Opinion | America’s Shoplifting Epidemic

Stroll right into a big-city pharmacy today and also you’ll discover that a lot of the merchandise is in locked plastic circumstances. Dishwasher pods, shaving cream, even shampoo bottles are locked as much as scale back losses from what has turn into a shoplifting epidemic.

Two current experiences present the scope of the stealing. Enterprise.org surveyed some 700 small companies and located that 54% had a rise in shoplifting final 12 months. Twenty-three % stated it occurs day by day. The Nationwide Retail Federation surveyed 61 medium to giant retailers and located that organized retail crime value a mean of greater than $700,000 per $1 billion in gross sales in 2020.