WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla., May 5, 2020 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Jack L. Hayes International, Inc. released today the results of their 32nd Annual Retail Theft Survey which reports on over 348,000 shoplifters and dishonest employee apprehensions in 2019 by just 21 large retailers, who recovered over $136 million from these thieves.
“Two-thirds of retailers participating in this survey reported an increase in shrink in 2019, which is reflected in their reported apprehensions and recovery dollars. Overall apprehensions increased 2.4% and recovery dollars from those apprehensions were up 4.9%. Shoplifting apprehensions and recover dollars increased 3.0% and 3.5% respectively, with recovery dollars from shoplifting incidents without an apprehension increasing by 11.0% (to $176 million) over the prior year,” said Mark R. Doyle, President of Jack L. Hayes International, Inc.
Mr. Doyle added, “While employee theft apprehensions were down 2.9%, the recovery dollars from those apprehensions increased 7.8%. Overall, retail theft continues to be a serious problem for retailers negatively impacting their bottom-line, and creating more out-of-stocks and higher prices to the consumer.”
Highlights from this highly anticipated annual theft survey include:
- Participants: 21 large retail companies with 18,994 stores and over $510 billion in retail sales (2019).
- Shrink: 66.7% of survey participants reported an increase in shrink in 2019, with 23.8% reporting a decrease in shrink, and another 9.5% reported shrink stayed about the same.
- Apprehensions: 348,036 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2019, up 2.4% from 2018.
- Recovery Dollars: Over $136 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2019, up 4.9% from 2018.
- Shoplifter Apprehensions: 315,095 shoplifters were apprehended in 2019, up 3.0% from 2018.
- Shoplifter Recovery Dollars: Over $90 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters in 2019, an increase of 3.5% from 2018.
- Employee Apprehensions: 32,941 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2019, down 2.9% from 2018.
- Employee Recovery Dollars: Over $45 million was recovered from employee apprehensions in 2019, up 7.8% from 2018.
Full survey results and some thoughts behind the numbers are available at: http://hayesinternational.com/news/annual-retail-theft-survey/.
About Jack L. Hayes International
Jack L. Hayes International, Inc. is a leading loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm, and for over 40 years has provided a wide spectrum of Asset Protection, Inventory Shrinkage Control, Loss Prevention, Safety, and Security related services to every facet of industry including retail, manufacturing and industrial organizations.
News Source: Jack L. Hayes International Inc.