Released by the British Retail Consortium the figures defy a wider trend of falling crime and the attention of an increasingly sophisticated network of surveillance cameras and other security technologies deployed by retailers.
The most frequently stolen items were electrical goods, designer clothes, power tools, alcohol and cosmetics.
The last time crime cost UK retailers so much was a decade ago, when shops still largely relied on analogue cameras with grainier footage. High definition hadn’t even reached our TV screens, let alone CCTV cameras, so technological deterrents have arguably become greater.
Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC, said survey respondents reported a rise in the use of specialist equipment such as de-taggers and foil-lined bags to sidestep security measures and avoid detection. Some 40% of retail crime is attributed to criminal gangs, who often work together in groups, while shoplifting accounts for 81% of retail crime by volume.
“Theft, a crime which has always affected retailers, continues to have a huge impact on the sector,” says Dickinson. “This year’s survey has recorded the highest average value of customer theft in a decade.
“This reinforces the trend identified last year, which suggests that stores are increasingly the target for theft by organised, sophisticated groups.”
The insider threat is a major source of theft, with the victim’s employees accounting for 6% of the overall figure. The cost of retail fraud also rose, growing by 12% and accounting for nearly 40% of the total as shops’ virtual shop fronts become increasingly enticing targets for criminals.
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