Shoplifters and dishonest employees stole more than $7.0 billion in 2010 from just 23 major retailers, according to the 23rd Annual Retail Theft Survey by Jack L. Hayes International, the leading loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm. These 23 surveyed retailers apprehended over 1 million shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2010 and recovered more than $148 million from these thieves.

"For the first time in over 10 years, total shoplifter and dishonest employee apprehensions, and the dollars recovered from those apprehensions all declined from the previous year", said Mark R. Doyle, President of Jack L. Hayes International. "While surveyed retailers made almost a million shoplifting apprehensions, apprehended over 69,000 dishonest employees, and recovered over $148 million from these thieves in 2010, these numbers are all down slightly from the previous year. It appears the economy, fewer store employees, and less Loss Prevention staffing all played a role in these results." Mr. Doyle added, "Both shoplifting and employee theft continue to plague the retail industry, which results in higher prices to the consumer and can force companies to close unprofitable stores."

Highlights from the survey include:

  • Participants: 23 large retail companies with 19,104 stores and over $632 billion in retail sales (2010).
  • Apprehensions: 1,029,276 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2010, down 3.8% from 2009.
  • Recovery Dollars: Over $148 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2010, down 7.3% from 2009.
  • Shoplifter Apprehensions: 959,903 shoplifters were apprehended in 2010, down 4.1% from 2009.
  • Shoplifter Recovery Dollars: More than $104 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters in 2010, a decline 4.7% from 2009. An additional $33 million was recovered in 2010 from shoplifters where no apprehension was made, up a substantial 16.4% from 2009.
  • Employee Apprehensions: 69,373 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2010, down 0.4% from 2009.
  • Employee Recovery Dollars: More than $44 million was recovered from employee apprehensions in 2010, down 12.7% from 2009.
  • On a per company basis, one in every 33.2 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2010. (Based on more than 2.8 million employees.)
  • On a per case average, dishonest employees steal 5.9 times the amount stolen by shoplifters ($639.99 vs $108.46).