Shrink is still a major issue in North America
North American retail brands need to be sure they have some sort of anti-shrink and theft plan in place. Globally, shrinkage cost retailers $119.1 billion in 2012 – approximately 1.45 percent of total retail sales, according to new data collected by the Center for Retail Research.
Shrink remains the biggest threat to merchants in North America and Europe. Theft was up a total of 6.6 percent in 2011, an increase CRR believes stems from the still-struggling global economy. Customer theft, ranging from shoplifting to organized retail crime, accounts for the majority of shrinkage at 43.2 percent worldwide. Employee theft, however, was a big issue in North America, making up 44.1 percent of shrink – even greater than shoplifting.
"Internal error and administrative failure, such as pricing, process, or accounting mistakes, accounted for 16.2 percent of total shrinkage, compared with 16.9 in 2010 and 16.4 in 2009. Suppliers/vendor fraud accounted for 5.6 percent of total shrinkage, compared with 5.4 in 2010 and 5.6 in 2009," the research notes.
Given the slow post-holiday time frame, now may be the ideal time to develop new anti-theft policies to help curb shrink.
