A nationwide retail theft epidemic cost the United States close to $100 billion in 2021. Stores are being forced to raise prices or shut up shop, insurers are refusing to help, and smaller mom and pop stores are being left behind. In this series, Mayhem on Main Street, the Washington Examiner will investigate the causes behind the scourge of shoplifting, the role of the cartels, the cost to stores big and small, and the complicity of lax prosecutors. Part three will focus on the economic impact.
The crime wave has hit both run-of-the-mill retailers and luxury stores alike, and while some might claim that the individual thefts have a minimal economic footprint, taken together, the numbers involved are eye-popping. “It is growing. We’re seeing a lot of open and brazen acts — I’ve been at this for over three decades, and shoplifting and professional shoplifting is not new, but in past decades, it’s always been seen as more of an invisible crime,” David Johnston, the National Retail Federation’s vice president of asset protection and retail operations, told the Washington Examiner.
“Now we’re starting to see these large, open, brazen acts of shoplifting, which are causing more violence and threatening the safety and security of the consumer as well as the employee,” Johnston said.During a company earnings call this year, Target CEO Brian Cornell addressed how retail theft not only hurts the company but also is a threat to general safety.
“It absolutely does impact everyone,” Johnston said, pushing back against the assertion from some that retail theft is a victimless crime.