Retail theft is the leading security challenge for American food retailers, who lose billions of dollars annually according to a Food Marketing Institute report.
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Employee theft accounts for 43.3% of total losses, most frequently stealing cash directly from the register. While reported shoplifting incidents decreased last year, shoplifting and organised retail theft accounted for 29.7% of all losses, with more than a third of shoplifters believed to be part of professional shoplifting gangs.
Meat, health and beauty items, medication and baby formula were the most frequently stolen goods, adding safety concerns related to tampering and distributing unsafe food to actual loss of revenue. The top two cost-saving security recommendations for retailers are employee training and digital closed-circuit television.
