half of all retail sales in Britain, the other studied retail outlets
responsible for over 27% of sales, so no shopkeeper should ignore these results on the basis that, "it isn't relevant to my
business". Survey 1 was the National Survey of Retail Theft and Security and is part of a three-year study. Survey 2 was the Retail
Crime Costs Survey by the British Retail Consortium of which many shopkeepers, both small and large, are members. Some of the facts that
have come out of the surveys make very sombre reading.
- Shrinkage from small retailers (1.91% ) is nearly one third higher than from the large retailers (1.49%)
- One survey found that average shrinkage of 1.6% results in an average loss of profits of 17.8% (See chart for details of your own
retail sector), while the other stated that without the two million crimes suffered by retailers last year profits would have been 25%
higher.
- Over 97% of shrinkage is undetected by retailers at the time of the crime or subsequently.
- For every theft that is detected over 46 go undetected.
- Almost 80% of theft is attributable to customers or staff, with customers accounting for the largest amount.
- Shrinkage is rising dramatically, estimated to having doubled since 1986.
- 14,000 shop staff were attacked last year with 106,000 being threatened with violence.
Average Shrinkage Rates and the consequent loss of profits for your sector of retail sales, according to those shops in the survey,
is shown in this table.
| |
Average Shrinkage (%) |
Shrinkage as proportion of profit (%) |
| CTN's/book shops |
1.91 |
28.75 |
| Clothing and fashion |
1.91 |
27.55 |
| DIY, hardware and car products |
1.86 |
25.70 |
| Department stores |
1.70 |
17.80 |
| Electrical goods |
1.63 |
13.33 |
| Footwear and sports goods |
1.12 |
11.70 |
| Furniture and textiles |
0.75 |
12.90 |
| Grocers and supermarkets |
0.83 |
25.00 |
| Jewellers |
1.53 |
18.20 |
| Pharmacy and drugstores |
2.54 |
15.50 |
| Specialist food etc. |
1.24 |
21.90 |
| Toys, video and music |
2.14 |
21.20 |
| Overall % |
1.62 |
17.78 |
The National Statistics website has
detailed information on crime levels.
|
