New York: Sophisticated technology, fewer staff at stores and more gang activity are all contributing to more US stores being hit by organised crime, according to a survey by an industry group.
Of 129 retailers, primarily national store chains, surveyed this spring by the National Retail Federation, 94.5 per cent said they were victimised by organised criminals in the past year. And 84.8 per cent said the problem has only worsened in the past three years.
The NRF said cutbacks of security employees, the desire for low prices by consumers and the ease of selling stolen goods online or at pawn shops all contributed to the problem. NRF members range from Macy's Inc to mom-and-pop shops.
"Shoppers are conditioned to look for a deal," a senior NRF advisor, Joe LaRocca, said. LaRocca said consumers do not actively seek stolen goods, but the appetite for low prices has spurred demand.
"Thieves are looking for highly desirable, easily resold items," he said.
In contrast to shoplifting, organised crime involves people conspiring to steal merchandise, often between distribution centres and stores, and reselling rather than keeping items for their own use.
Targeted items
The survey found that targeted items range from jeans by Levi Strauss and Sony Playstation 3 Consoles to medication.
Shoplifting and theft cost retailers 1.6 per cent of sales, or $32 billion in 2009, the last year for which data is available, the NRF said. That does not include the damage from hits on cargo, or merchandise that has not yet reached stores.
The NRF's annual survey included questions about cargo theft for the first time and found that just under half of retailers, 49.6 per cent, had been struck by this kind of theft. Criminals are also growing more violent when caught by store employees. Some 13 per cent of in-store apprehensions lead to violence such as assault, the survey found.
The NRF's seventh annual survey was conducted between April 19 and May 10 and was answered by senior loss prevention executives.
