Jack L. Hayes International, Inc. released the results of their 34th Annual Retail Theft Survey, which reports on over 200,000 shoplifters and dishonest employee apprehensions in 2021 by just 25 large retailers, who recovered over $240 million from these thieves.

Highlights from the annual theft survey include:

• Participants: 25 large retail companies with 22,751 stores and over $650 billion in retail sales in 2021.
• Apprehensions: Participants apprehended 204,404 shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2021, down 12.8% from 2020.
• Recovery Dollars: Participants recovered over $240 million from apprehended shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2021, up 9.9%.
• Shoplifters: 166,745 shoplifters were apprehended in 2021, down 16.2%; and over $196 million was recovered from these shoplifters, up 6.1%.
• Dishonest Employees: 37,659 employees were apprehended in 2021, up 6.0%; and over $44 million was recovered from these employees in 2021, up 29.9%.
• Case Averages:
• Total Thefts: $1,180.39, up 26.0% in 2021
• Shoplifters: $1,178.57, up 26.6% in 2021
• Employees: $1,188.46, up 22.6% in 2021

SURVEY PARTICIPANTS

• 25 Large Retail Companies (Dept Stores, Mass Merchant/Big Box, Specialty Apparel, Supermarket/Grocery)
• 22,751 Stores (representing an excellent cross-section of the United States)
• $656,770,024,164 in Annual Retail Sales (2021)

(Note: 2020 results impacted by store closures during Covid-19 pandemic.)

EMPLOYEE THEFT

Employee theft is perceived by some to be the most severe problem facing industry today. Many people often think of theft and abuse in companies as being isolated acts, which in themselves cost an organization little. which is not true. It is also not true that most employees are caught stealing inexpensive items such as ‘pens, pencils, and paper-clips’ from their employers. Over the years, Hayes International has witnessed a steady and significant rise in this serious problem. Each year thousands of employees are caught stealing from their employers and co-workers. Furthermore, studies reflect that this group of thieves are being caught stealing far more than a few insignificant supplies.

Below are a few highlights of the most recent survey:

• Apprehensions: Survey participants apprehended 37,659 dishonest employees in 2021, up 6.0% from 2020.
• Recoveries: Dollars recovered from dishonest employee apprehensions totaled over $44 million in 2021, up a substantial 29.8% from 2020.
• Case Value: The average dishonest employee case value in 2021 was $1,188.46, an increase of 22.6% from 2020.

JOB APPLICANT ADMISSIONS

To further evaluate the severity of employee theft, Hayes International analyzed over 19,000 randomly selected Applicant Review questionnaires (pre-employment ‘honesty tests’) given to retail job applicants nationwide.

Of these 19,165 job applicants, 12,283 (64.1%) were rated as “low risk,” and 3,700 (19.3%) were rated as “high risk” due to their admissions of previous wrongdoings and their attitudes regarding honest and dishonest behavior. (Note: The remaining 3,182 applicants (16.6%) were rated as “moderate risk.”) When comparing the admissions of “high risk” and “low risk” job applicants, it becomes obvious why some applicants are considered a hiring risk and others are not. For example, listed below are various items on the Applicant Review questionnaire and the percent of high and low risk applicants admitting to each.

Previous theft admissions for the group of 3,700 “high risk” job applicants totaled $256,050, or $69.20 per applicant, while the admissions for the group of 12,283 “low risk” job applicants totaled $71,930, or $5.86 per applicant. It is generally estimated the correct dollar amount for stolen money and merchandise is approximately 10 times the admitted amount. Therefore, based upon admissions made on The Applicant Review questionnaire, the average “high risk” job applicant was responsible for the theft of $692.03, compared to $58.56 for the average “low risk” job applicant.

SHOPLIFTING

For the past several years Loss Prevention professionals have rated shoplifting as their #1 shrink issue. Reasons cited for the increase in shoplifting include: increased organized retail crime (ORC) activity; legislation raising felony threshold levels; more “hit n run”/fleeing shoplifters; less staff on sales floor creating more opportunities for shoplifters; and thieves view shoplifting as a high reward, low-risk endeavor. 

Over the years, Hayes International has witnessed a steady and significant rise in shoplifting. Billions of dollars are stolen every year by shoplifters, negatively impacting retailers’ bottom-line profits, resulting in higher consumer prices.

• Total retail losses are approximately $50.6 billion annually (based on a University of Florida survey)
• Shoplifting is conservatively estimated to account for 30% – 40% of total retail shrink/losses. (Both University of Florida and Hayes International surveys)
• Average shoplifting case for all types of retail is approximately $50.00 (Based upon data taken from various surveys)

Therefore, Hayes International estimates the following number of theft incidents and dollars lost to shoplifters:

SHOPLIFTING APPREHENSIONS SURVEY

Hayes International’s 34th Annual Retail Theft Survey reports on over 166,000 shoplifting apprehensions in 25 large retail companies representing 22,751 stores with combined 2021 annual sales in excess of $650 billion.

Some shoplifter-related highlights from this survey are:

• Apprehensions: Survey participants apprehended 166,745 shoplifters in 2021, a decrease of 16.2% from the prior year.
• Recoveries: Dollars recovered from shoplifting apprehensions totaled over $196 million in 2021, up 6.1% from 2020.
• Recoveries (no apprehension): Dollars recovered from shoplifters where no apprehension was made (over $339 million) increased an amazing 51.1% in 2021.
• Case Value: The average shoplifting case value in 2021 was $1,178.57, reflecting an increase of 26.6% from 2020.