Employee Theft on the Rise, According to Latest Retail Survey

Major retailers lost over $44 billion in thefts by customers and employees according to Jack L. Hayes International’s annual Retail Theft Survey.

Employee Theft on the Rise, According to Latest Retail Survey

Wesley Chapel, Fla. — Jack L. Hayes International, a leading loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm, has released its 29th Annual Retail Theft Survey.

According to the survey, 438,000 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2016 by 23 large retailers who were able to recover over $120 million from the thieves.

“In 2016, dishonest employee apprehensions increased almost 10%, with the dollars recovered from these dishonest employees up nearly the same amount (9.3%). While shoplifting apprehensions and the dollars recovered from these shoplifters decreased ever so slightly, 0.2% and 0.9% respectively”, says Mark R. Doyle, president of Jack L. Hayes International.

According to the survey, one out of every 27 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2016. The total number, 53,786, is an almost 10% increase compared to last year.

Over $42 million was recovered from dishonest employees in 2016, up 9.3% from 2015.

Survey participants apprehended 384,296 shoplifters in 2016, a slight decrease of 0.2% from the prior year. The average shoplifting case value in 2016 was $203.18, a slight decrease from 2015 when the value was $204.57.

Theft Survey Highlights

  • Participants: 23 large retail companies with 16,038 stores and over $370 billion in retail sales (2016).
  • Apprehensions: 438,082 shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2016, up 1.0% from 2015.
  • Recovery Dollars: Over $120 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2016, up 2.5% from 2015.
  • Shoplifter Apprehensions: 384,296 shoplifters were apprehended in 2016, down up 0.2% from 2015.
  • Shoplifter Recovery Dollars: Over $78 million was recovered from apprehended shoplifters in 2016, a decrease of 0.9% from 2015. An additional $163 million was recovered from non-apprehended shoplifters.
  • Employee Apprehensions: 53,786 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2016, up 9.9% from 2015.
  • Employee Recovery Dollars: Over $42 million was recovered from employee apprehensions in 2016, up 9.3% from 2015.
  • One out of every 27 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2016. (Based on over 1.4 million employees.)
  • Shrink: 56.5% of survey participants reported an increase in shrink in 2016, with 21.7% reporting a decrease in shrink, and another 21.7% reported shrink stayed about the same.

Looking to get into the retail security vertical or just boost sales? Read this feature by expert Al Columbo to learn how.

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Steven A. Karantzoulidis is the Web Editor for Security Sales & Integration. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Communication and has a background in Film, A/V and Social Media.

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One response to “Employee Theft on the Rise, According to Latest Retail Survey”

  1. Nicolas says:

    With employee theft on the rise, I think it would be helpful to share this list of retail security conferences for 2017 that my company put together.

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