20/10/11
By Karen Moss
Shoplifting, fraud, organised retail crime and administrative errors have cost the British High Street an estimated £4.9 billion in the last year, one of the highest figures ever recorded for the UK by The Global Retail Theft Barometer.
The study, conducted by the centre for retail research and published by Checkpoint Systems, shows that the total amount lost by British retailers from theft, fraud and error – evaluated as a percentage of sales – has increased by 6.2 per cent in the last 12 months.
Whilst customer theft is estimated at 43.8 per cent of total loss, theft by UK employees was also a major factor. In addition, internal error and loss from suppliers and vendors accounted for 16.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent of the total figure.
Neil Matthews, Vice President, Northern, Central and Eastern Europe at Checkpoint Systems, explained: “The fact that retail loss has increased so significantly should certainly not be taken lightly. It’s extremely worrying that the actions of some people can end up affecting innocent families financially, which is a cost the majority of people can ill-afford in this tough economic climate.”
Clothing and apparel, reported the highest losses at 1.86 per cent of sales. Within this category, accessories, outerwear and tailored clothing came in at the top, accounting for 3.72, 2.82 and 2.4 per cent respectively, of total retail losses.
Natural and speciality foods also reported high levels of loss as did cheese (3.9 per cent) which experienced more than double the global amount lost of 1.29 per cent. Meanwhile in other high-risk categories – health and beauty – loss of items such as mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow increased to 2.37 per cent.
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