James Kehoe, Walgreen’s global Chief Financial Officer, told investors they might have cried too much over the shoplifting cases in 2022. But, then, viral videos of brazen shoplifting on the internet triggered retailers to raise concerns over shoplifting. As a result, in 2021, Walgreens shut its five stores in San Francisco in a dispute regarding shoplifting thefts.
James Kehoe told his investors that shoplifting had caused the company to lose its inventory and face a 52% shrink. He terms shoplifting an ‘organized crime’. Kehoe expressed his joy over the decrease in shrink rate from 2.6% to 2.5%, which was 3.5% in 2022. He also said that beefing up their investment to increase security for the store went in vain, and they are further looking to seek help from the law enforcement team.
“The shrink remained the same throughout five years with very little or no change across the retail industry,” says National Retail Federation. According to the NRFs survey, the median percentage of retail shrink was at 1.2% in 2021, which was the same in 2016. In addition to this, almost 70.7% of retailers have prioritized and shown concerns over shoplifting and organized store crimes.
The NRFs data indicates a much higher value of percentage, i.e., 37% shrink, and the retailers report a 26.5% increase in store crimes. The retailing industry lost a whopping amount of $94.5 billion in 2021, according to NRFs report. Keeping Walgreens aside, every other retail store continues its splenetic emotion over shoplifting crimes.
In a CNBC interview, WallMart CEO Mr. Doug McMillon said, “shoplifting cases have reached their highest ever count in history, and if it continues, shops need to be closed or the prices might get hiked.
President Joe Biden signed a bill forced by some big retail investors last month, which is largely considered the government funding bill. The bill is to curb shoplifting thefts by verifying large volume sellers as there is a chance for them to sell stolen goods.
