Retail theft and violence have become major concerns for retailers across the United States. The 2024 report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) highlights alarming trends, including the rise of organized retail crime (ORC), increased aggressiveness from offenders, and the high financial and operational cost to businesses. Here’s what you need to know — and what retailers are doing about it.
Retail Theft Is Evolving and Accelerating
What was once seen as opportunistic shoplifting has now become far more coordinated and violent. According to the NRF, shoplifting incidents increased by 93% from 2019 to 2023, with ORC-related activity growing by 57% in just the past year. These crimes are no longer isolated or driven by necessity — many are orchestrated operations involving multiple individuals working to steal high-value items for resale.
Today’s shoplifters are more brazen, more violent, and more difficult to stop. 76% of surveyed retailers say organized retail crime is their top concern, while over 90% report higher levels of violence compared to pre-pandemic years.
The Real Cost of Protecting Products
To combat these threats, retailers have been forced to implement a range of security measures. These include locking up merchandise, hiring more uniformed security, reducing store hours, or even closing locations in high-risk areas. Unfortunately, 76% of retailers say these security upgrades negatively affect the customer experience, making it harder to shop freely.
Retailers are also investing heavily in loss prevention technology. From RFID inventory tracking and digital identification to item-level tagging and electronic article surveillance (EAS), the approach is multi-layered. Despite these measures, 93% of retailers struggle to retain staff in regions with high theft-related violence, further complicating store operations.
Organized Retail Crime and Its Wider Impact
Organized retail crime is no longer limited to physical theft. Criminal networks now exploit ecommerce platforms, supply chains, and return policies to execute fraud at scale. NRF’s findings suggest that ORC rings often use “boosters” — individuals paid to steal large quantities of merchandise — which are then repackaged and resold through various channels.
The top ten U.S. cities affected by ORC include Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Houston. However, the issue is nationwide, and nearly 94% of retailers believe federal legislation is necessary to combat these crimes effectively.
A Call for Collaboration
Retailers alone cannot solve this crisis. The NRF emphasizes a whole-community approach involving lawmakers, law enforcement, retail staff, and even consumers. Reporting crimes, sharing data, and creating tougher laws are all crucial to making retail environments safer.
If left unchecked, rising retail crime threatens not only store profits but also the jobs, services, and goods that support entire communities. It’s time for a united front to safeguard the future of retail.