Why Retailers Are Spending Billions On Anti-Theft Technology
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2024
- According to the National Retail Federation, retail shrink reached $94.5 billion in 2021, as compared to $90.8 billion in 2020. Shrink refers to inventory losses due to theft, unknown loss and administrative error. Retailers have characterized retail crime as an "epidemic," and the issue has prompted some of the nation's biggest companies, like Target, Home Depot and CVS, to invest billions in loss prevention and asset protection, including corporate investigators and security professionals. On the other side of the table, criminologists and criminal justice advocates worry that the story is not as straightforward as retailers and their advocacy groups are suggesting. Looking deeper, critics point out that not only is shrink difficult to track accurately, the methodology used in data gathering as it relates to retail theft is inconsistent.
Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
02:19 - Retail crime on the rise
07:02 - The data debate
15:28 - Legislation and law enforcement
Produced by: Jade Tungul
Senior Managing Producer: Tala Hadavi
Editorial Support by: Gabrielle Fonrouge
Graphics: Jason Reginato, Jade Tungul
Additional sources: Retail Industry Leaders of America, National Retail Federation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Home Depot, Lowe’s
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Why Retailers Are Spending Billions On Anti-Theft Technology
So obnoxious to buy things that get locked. Then I have to find an employee to open it. That employee never has the key and needs to find the other employee that holds the keys.
Exactly. It's so annoying. Makes me not even want to buy anything.
Yeah but now in days we can get ship to our door in a day or less
When what I want is locked, I go home and order online.
I won't fool around waiting for someone to unlock something.
They lose twice.
Was at home depot had to wait on 2 workers just to get a drill.. they then escorted me to the front to pay.
@@thatoneguy94512 Yeah, no. I'm not doing that. I'll order what ever is locked on line and have it delivered. 100 bucks means more to them than it does me.
As someone who has worked for multiple retailers for the last 30 years I see things now that i couldn't have imagined happening when I started. The thieves know there will be no consequences for their actions. Staples and Lowes for example, will fire you for even appearing to do something as you could get hurt and sue. They tell us it's for our safety but they wont let you call the cops either as it would "look bad for customers" and they don't want the lawsuits. The retailers must bear some of the blame for where this is going.
back ones are to blame you can see it in every camera
I partially blame the insane legal maneuvering that goes on these days. Any sniff of "harassment" and the lawyers come running. Uh, no. Let's say you were observed by 2 employees and we've you on three different cameras trying to wheel out a cart of $500 worth of stuff without paying? An employee told you to leave or go back in and pay, and you're gonna sue? I just don't get it. I really don't.
When did we--in a broader, societal sense--go from thinking "You don't steal because it's wrong." to "As long as you're not caught, it's not wrong."?
I've been asking that question for 20 years. I have yet to get many answers.
Edit: spelling
@@tallyp.7643 We need stronger laws against crime. I understand that laws where change to give people a chance and to see if society could be better off this way but it's not working, and it's only hurting honest hard-working people.
@@tallyp.7643 certain areas and at certain times of year are more prone to retail shop lifting. I have been a long time customer of Costco and have shopped at many of their stores.. and there was at least one store that would beef up security with trained security guards at the exit of the store.. on top of the security measures they have of only allowing members to come in and having every customer check in with a staff person with their receipt and cart of things purchased at the exit and be checked off that you have paid for everything on your receipt. And they do have cameras along with knowing who bought what. One day i went into a costco to return a laptop. the staff person made an error and indicated i had returned a different laptop.. and not the one i actually returned. I didn't catch that they had done that untill later when i was looking at my receipt i notice the return dollar amount was not what i expected. the management was able to go back through security video to that time when i made the return and could affirm by seeing the laptop and the box.. the item i returned and was able to fix the issue for me so that their records shows the correct item i returned and provide me with the difference in the amount for the return. I have a sense Amazon and Costco and Walmart are going to be the trailblaizers in terms or creating and utilizing more tech to make for a better customer shopping experience along with a lowere retailer and profitable business experience for them. And we may see this technology trickle down to smaller stores
As someone who currently works as AP, I agree
I went to Walmart the other day and all the pregnancy tests and condoms were locked up. I was just amazed. The theft must be so bad for them to do that. But at the same time, those are exactly the items I doubt anyone wants to have to ask an employee to help them get so I bet more customers will be going online.
Yep!
@@blueprada Good grief!
well, what happens if they are all stolen and resold? boom your logic destroyed, and stolen items are never retail priced unless you want to be under suspicion
Condoms are free at colleges and planned parenthood. The shoplifters need to be sterilized anyways.
They generally just lock up the small expensive items because they're easy to steal in bulk and resell for a high margin. You won't see watermelons locked away anytime soon, but how many condoms can you throw in a hoodie pocket and walk out with at whatever ridiculous price they cost these days
One thing not discussed - or even mentioned - is the fact that large retailers generally have far fewer employees on the sales floor, leaving more opportunities for theft wide open.
You can thank the District Attorneys.
No amount of retail employees will stop theft. At Home Depot you’re not even allowed to defend yourself or other or you’ll be fired. A target employee also cannot get paid enough to endanger their safety over merchandise.
@@ganymedehedgehog371 Having worked in retail I know what you mean about being "not even allowed to defend yourself or other." It's understandable, because getting employees hurt or killed over a $5 theft (or even a $500 theft) isn't good for a business's image. That said, people are far less likely to try to steal something if there is a salesperson near them.
@@baddoomguy1986 Okay, I'm interested. How?
@@ProgressiveSolutions in San Francisco they steal in front of employees. They know the DA will not prosecute anything under $900 and store employees will not endanger their lives or risk damaging the brand image and get fired for it so they don’t do anything. One time a person got in with their bicycles and put bunch of things in their backpacks and while leaving, the security guy grabbed the bag and shook it to drop stolen goods. A liberal Karen started yelling at the store employee not to harass the shoplifter. There is no hope for this city!
My heart goes out to all the mom and pop shops trying to make payroll
@Rafael Dejesus if you force local businesses to lose money, how long do you expect them to stick around?
Personally, I hate loosing money, I would bail
@Rafael Dejesus long live Amazon 😉
Theft is higher in big cities than in smaller ones, in general. Another reason to eschew massive accumulations of human waste.
@@rafaeldejesus8199 it is not capitalism at all. It is theft
@Rafael Dejesus get back to your 9-5 and put on a shirt ya dingus
I want to a store the other day where you had to get something out of a locked plexiglass. The clerk took it out about 5 items and handed to the customer and the guy ran out the door with it. What a great idea. No one in store will stop the thief because of liability issues.
They won't stop shoplifters because the company they work for has made it known that they are absolutely disposable and doesnt like paying a living wage.
who wants to get stabbed trying to protect a billion dollar company that pays you $7/hr ?
@@ehrenloudermilk1053 I agree, that’s why it important to start investing by buying income producing assets.
@@ehrenloudermilk1053 I watched someone walk out of Best Buy this past weekend and set off the alarm. They were walking out from an area not remotely close to checkout. The loss prevention employee didn't even look over at the person. If I was paid that little and treated that poorly, as Best Buy is well known for, I wouldn't care either. Can't blame the employee at all.
All these started with George Floyd Lootings of 2020 .. The democratic party is responsible for crime waves after sanctioning looting and lawlessness....The democrats have also sought to defund the police or weaken law enforcement,,,,,,DEFUND MOVEMENT AND SOFT ON CRIME POLICY OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST PARTY OF UNITED STATES
As someone who worked retail…this I also a problem they created. They never took it seriously when reported that people were stealing I was even told by a loss prevention individual that they looked at the employees more than they looked at the actual customers. Now all of a sudden they want to change behavior. You can’t change behavior after many years of never taking it seriously, of course people are going to get used to the fact that they can steal when they’ve done it in the past and they know that we as employees can’t do anything about it!
... Maybe because super liberal criminal lovers made it difficult to prosecute or apprehend these people. You have no idea how much liability is on the line. It starts with garbage politicians.
Liberals literally campaign for legislation that would decriminalize "petty theft." now people don't know how we got here?
Why would you? Never risk your life for the property of people that would lower your wage even more if they had the chance.
@@operationlull3742 well most stores have security and it's literally their job, yet they can't do anything legally to prevent stealing from happening. Target security does literally nothing - they watch people leave the store with stolen merchandise, and then the cashier or associate that assisted them just doing their job gets written up or fired for it. It's absolutely ridiculous.
@@thehardercandy nah I worked at Walmart, they look at the workers on camera more than the customers due to bad management lol
I had an experience where I had to spend nearly an hour at a large retailer to get ONE ITEM. Yes, one item. I needed a new computer charger because I went to my grandma's house for the weekend in college and accidentally left my computer charger there. I got to the store, couldn't find a charger, asked where they were, and was told that they were locked behind the counter. Only one employee had the key, and they had gone on a meal break five minutes earlier, and wouldn't be back for 25 minutes. So I waited for 25 minutes, and they got me the charger. I then went to check out, and there were no manned registers open, and both the self-checkout lines had fifteen people waiting. One line was from the food area to the makeup, and the other was from the makeup to the food area. I waited for nearly half an hour to check out.
I didn't go to that retailer for nearly a year afterwards.
I would not be surprised if stores started operating like vending machines, you can't even hold the product until you pay for it and then get issued the refund if you decide you don't want it
They should just do Costco model. You need subscription & photo ID to get into every store. That way they can legally deny access to non-members. Costco has very low shrink/theft numbers as a result.
@@AutisticMorty I work at Walmart and right next door we have a Sam's Club, which has a membership model. The differences in theft from one store to the other are insane. They have quite a bit less shrink than my Walmart.
That would cost a ton of money too since the opened items can't be sold as new
Before Piggly-Wiggly, that's how grocery stores used to work. You'd ask a clerk to give you some items and they'd come back from the back and ring it up.
@@AutisticMorty At every single retailer?
I live in Seattle. I work in property maintenance. Seeing someone walk out of a big box store with as much laundry detergent or batteries as they can carry is a daily occurrence.
I saw a woman steal a box of water bottles a couple weeks ago. She was so frightened I’d say something she placed it down and waited till I went inside before grabbing it to take back to her car. I was shocked she was an elderly Asian woman. I felt kinda bad tbh.
Why laundry detergent and batteries though?
@@thepearlswirl even the asians bruh?
@@ThePeterDislikeShow they can sell it
@pearlswirl Hmmm I call sus. More like a B person accusing Asians of what they themselves are doing.
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One thing that makes the locked up products even more frustrating is that retailors seem to keep their stores understaffed. So it takes longer for an employee to come unlock the box. And it's not like the existing underpaid employees are actually going to stop someone from walking out with the product.
The BIGGEST issue for me is when they lock up contraceptive items (e.g., condoms, lube, etc.). I do not want to bother the grossly UNDERPAID employees so that they can come and unlock said items. Meanwhile other customers are looking at me as a creep just standing next to the condoms while I wait for someone to find the other person who has the right key. Nope - I'll just go to another store to find said items. Lastly, on the topic of underpaid employees, it amazes me on how much these companies will invest millions into anti - theft technology, but paying your employees an extra dollar or two is "Doing too much"... oh ok
Walmart should just allow people to steal the condoms. It will pay for itself 10-15 years later when there's not another generation of shoplifters.
I work at a major auto parts store in California. Shoplifting of minor items is a perfect crime we can do is keep an eye on our customers at all times if they still we can't call the police because it's considered a minor crime up. It's just not worth chasing people out the door when they steal something from us. It's much easier for retailers to control internal shrink which is half of what the shriek of figures are.
Finally someone in the comments with a brain
✌🏿✌🏿
@@ShidaiTainothe demonstration of bad grammar leaves me with little confidence in their math skills.
ALSOOOOO......Beause in California, Police are hated and targeted for NO REASON other than scared democrats
Don't forget to answer the phone in 3 rings
Most shop owners won't (and sometimes can't) file a police report unless the offender steals a certain amount of merchandise. Therefore, most thefts don't get added to crime statistics
This. The video worries about errors of allocating retail losses from column A to column B but doesn't mention that these days most theft isn't reported. If you are robbed or something is stolen the police do nothing about it so people rarely report these things anymore because there is no point.
I've had bikes stolen from a smash and grab from a car and from a break in to a storage area in an apartment building. Both times the police took some notes but never gave me a case number or any documentation of the crime. They just kind of shrugged - nothing we can do.
@@fallenshallrisethats not new tho u too are making it seem like those situations just started happening.
@@yvonnecortes_it was less common, now it’s more because police don’t go after “petty” crimes usually. Back then they went after more crime .
As someone who works in LP I do believe the numbers on theft increasing are accurate. It’s true that Shrink comes from more than just theft but we account for that also. When the woman asked if maybe employees dropped 10 more jars of pickles than they did last year, we have a damage and destroy log where things like that are logged and tracked. We track all kinds of shrink including theft.
"as someone who"
Noooò don't worry Jeff everyone is equal, someone who worked in loss preventions opinions is just as valid as some loser nobody with nothing to say like you 😘😘 🤣 what a crybaby
MSNBC is gaslighting us. Retail theft is obviously up, we see it. Hell they stole the damn atm out of my local Walgreens
@Blue Prada everyone starts comments like that nowadays and it's weird. "I work in LP"
@@thedishonestjeffsokol2489 Why is it weird? Most of what anyone says or comments or whatever, you have to assume may not be true so qualifying one's comment is sort of pointless, but at the same time it may be true so the reader may want to pay more attention to it.
The problem is they are just recording the theft not stopping it. Recording is going to do nothing unless you arrest those stealing your merchandise.
Recording provides solid evidence in court to open the case up...
They build a case on repeat thieves so they can bust them for a felony amount rather than petty theft misdemeanor.
Stores have little say over that. It's up to the police and the local DA. Many are soft on crime leading to thieves taking advantage.
employees dont get paid enough to deal with that.
Its sadly not legal for them to stop someone in most cases. Gotta of libtard oregon amd California
I was in San Francisco a year or so back and had to get a Target employee to unlock an 89 cent toothbrush, which I had to ask for at the checkout. Then I was asked to describe which of the dozen toothbrushes at the counter was the one I was getting. My assumption was this was a high theft item in a location close to the homeless area.
As soon as I read "San Francisco", that's all I needed to know.
The shoplifters fingers may be sticky, but at least their teeth are clean.
The problem isn't just numerical losses; the problem is the atmosphere of lawlessness that retail theft creates when it goes unchecked. If you don't stop it, it grows and spreads as criminals feel rewarded for their efforts and become emboldened to steal more.
Isn’t that the problem that all this security theater creates? The idea that retail theft is on the rise is mostly if not entirely a lie, and all the fearmongering creates that atmosphere of “lawlessness” you mentioned
@@sh4d0wfl4re In some places, it is not a lie. Whole Foods spent millions of dollars opening up a location in downtown San Francisco, but theft was so out of control and customers and employees felt so unsafe there because of repeated altercations with thieves that they shut it down after merely one year. Shutting down a Whole Foods Market after one year is not something done lightly; the problem was real. Walmart closed their Chicago locations because of rampant looting and security problems. Whether retail theft as a whole is on the rise or not, I don't know, but in the places where it is a problem, it can set off a vicious cycle of driving out businesses and customers.
Thank democrats 😂
@@zakugodofwar1005that’s ridiculous, partisan, unthinking low-brow, blame-shifting BS that contributes nothing to advancing the debate. You can see efforts on both sides of the aisle to address the issue even though the report states that pols are using the issue to their political advantage.
@@In.the.darkness_there_is_light The debate has long been ended. Woke culture embarrasses again. Democrats basically enabled zero dollar purchase and defund police had back fire on the lawmakers.
Now you come in and drop a pointless line for what. Of course we thank the useless hypo democrats
I own a chain of convenience stores in Ohio and Texas. We never had incidents of mass looting in the past, but this has become more rampant today and a major reason for this is that when you commit a crime while being in a crowd you are more likely to get away with it. I just hope we get more stricter laws around this.
Hire my company SGS.
What will stricter laws do to prevent shoplifting
@@ShidaiTaino curious about this as well
Just let them take your stuff dude, most of them are struggling to live day to day
@@ShidaiTaino huh?
I tried pushing the help button several times to get some underwear from behind one of those plexi glass cases at a Walmart and waited nearly 20 minutes before I gave up and went to target. they’re losing more business with these techniques then they’re saving in theft prevention .
If you push the button more than once it sends an all clear signal. Just FYI.
They're locking up underwear too? Wow, I knew things were bad, but that's a whole another level. Presuming it's a very high crime area. Be glad your car (if you got there that way) wasn't stolen. Target is tightening up too with more locked products. Further pushing more to curbside pickup and delivery.
actually they not, thats why they do it. if they lose more business then been stolen they wont put them behind glass at the first place.
Right. More people will just start shopping online
@@randyward2766 😮
As someone who worked in retail for about 7 years my issue is that they can afford all of these upgraded security measures and implement within the last year to all their stores but when employees ask for a living wage or health insurance they don't have the money?
I’ve worked retail for 18 years and in the beginning the stores had a backbone and didn’t bow down to thieves….we prosecuted and invested more in cracking down on theft rings. Now companies are just cutting store budgets to offset shrink. Repeat thieves keep coming back 2 or 3 times a week. It’s literally a waste of time calling the cops
Theft Insurance made this possible.
Took me almost an hour to buy a car battery from a local walmart. No one was working that dept apparently so I had to track down a checkout person who then called somebody that came to the battery lockup but had no key so they called someone else who came but couldn't unlock the cage because they couldn't figure out how to open it etc, etc, etc. Absolutely ridiculous. Would have just left but I'd taken the old battery out of the car to bring in the store with me. Never again putting myself through such nonsense.
Had an identical experience lol
it is easier and faster if you use youtube search and find a lockpickinglawyer video to open it.
Target > Walmart 🎯
Why not get it delivered to your porch ?
Smart for going to the thriftiest place for batteries.
You know it's serious when they start locking up the shampoo
no seriously that’s crazy af💀
Going to a convenience store in a major city is going to be like going to the prison store to get a pack of smokes and shampoo
It's golf balls and and bed sheets under lock and key now at my local Wally World.
In 2020 a Walmart locked up toilet paper do to theft both in the rest rooms and on the shelf
Bro I went to home depot that had the measuring tapes locked up 💀
Retail theft has become such a problem because it's idiotic to trust customers to do self-checkout. It seems most stores use that nearly exclusively now. If they don't want to pay employees to do this kind of job I can't exactly feel sorry for them when they find out they can't trust the general public. Locking up items that aren't even worth much only serves to make me not even bother, I just go online and buy it.
It's not just that. People go into stores, grab whatever they want and leave. They even do it right in front of security because DA's often won't prosecute. Sometimes there are organized groups doing this.
The Power addicted toy gods (the corporates and lawmaker types...wear suits, go yo work everyday 9 to 5...abide by all man-made laws and most likely are probably "Christians".... but in name and for show only....their hearts ate as dark,bleak,black and immoral (and least "christian"/"humane") you could ever find) up top won't be happy until there's bans control prohibitions and everything everywhere is under (their exclusive) lock and fkn key,....
I love the quote “this will trickle down to consumers” as if consumers get passed the L when companies aren’t doing well. But when companies are doing well consumers or employees don’t see the success trickle down. They want profit, and made it during the pandemic, their increase in thefts did not eat at their record profits that considerably.
exactly why i call cap on their bs reasoning for raising prices. the gov already stated that we should have already had prices come down from the pandemic but the prices are only high bc people are still willing to pay those prices
Precisely if all shoplifting were to stop tmrw would prices come down? Absolutely not
@@rebornvirgin or have no choices to pay those prices then they wonder why shoplifting is so high. They fail to see the connection.
THATS WHY YOU DONT NEED TO FEEL BAD FOR THESE DIRTY DIRT BAGS. They are steal WAY MORE FROM US. Than the criminals from them.
There have been so many times that I've wanted to buy something, seen that everything is behind plexiglass, and then just walked out the door empty handed, buying it online instead. I'd rather just order things to be delivered than wait for a sales associate, ask for each thing to be unlocked, make sure they unlock the right one, and if I want to compare labels or ingredients, I can't. If something is behind glass, I don't want it. I can get deodorant and cough meds elsewhere. Stores that treat all customers like criminals don't care about our business.
I work at a Walmart. In my experience, most customers are criminals at one point or another.
Not to mention sometimes it's awkward. Especially if you usually use self-check-out. I usually buy the other stuff I need and the rest can be done later.
I don't mind waiting for an associate so long as it doesn't take forever. Companies are hard pressed from all this theft. Eventually it hurts everybody. I like to shop online, too but that's not perfect either.
In India, all e-commerce website had an issue where someone in the chain did theft of expensive items. For example, if you bought phone then many a time you got just the box. These big retailers pressed the police, police started to investigate every theft case. I can assure you now we don’t worry about expensive items missing.
Police has to act else people feel it’s a free pass.
I’m glad it’s decreasing now!
What is not mentioned:
Stores white high targeted theft are also stores that have very few employees and on site theft deterrent agents.
I used to work at Macys in the late 90s. The store had a team of security that constantly monitored the store. Some in uniform, others in plain clothing. They were also allowed to apprehend shoplifters outside the store. Thieves stopped targeting that store as word got out that security would wait for them to leave the store with stolen merchandise just so they could body slam them during apprehension.
Nothing like getting blindsided by a 250lbs former linebacker.
Sounds like abuse of power...taking their frustrations out on petty bs "criminals"...so if a 10 yr old nicked a chocolate bar or an ld add accidentally forgot today for one (out of dozens of paid items....(probably overpriced) item in her trolley???
@@curiositypiqued6573strawman argument. Obviously not, because they probably wouldn't notice the grandma cause she paid for other stuff and nobody in their right mind will body slam a ten year old or really anyone over a damn chocolate bar. They are specifically talking about targeted theft. Organized theft. Employees steal more money from the company sitting in the bathroom doing nothing than the things you're talking about
Ages ago I stopped by a Walmart to get one item, it was late and they were the only store open. Found almost the entire aisle locked behind plexiglass with not one employee to be found. By the time I tracked one down I was informed that everyone who had a key including the manager had gone home for the day and I needed to come back in the morning. Went to another store across the street the next day and didn't have to deal with stupid locks or dysfunctional management.
This reporting is contradictory to my own experience having worked as a retail manager for almost two decades. Over the past three years, theft has gotten out of control and, despite this report claiming that it’s not clear how much of the shrink is due to outright theft, this is absolutely 100% clear to brands and companies because loss is never undocumented. It takes personnel time to investigate losses or discrepancies in inventory but all conclusions are supported by as much evidence as possible, including surveillance footage or shipment delivery signatures etc. It’s very clear if you actually work in the industry that organized retail theft is worse than it’s ever been in recent memory.
Just typical media running interference for their agenda. Hilarious to suggest that these stores are ruining their customer experiences and shutting down locations in Chicago/Seattle so that they can lobby for harsher laws 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. Is it more likely Walmart is closing locations to shrink their earnings and push customers towards Amazon, or that they're losing money at these locations and on these products and think it's necessary to sacrifice customer experience (lose more customers to online retailing) to mitigate losses due to rampant theft? Do you really think these greedy people want to ruin their business and tank their profits to further lobbying efforts?
Shameless biased reporting without two brain cells to rub together.
So true, as a manager I regularly would not bother reporting it to the police with their hour response delay. Our cameras were awful and the budget cuts that the company was sending down made it an unfeasible task due to the amount of time needed for that. Just addressed it in store to ensure future sales could occur. Large companies have systems in place to know where there money is.
Theft has been on a downward trend since 1995. From the data I've seen, there has been a spike but historically speaking theft rate is still below 1995 levels. IMO it makes sense, a lot of folks are feeling the pinch and greedy companies are raising prices far beyond what they need to. These are the same companies that received massive tax breaks and forgiven PPP loans. Can't say I feel for them given the billions they pilfered.
@@giglioflex😂 sounds like a typical biden supporter
it is liberals trying to defend black people stealing.
1) prosecute the thieves 2) don't allow someone caught thieving to sue anyone involved in apprehending them in the act 3) hire loss security people who blend in with the public and know how to case these people, and have the authority to arrest people caught 4) don't punish good employees who attempt to intervene
Or just move to an Islamic country. In Islam, theft is prosecuted by amputation. When people fear the law, the law is respected.
#2 would be so easy to abuse. If I wanted to attack random people, your idea would make it easy. Find an aisle with no camera, take an item out of the packaging. Tackle the first unfortunate person to come in that aisle, and claim I saw them take it out of the packaging and try to put it in their pants to ostensibly steal
@@mikea5745 planting evidence is criminal...prosecute anyone caught doing it
correct. career criminals do not have rights.
@@mikea5745 well, taking out item out of packaging is not stealing, they have to carry it outside of the store to be consider. so your point is not valid. and with camera all over the front door. aint gonna work.
I live in the Bay area in California and from my experience theft is definitely on the rise, especially in the larger cities. It wasn’t always as bad as it is now. Not just retail stores, but also smash and grab vehicle theft in cities like Oakland and San Francisco
You get what you vote for
@@8765slipknotcrime has been around since the beginning of civil society- there is also a ton of crime in “red states”- any where is there a lot of poverty there will be crime
This is for sure! No one changes it
You voted for it so enjoy. Just don't come to Texas and bring your problems with you.
@@Marais-cu3vo I wasn’t going to, but I’m moving to Texas now
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Thanks for the info . Found her website and it really impressive
Work in a store that put in self checkout. Was told that theft would go down because of more staff on the floor. Nope. They reduced staff so less on the floor, and no longer catch the tag shenanigans at checkout= theft has skyrocketed. Was only a surprise to mgt..
Can't believe they're actually arguing that shoplifting is not a big deal if so many cities have people stealing every single day in broad daylight. It's a safety concern for other shoppers and employees, on top of all the financial issues it may have.
Police departments are not even taking those reports in some places, and definitely not charging people; no wonder their numbers say that it's not as bad as retailers say.
At my store, a guy walked out the front door with a cart full of merchandise. Neither I nor the coworker next to me particularly cared because there wasn't anything we could do and there wasn't anybody from AP there to tell anyway.
Exactly. This video is politically motivated
Shoplifting is a big deal, and law enforcement doesn't usually punish shoplifters as much, causing people to take the risk. Of course, it shouldn't be punished the same way assault is, but they should be given a punishment that requires bail much higher than the value of what they shoplifted.
They also shift the cost of security and loss onto the products. We literally pay the price for people's crime.
@@lamorthonyfairyfriend4082 agree it shouldn't be punished severely but for first time offenders. If someone does it regularly, it may mean there're actually doing this as a business to resell goods or as part of organized crime, instead of acting out of need for basic necessities.
What if someone steals just a few hundred worth of goods from different stores each in the same day or week? I don't think that should be considered a minor offense anymore
One thing that has been bothering me about this outcry regarding retail theft is this: If all these stores are experiencing this problem far more than ever before, why are stores employing fewer and fewer people? In CVS the other day, I never saw a single employee the entire time I was in the store. Not one. Wouldn't it be reasonable to have more employees around if you're worried about theft? Also, when major corporations that treat their workers terribly begin to cry about something, I am always skeptical of their true motives.
As the video pointed out its for their own agenda. To make the problem seem worse by creating the perfect environment for it so they can then cry about it and lobby and get money from the gov.
Hear me out - the more we hear about smash and grab, the more retailers will say that it is why their prices "must go up". And with the increases in prices, they can blame those at the bottom for the higher costs instead of their own bottom line. It's a perfect system of perception that works in their financial favor.
I was a loss prevention trainer for a major retailer (Lowes) & I’ll tell you that plainly that these numbers and their effects are deceptive. Major retailers Overblowing shoplifting numbers is simply another piece of their justification for gouging prices.
So that's where the dislikes on this video are from?
This!!
@@rgmoses2189 The dislikes are from all the people who steal $20 every time they go through self checkout and feel totally justified making the rest of us pay their share.
What evidence do you possibly have for that? Shops can blame their price rises on inflation easily, or just raise them..
@@cdo...49283 They don't have any.
It really depends on the city or county you're in. I live in Sarasota county, and here the sheriff is more than happy to get a deputy to stay in your parking lot when you start reporting crime. They cooperate closely with store employees and managers. When they catch a thief he gets thrown in Jail and investigated for other crimes he may have committed, searching his property and so on, so no catch and release policy. So we rarely have stuff locked in stores. But take a look at Portland, Walmart decided to just close all the stores in the city permanently, because it's just not worth it. So the big difference is really enforcing laws. I feel safe where I live and I'm happy I don't have to worry about crime.
Sounds like Sarasota county knows what they are doing
Florida loves it’s big government 😎 oh wait…..
Where I am in Casey County, the police are very friendly and will take on anything suspicious, but only if someone tells them about the crime.
Sounds like a huge waste of money and resources for petty crime but okay
@@seansemkowski1419 seems like appropriate use of tax money to lock up criminals and protect business .
I remember when Best Buy gave their staff bonuses every quarter that overall shrink was under 4%. Shrink being under 2% is pretty good.
Took me literally 20+ mins to get a drill in Home Depot the other day in Tampa. Asked 3 separate associates to open it and had to keep waiting on the right person to come. It was a painful experience
Buy it online.
I live in across the bay in pinellas county and have never had to do that
This is the very epitome of reporting to push an agenda. Every sentence in the video that shows the slightest hint of acknowledging the issue of ongoing retail theft is paired with an effort to underplay it. They seem to be trying to make the point that these retailers are overblowing the crime numbers for some ulterior purpose, but these people have absolutely no incentive to do that. Some may be politically motivated by some ideology, but this is a common concern we are seeing among all retailers. Some cities are being emptied of storefronts because these businesses cannot sustainably run with the robbers leaching all their money. Even the average person can see what is going on, but they seem to be trying to make us believe what we see and hear is not real, and only their bs narrative matters. They try to make it seem like the industry's data is compromised, but you can't really get more concrete in such a area than internally measured numbers. I quite like cnbc, but they are trying to push an agenda that harms ordinary people and brings repercussions for all of us.
100%. Worthless woke news piece. Unsubscribed. Waste of time.
And we all know why they’re doing it!
what do you expect from a liberal channel. anything coming out of CNBC, CNN, BBC, DW, AlJazeera, are fake news.
It's not a deep agenda. People are poorer today than before. Everything gets more expensive, wages stay low, there's little to no upward mobility, careers are basically dead, and most people have nothing to lose. If measures are taken to increase wages and/or reduce the cost of living, poverty and crime drops significantly, because people can afford what they need and want.
Finally, someone with some common sense in the comments! This report it totally trying to downplay the actuality of how huge this issue is. 99 cent only stores just announced they're going out of business(huge news story in CA) and they sited retail shrink as one of the problems that lead up to the demise of the chain. I've watched easily 10 news reports on it and only two mentioned retail shrink. Very bizarre reporting. Who's feelings are they trying to spare by not mentioning it?
Do what they do in Japanese convenience stores - entry only after they scan your payment card. Any item taken will be automatically taken from your card.
You can't trust american companies to be competent with this. You'll constantly see items stolen by person A but the clerk charges it on person B's card in error.
leave it to Japan for thinking outside the box.
Amazon Go already does that.
@cherries22 refuse entry.. simple.
Unfortunately that system makes too much sense to be implemented in the US
Corporate theft through embezzlement and insider trading is a bigger threat on this country, workers, consumers, and even the citizens and residents that don't shop at retail stores, but these companies won't talk about that will they?🤔
Don't forget wage theft, more money is stolen from workers by these business than shoplifting
Alssysa are you a thief?🎊🤑💵💸
Of course, the consequences of theft trickles down to customers, but the profits never do. 🙄
Or they could just stop stealing.
That's because most items sold only make pennies for larger retailers
You certainly don't understand economics eh
They forgot that part of shrink is also customer error and small time customer shoplifting. With the advent of more self-checkouts there is more possibility of customer error. I remember a couple months ago i saw 2 men with an item take it to the self-checkout, scan, the item, tap their credit card, and walk out. But because they didn't push Finish & Pay their payment wasn't processed.
Ask any retail employee and they will tell you it happens everyday - who are you protecting?
certain colors
Love how they don't just ask people who work on the floor, just ask! They will tell you that people walk in and take things several times a day.
Its amazing how they deliberately neglect to mention anywhere in this 18 minute video, both from the retailers and the reporters, that the increased theft is due to the lack of prosecution of crime.
It would be slightly off topic. The topic of the video is about the accuracy of whether crime is actually increasing or not. Not the reasons for crime.
Keep this up and retailers will leave the area which will lead to job losses, less choices, and poverty for the community smh
Walmart made 6 billion profit last year.
@Darren N cool story. I don't want to hear about "food deserts" or other sob stories when retailers close stores in areas with alot of theft.
@@chickenfishhybrid44They are only closing stores because brown people live in those neighborhoods.
@@chickenfishhybrid44 None of these big box retailers exist in the places with food deserts anyway because it's not profitable to open a big box store where there's low income customers and high insurance so idk what you talking about. Also the food desert thing is overblown.
@Orlando Brown there's not Walmarts in or near lower income places? I think there is.
I'm talking about in the future, places that might be soon to lose stores and will be complaining about it.
The problem is not the thieves or criminal stealing stuff but the people in power protecting the criminals. It's kinda like an white collar executive branch for the criminals. These executives at every level of society come up with all sorts of excuses to let the criminals out on the street.
Bingo! 🎯🎯
You hit the nail on the head.
The problem is catch and release. Our justice system is too soft on crime, it protects criminals which enable criminal behaviors.
People are going to steal if they know they're not going to have severe consequences for it. The soft on crime policy is at the heart of all this.
I work in retail stores. Corporations are using thefts as one of the excuse to raise prices causing inflation for more profits and ways to get consumers and government to pay for their cost. Corporations are wanting something from consumers and ways to invade consumers privacy. I worked at Jo-Ann , a white man walked up with Jo-Ann bag, packed the items and walked out the store, the managers, tell employees not to report to police. There are items misplaced in the stores, damages, and items not sold were donated. Some retailers, threw away some products. Corporate retails are to make profit, why some retail stores brand sell their product at 75% and 90% off? How are businesses able to stay in business when products at such low discount? What is it that they are not disclosing to consumers and government agencies? What are they hiding and what they are reporting to the news actually true? What gain benefits is the corporates men intending on and want from consumers and government ? Could it be another bailout, outsourcing, reducing employees pension benefits, ways for more profits, and ...
They need to start letting employees do something about theft. I worked at Walmart for a couple of years part-time while I got my undergrad and you will literally get fired if you try to intervene with someone stealing. I just sat there over the weeks and watched hundreds of dollars of merchandise waltz out the door. Granted, I also wasn't paid enough to deal with that lol. But due to that it is starting to ruin it for all of us who pay for our stuff like we are supposed to. Also, now half the store's merchandise is locked and I have to hunt down an employee to unlock a shelf for me which is one of the most infuriating things when you can never find an employee in some of these stores.
Also for those wondering, the reason retail employees can't do anything about it. something to do with liability issues. These companies will do anything to prevent a lawsuit lmao
@@spunch1205liability issues??? Lol how about one. It looks bad when u get your ass blicked for tryna be a hero. If you see retail theft and go “dam i wish i was given permission to prevent this” I think, I can only leave the rest of my statement up to natural selection.
This is why old school shops are best, you don't go and pick it and pay, you ask for an employee to give it to you after paying. you don't even go into the store as it's not allowed, and employees are in the other side of the counter where they have access to the items.
I see theft all the time in the store I work at. It doesn't seem to be the biggest issue. Like our store isn't going to close. But I can only imagine the amount if theft in stores that close down.
The variability in shrink is important to note. A lot of shrink does come from internal theft, specifically on the DC/shipping end where boxes or pallets "disappear" before they even make it to the store. This is often organized crime or small time organized crime that can involve people who work in shipping partnering with others who work at the DC and/or individual stores. In one mall I worked at, a full crime ring that involved multiple stores, multiple employees and shipping personnel was busted. Grab and run is usually the most sensational crime that gets reported and tends to rile people up the most so it gets reported on way more.
Come on now, you know this is not true
Right, because it's not like they don't track shipped items these days or scan them in receiving. Idiot. It's specifically localized to the store after it was received
@@whatsgoodmyguy4391 I've seen pictures of houses full of boxes and product after some of these busts. Stranger still, a lot of these rings then ship the stolen goods via bins to other countries where they're sold to tourists at inflated prices.
Wait, so all these companies got rid of their staff, made their customers check themselves out without anyone to supervise and help, and are SHOCKED to discover people are stealing? To be clear, your profits went up when you made a bad business decision, and now you’re threatening to increase prices instead of fixing the problem? I, for one, am SHOCKED that there might be consequences for corporate actions, that they then use as justification to hurt the customer. Shocked, I tell you!
I remember one day, I was at a Kmart, standing at the door waiting for my mom and a male customer entered the store and like 5 minutes later he walked out with a cart FULL of fishing gear, unpacked, I was shocked, I didn't say anything because I was 10 or 11 years old, I told my mom when we got home but I was impressed of his audacity 😳
Imagine working there and just seeing a person who has opened products leaving, none of it paid for. I feel bad for Kmart as is, but that is crazy.
In the US, thanks to your absurd gun laws, you never know who has a hand cannon tucked away. Challenging shoplifters becomes a supreme act of bravery.
@@lamorthonyfairyfriend4082 is K-Mart still around?
Hearing retail theft be linked to human trafficking before poverty is disconcertingly off the mark.
Ah yes wage theft is fine but a starving person stealing food from a billion dollar company is a crime
I'm far more concerned about wage theft than their perception of increased item theft.
What happened to honesty and integrity? People need to regain morals.
That's a question you should be asking the leaders and politicians of this country, hence the reason for these out comes
Low wages and high profits took them out to pasture.
Ask the companies that make 6 billion profit and say they have to raise prices every time someone thinks about stealing, or inflation, or any other excuse they can get. They never say they'll take slightly less profit to help people to afford their necessities.
in 2020 I worked a 4 month seasonal job at Home Depot (Canada) - it was stressed several times during training that we were NOT to confront nor stop shoplifters but to inform a manager or 'Loss Prevention' dude - and they will follow the perp and . . . take down their license number - that's it. In other words, free reign to steal.
Cause if you intervene, you could be liable for damages to the suspect if they happen. The method they use lets law enforcement investigate and keep you off the hook.
Not just damages, but honestly the risk of a completely chill perp turning crazy when stressed could have you killed. Not. Worth. It.
In all honesty though what would you actually do? 😂 tackle them to the ground? Punch them? All over a couples of power tools?
What your manager said was smart. It’s not giving ‘free reign’ to theives. It’s just not putting their employees lives at risk.
When I worked as a cashier, I was told if I was robbed at gunpoint then just give them whatever they want. They have insurance to cover it.
I was planning to open a small business in Fairfax District of Los Angeles. Then I learned that it is legal to steal in California up to $950 and in case you try to chase the thief, the thief can sue you and you, as an owner can be in trouble for that chase. 2 years has passed, I am still in shock. Now I understand why those stores have bodyguards in front doors and only taking in small groups of visitors. It is not because there is too much demand or you’re exclusive. It is because protecting the inventory.
What the hell 😭
Why not labeling everything 1000usd with real price beside as possible discount then everyone stealing is legally responsible
It is not legal to steal; that is a big a fat lie. However, theft of merchandise of up to $950 *has* been reclassified as a misdemeanor instead of a felony. The rise in theft is the culmination of many factors, not just this reclassification.
@@iwearleatherjackets1 nice wording. Yes, at the end not a felony. Not illegal..
I looked it up...No it is NOT legal...just a misdemeanor crime instead of felony
Ive seen 6of the antitheft devices at a time on the ground at bus stations in Philadelphia.i ve had several people offering stolen meat and seafood,if you want something different they will go get it for you.ive also seen loss prevention standing in corners and in the outside garden center at the home Depot playing with their phone or talking to people they know at the store.
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if you doubt the stores, just go to the open markets. you will see people selling name brands instead of knockoffs. sometimes you could even see the store tags still on them.
Yes, because crime has never happened in the past, and stolen items have never been available 🙄
Much like claims of Republican intelligence, claims of out of control retail theft are overblown and unsupported by facts and data.
Let’s first ask them CEOs how much they made in 2020 vs 2022 then have a conversation about who’s stealing from whom. The level of greed these companies have exhibited needs to stop. Example - the price of a hamburger at McDonalds was $.49 in 1994 it’s now $2.49. Are you telling me the cost of beef and bun and ketchup went up 500% in the past 30 years? 500%???? My pay most certainly not increased 500%.
$.0.49 in 1994 is worth $1.02 today. which means mcdonalds is scamming you out of $1.47
Prices are increasing because of corporate greed. People wouldn't feel a need to steal if prices weren't increasing exponentially faster than inflation. So when they say retail shrink will lead to increased prices is just simply untrue, at least in regards to the cost. Its actually corporate greed.
Why is CNBC so strongly trying to suggest there is not an increase in retail theft (even if it doesn’t meet the definition of organized crime meaning two or more people)? In my area, theft (not just retail) has increased fairly dramatically. It’s not hysteria (at least in my area). Theft needs to be prosecuted more and consequences need to be more severe.
How do you know theft is higher in your area?
@@braedonshelton2305 Crime data and personal experiences. For example, burglaries in my area increased from ~350/100,000 in 2007 to ~660/100,000 in 2020. Auto thefts have almost tripled from 2011. Assaults have doubled. Local police: attorney generals office are also easy on crime. A person broke into my family member’s house, stole $10,000+ worth of goods. They also stole a checkbook and forged a check and tried to steal money from the account. Local police said there’s not enough evidence. I’m not even sure a written confession with you on camera could get you convicted here. 🙃
That thumbnail question "is retail theft overblown" is the type of disconnect everyone resents about the media.
Given how basically all of these retailers have posted record profits, they can weather the shrink they experience. Now, if shrink reaches a level these retailers are at a loss, then we can make a case for it to not be overblown.
👍 f the lying media
@@LouisSubearth The same retailers have shutdown stores in some areas.If you keep ignoring the writing on the wall next thing you are going to hear is food desert.
@@LouisSubearth Record profits by what measure?
There were a couple of speciality items I would get at walmart. Nine times out of ten it would be sold out and I would have to find it at another walmart, sometimes a third walmart. I thought "why can't they just order more?". Then they started locking it up. Suddenly it was there every time I went, no matter which walmart. I had a lightbulb moment. Oh it wasn't getting sold out, people kept steeling it. Now that was just my experience over a small amount of items, can't speak to other stuff. This saved me so much headache. Now getting the items was slightly a pain, but far better than having to try and find it all the time.
I found it funny when Walgreens said it wasn't going to lock up its ethnic hair products when I was working there. Companies exist to provide a product or service. When you choose to make it so that you are more likely to not have that product for a paying customer I would think that it would be more racist not less.
I hate the locked cages. I understand it in some places, but when you start using self-checkout almost exclusively, and further get rid of staff, it means that we can't even find someone to get us the goods we need. Get real staff and pay for them, your shrink will go down.
keeping protecting this type of crime!!! we are going to pay high prices
Google Walmart profit 2022 and get back to me.
BLM! 😅
hell get rid of all the black people and your crime rate is already cut by 80 percent lol
It’s a pain to flag someone down at CVS when I have to buy deodorant or body wash.
CVS is the worst.
😆😆😆
Just shop at the 99c store instead :D
CVS is almost always overpriced, no one should shop there.
Imagine the employees when they deal with mean customers who are easily frustrated. Thieves and politicians are the reason everyone is taking a hit on their shopping experience and or customer service. I remember when I was a kid, older people use to always tell me “it takes a knuckle head to ruin it for the whole bunch”. It’s still true to this day.
$500 dollars of extra cost is a lot, but I wonder how it compares to corporate greed? Let's not forget that these companies were recording record profits while this was going on.
If corporations are all about profits, why would they spend the large sum of money to put their items behind plexiglass or cages and deliberately hurt the optics? Doesn't make any sense...
It really boils down to; it's an everyday occurrence. I worked retail from 2011-2015. It isn't worth chasing down the shoplifters when it happens every day. From gum to haircare to vitamins. The one or two folks that do get caught. Was because they made it obvious. Usually about once a month. Seriously, when you make minimum wage there's no reason to chase after them. Half the time it feels less like I'm supposed to care. To a fact of life. Seriously, this whole tough on crime stuff. Feels more like an excuse to gain more profit and give an excuse to more law enforcement. In all honesty. Hell, I've seen someone take a couple of carrots throw them into a plastic bag and walk away. They're carrots, barely worth $1. But no, someone has to be the bad guy while they get marched back in cause of a couple of carrots, celery and tomatoes. Because they couldn't afford the $3.95 to pay for lunch.
At some point, you really do have to look at the big picture. The difference between someone on welfare trying to survive, over a group of people sitting in a board room talking about combating the high shrink numbers. But no, everyone wants that magic wand and blanket solution to fix problems.
Yeah... because carrots are the essential product being locked up...🤣. I understand your argument on welfare but mainly expensive nonessential products are locked up because of theft. Electronics and makeup are a luxury not a need.
Yup. Theft has always been a minor issue. And we’ve only seen a very minor increase in insurance claims over the last 3 years.
This is being blown out of proportion or retailers are in on it with those stealing otherwise we’d have seen a huge increase in insurance claims that match what they are claiming through the media. Something doesn’t quite add up.
As someone who has worked loss prevention in numerous retailers... This whole statement is extremely wrong. First of all the rules for just about every business is to have a specific dollar amount to even care that a theft is happening. The people getting in trouble often have backpacks, bags, or even baby carriages FILLED with the most expensive stuff they can grab. Perhaps the most bizarre one for me was a gym bag filled to the brim with expensive steak. I've seen people literally eat bananas while shopping and I might watch them on the cameras for a little while, but ultimately I'm more interested in the guy who came in wearing a backpack and just so happens to beeline to the electronics area. To be honest having worked in LP, I imagine a homeless person could basically get their meals and essentials from a store every couple days with the store having no idea.
It's self check out. It makes it far too easy. Hire cashiers. Pay them enough to care and the issue will be corrected.
That can work for larger items, but anything that's small and valuable can be hidden in pockets, handbags, etc, at any part of the store where the cameras have a blind spot or a crowd is present.
Pay a cashier a decent wage with medical, dental, vision and life insurance?!?!??! HAVE YOU GONE MAD!!?!?!??
I spit in your face, you abomination!!!
😂😂😂
Retailers are not leaving areas because employees dropped more pickles. They are leaving because theft is so rampant that are not making a profit.
Everybody suffering in a food desert have their thieving neighbors to thank for it. PERIOD. Un robbed stores are generally still open.
"Prices will be higher" Pretty sure that's part of the problem.
Well that's insurance for ya. When you do business in bad areas like Oregon or Louisiana it costs more.
When razor blades are $8 EACH not hard to figure out what drives theft.
@@unclefart5527 I suggest investing in a safety razor, $8 for a catridge razor is just a waste
@@synaesthesia888 I'd suggest stealing tbe $8 razor
I worked in retail from 2007-2012 while going to school full time. I can’t imagine how bad it is now. You can literally lose your life in retail now.. pure insanity..
Watch again... @13:55
Stop being an alarmist.
@@qutieqouture6846 It's transparent propaganda. The numbers stagnate because some DAs do not even charge criminals anymore.
I work at a Walmart. I wouldn't say theft is any better but it seems safer now that the stores aren't open all night.
If the US handled theft like Singapore does this problem would be solved quickly.
If they paid their employees enough to care this wouldn't be as big of a problem. INVEST IN YOUR EMPLOYEES.
the thing is there's no punishment for stealing little things. however it adds up when it happens too often or too many
I worked for 2 years at CVS in nw vegas. Not what I considered a bad part of town. Shoplifting was a daily occurrence. We didn't bother to report it every time. We weren't allowed to do much of anything about it either. What we could do:
press a button to suggest an aisle needs review. Get a manager who could then possibly get a license plate or call police. Never once did we call police for theft. Maybe once or twice was it plausible to get the plates. One guy literally laughed at the manager who was in tears. He just waltzed out hand basket and all right out the store and kept walking across the street.
Maybe thrice or twice a year corporate would send undercover security to blend in with shoppers. We didn't have security aside from that...
It true that we damage out a LOT of items, though that is not part of shrink. You literally go to the dumpster and just take what you want. Half the time we could cut/mark the item/throw detergent on them. Very wasteful and also as immoral as the theft problem imo. Both a large though.
Your manager was in tears because someone was shoplifting? lmao
@@epiccartman5579 If someone mocks your purpose, it hurts. Her "purpose" is to run that store. He walked out with a cart full of stuff without paying and laughed at her while doing so. Some people take their jobs seriously.
I get that they are just mega-corporations that operate robotic-ly without emotion, and are themselves extremely wasteful with the products they sell (which is an interesting issue also) and in that context such fealty to a system may seem silly, however that doesn't excuse the decline in societal standards of how we should conduct ourselves.
@@Sirmrmeowmeow Women ☕️
well in vegas have a homeless and huge opioid problem most people addicted i know steal from stores to trade or sell online stolen goods for drugs.
It's fascinating what happens when people can't afford to live comfortably.
I mean, after all, we have been arguing for a $15 minimum wage so long that if it was to keep up with inflation, it should be closer to $23.
I'm not condoning theft, but the amount these companies are charging has nothing to so with inflation, it's greed. Companies are making record profits, yet consumers are bringing home less and less money. It trickles down because CEOs make millions of dollars a year and instead of taking less money and cutting expenses they charge more. People are stealing because they can't afford to live. Rent is damn near tripling in some areas. Imagine having to choose between a place to live and food. They can invest billions into loss prevention, but not into paying employees more and providing affordable Healthcare. There needs to be a balance because this just isn't sustainable.
I live in Germany and haven't seen any of that. We don't even have security guards on the doors unless it is like a high-end store (electronics, luxury clothing like Gucci etc, sneakers and a few other things). No one steals from grocery stores here, not worth it to risk fines or jail time for that
Not in US, shoplifters do what they feel. It's a shame.
I used to live in Germany and I do not think I ever saw anyone steal anything from a grocery store. Seems like an American phenomenon 🤔.
@@yashpatel261 I wonder why that is? Yeah, there are some people in the US that are extremely poor, but we have poor people here too. They don't need to steal food because you can get food for free from several charities. I guess there are also food charities in the US. So why do people steal from grocery stores? Why not steal more expensive things like bikes, cars, electronics etc
@@toniderdon They definitely steal the expensive items. A coworker in the meat area told me something. They never steal cheap steaks. It's not moral people stealing things because they must.
@@toniderdon Wealth inequality mostly.
Wish there was more journalism like this that digs for the truth, instead of just going for flashy headlines and parroting what politicians say. Hats off to the journalists for asking hard questions and doing thorough reporting.
I used use to work in retail. Theft happened often. The vast majority of the time it was not the workers but that depends on type of retail store. The auditing was accurate enough to know if a store has a problem.
When folks are hurting due to job loss and inflation, they might resort to theft. When folks see prices go up along with corporate profits, you'll definitely see more theft. That's not the only thing causing theft, but it's a factor.
Better title for this video would be, What is Gaslighting?
I worked at Rite Aid for 6 years, and people stole anything that wasn't nailed down. What did RA do? Nothing. We had half as many people on duty at any one time as we had cash registers. The worst was the shaving supplies which were the closest aisle to the front door, and the had no security camera. We couldn't have one because "They make the customers uncomfortable" we had to take away the locks because "The customers think they're inconvenient" I was supposed to constantly patrol the aisles to watch for shoplifters....but also not aloud to be more than 10 feet away from the front counter at any one time. We stopped selling tobacco products and gave the behind the counter space to blank dvds and $10 headphones that no one wanted.
I fully believe that raising how much you need to steal to be considered a felony and not a misdemeanor has been a total failure, but at some point the stores need to do something, treating all the shoppers like thieves is a step in the right direction when you see where treating them all like saints gets you.
Hey, mind telling me what the line is on felony theft is in California?
Mind telling me what it is for Texas?
So if it’s not shoplifting, then it’s crappy employees who don’t deserve a higher minimum wage because they’re stealing or damaging products.
Retailers are spending so much money on technological solutions for retail theft but zero money on what can really slow theft...MORE EMPLOYEES. Stop installing self checkouts, and cutting employee hours. Walk into any of these retail stores, Home Depot, Walmart, Publix, and they all have one thing in common, fewer and fewer employees. Just walk around and look for someone to help you and you'll understand.
Shrink could also be reduced by tightening quality in business practices. Having worked at a grocery store for several years the amount of “shrink” that were usable products was baffling. Sell it on clearance, don’t just toss it, that should help those numbers.
I currently work in grocery and theft is killing us.. with the amount of theft you have to be almost perfect with everything else
@James Karrie Are you saying stores would rather have items stolen from them rather than having the items discounted for tax purposes?
Shrink=wastage in other words
@@cityhawk corporations are shady asf...but everyone is mostly dim so they'll probably never wake up