09 Dec Tis the season, ye merry retailers, for shoplifting!
As retailers gear up to welcome hordes of holiday shoppers aroung the world, here’s a little something they might keep in mind if they’re in America: one in every 11 people who walk through the door are likely to walk out with at least one item he or she didn’t pay for. The number one shoplifted item this year, according to a top ten list of the most shoplifted goods published by AdWeek, is…
Cho
ice cuts of meat like filet mignon top the list. Since 2009, the loss rate for luxury meat has risen by 21 percent, and it is not too hard to believe if you take into consideration the rising price of beef.
The second most shoplifted item on AdWeek’s list? The Irish whiskey, Jameson. Teens looking for a good time aren’t the only ones to blame for this finding; hard drinkers with little cash are also fingered.
While beef and whiskey are seeing popularity among shoplifters in the US, the same is not true on the global market. The most stolen food in the world, apparently: cheese.
According to a recent survey conducted by the US National Retail Federation, shrinkage — an industry term for retail loss including employee theft, shoplifting, administrative error or vendor fraud — cost the retail industry $37.14 billion last year, with an even higher total expected this year. It is believed that 32.6 percent of that is a result of shoplifting.
The rest of the list:
3. ELECTRIC TOOLS: The “DIY” category is No. 3 globally in terms of shrinkage. According to research conducted by Nottingham University in the U.K., the most common items men steal are electric toothbrushes and power tools. (Statistically there are more male shoplifters than females, and the genders have different theft preferences.) In U.S. home-improvement stores, plug-in tools are the items most likely to walk off.
4. iPHONE4: Electronic gadgetry in general — including video games, smartphones, and laptops — and Apple products in particular disappear in a (digital) flash. According to the AJ Novick Group, 100,000 laptops, for instance, annually walk away from big-box stores.
5. GILLETTE MACH 4: Razor blades really cut it on the resale market, especially Gillette Mach 4s. That’s because the replacement-blade packs retail for around $23 dollars, and lots of whiskered men can’t afford that right now. In bad economic times, you see more basic items stolen. Shaving products account for over 2.7 percent of store inventory losses.
6. AXE: The brand’s deodorants and body washes are some of the most-stolen products year-round.
7. POLO RALPH LAUREN: Designer apparel, with Tommy Hilfiger being another big brand, is a prime target, as it’s always been. “Clothing has been shoplifted since the beginning of shoplifting,” says Rachel Shteir, author of The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting. “My theory has to do with people stealing to transform themselves.” Clothing theft has increased by 31 percent since 2009.
8. LET’S ROCK ELMO: The furry red Muppet’s new product, which tops the Toys”R”Us 2011 “Hot Toys” list, is very likely to get nabbed this year, along with every other item on that roster. The must-have holiday toy has always been ripe for the picking, but that’s especially true now. People won’t be able to provide the same kind of Christmas they’re accustomed to – they can’t afford the hot toy. They can, however, steal it.
9. CHANEL NO. 5: Expensive fragrances now make up close to 4 percent of losses in stores in which they’re sold, according to the 2011 Global Retail Theft Barometer. “Highly desirable and often small in size, [they] can be extremely vulnerable to theft,” the report says.
10. NIKES: Big-name athletic shoes are especially desirable because they appeal to sports and fashion bugs alike. The U.S. Justice Department classifies sneakers as “high risk” merchandise in terms of likely theft. In a crowded store, it’s easy for a shoplifter to show up in flip-flops, try on a pair of Adidas, and bolt out the front door.
Source: Adweek