A case study on retail crime, by the National Retail Association
Did you know that retail crime, such as shoplifting, robbery and vandalism, costs Australian businesses up to $9 billion each year?
Retail crime costs us all. Every single incident erodes profitability for business, increases the cost of goods to consumers, endangers frontline staff while also wasting their time, and ultimately reduces the appeal of our retail precincts to customers.
But it’s estimated that less than 20% of retail crimes are reported to Police.
Why? Many retailers indicate that they do not report all retail crime for many reasons including the amount of paperwork involved, the time and staff wasted in administrative tasks, and because they perceive a low likelihood of achieving recompense. However, this means the amount of information received by the police about retail crimes is a mere fraction of what is actually occurring in the community.
Similarly, the amount of information that retailers are receiving about retail crime is a fraction of what it could be. If retailers could be better informed about serious repeat offenders in their geographic location, or about local crime and trends, they could take more targeted actions to help themselves and prevent or reduce crime in their own businesses.
In order to better assist retailers, the National Retail Association has prepared the following case study on retail crime on Brisbane’s city retail precinct. The data was drawn from Queensland Police crime data, retailer contributions and further research.
DOWNLOAD REPORT