US retail lobbyists retract key claim on 'organized' retail crime

"NRF data from its annual Retail Security Survey indicates that the percentage of shrink attributed to external theft, including organized retail crime, has largely remained around 36% since 2015."

Holy fucking shit dude...wasn't expecting some shit like that...So we're saying that spoilage, damage, logistical inefficiency, pilferage/embezzlement etc. is roughly twice as likely to cause losses in inventory than shoplifting?

Next time someone wants to check your receipt, ask em to empty their pockets. Sounds like they could, statistically, be as likely or more to be stealing shit...

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The NRF's claim that organized retail crime accounted for "nearly half" of inventory losses was repeated in multiple media reports on the issue.

According to NRF spokesperson Danielle Inman, the claim that organized crime accounted for nearly half of all inventory losses was based on two-year-old testimony from Ben Dugan, former president of the advocacy group Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail.

The NRF's retraction highlights ongoing difficulties in quantifying the role crime plays in “shrink” -- another industry term for inventory losses due to any cause, from shipping mistakes to clerical errors.

Some law enforcement sources, including a November report from the Council on Criminal Justice, suggest that shoplifting outside major cities like New York has decreased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Target (TGT.N), DICK’s Sporting Goods (DKS.N) and Walgreens (WBA.O) are among major retailers that have cited rising crime as a significant drag on profitability, though some have since walked back on those concerns.

In a January earnings call, Walgreens’ CEO told investors that “maybe we cried too much” when reporting rising shoplifting the previous year.

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