Retail Theft (Shoplifting) Statistics

Recent research from Capital One Shopping reveals troubling statistics on retail theft. In 2023, stores lost an astounding $121.6 billion to theft, and projections indicate these losses could exceed $150 billion by 2026. Shoplifting increased by 19.4% in 2022, with organized retail crime and cargo theft making up 58% of these incidents. External theft, including shoplifting, represents the largest share of losses at 37%. Notably, the average shoplifting incident cost retailers $461.86, and stores only catch shoplifters about 2% of the time.

The report also highlights the significant impact of return fraud, which cost retailers $84.9 billion in 2022. In total, retailers lost $112.1 billion in gross revenue to theft that year. Organized retail crime has surged, with a 26.5% increase in incidents from 2020 to 2021. Additionally, 74.1% of retailers reported increases in external theft over the past five years. These insights underscore the critical need for retailers to implement advanced loss prevention strategies to protect their revenue.

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