Organized Retail Crime Analysis

Organized retail crime is an industry growing rapidly and affecting retail stores worldwide. Although businessman report lost to their store in many forms, shrinkage accounts for the largest percentage of the loss. Business owners classify loss in a variety of forms such as employee theft, public shoplifting, and inventory mismanagement. While the professional shoplifter is detrimental to any business owner, it is important to understand that shoplifting alone is not the problem. It is important that business owners focus on not just preventing professional shoplifters but also learn their mindset to prevent the likelihood of supporting an organized retail crime organization. The production of an organized crime organization invokes a more pervasive threat to the profitability of a business. In fact, most retail loss prevention personnel feel that most retail businesses fail financially due to their lack of organized retail crime prevention. As the organized retail crime industry grows, the statistical landscape of inventory shrinkage changes significantly. The National Retail Federation published a report in 2017 which states the value of merchandise taken in

Those crimes also include theft and fraud. This is the process by which an individual knowingly purchases stolen property with the intent to resale. The two largest forms or organized retail crime is physical and e-fence operations. Surveys demonstrate that roughly sixty-three percent of retailers have recovered stolen merchandise from their stores in physical spaces such as a flea market, pawn shop, or other pop-up shops. Others have reported to have seen their stolen merchandise listed on online auctions. While organized retail crime organizations affect the United States, nationwide, most surveys indicate that Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago are the top five most targeted places for organized retail