on Tuesday, November 1, 2011


India on a row once again topped highest in Global Retail Theft (Survey done by GRTB-Checkpoint) this is the fifth year that India has topped. The major part of shrinkage is shoplifting by customers. But, the good signal is that India is the only country where the shrink rate (loss of stocks because of thefts by customer, employees and supplier) came down this year as reported by the Global Retail Theft Barometer 2011. This is showing that now Indian retailers become more concerned about the safety tagging of stocks and more vigilant to exit points. In India, it covered 100 retailers, of which 60 were part of modern chains and 40 were from the unorganized sector.

In Asia-Pacific, shrinkage was highest among categories like cosmetics, perfumes, health and beauty, and pharmacy; apparel and accessories; and video, music and gaming. The most-stolen items from the cosmetics category globally included shaving products, perfumes, lipsticks, scissors, nail clippers, and tweezers. High quality seafood, alcohol and fresh meat made up the top three most-stolen grocery ‘high-risk’ product lines.

The most stolen merchandise by Indians included electronics, cosmetics, alcohol/food, clothing and jewellery as they are small, lightweight and easy to conceal and transport. Retail Association of India, said the survey is being unfair to India. In India, modern retail is only 5% of the total retail, and 95% is still non-modern retail, the survey is being unfair to the market. Modern retailers who have been in the business for more than three to four year know how to handle shrinkage and have managed to put in place systems that take care of shoplifting and employee shrinkage. The actual shrinkage rate for modern retailers, he said, would be less than half of what the survey found.

To reduce thefts, retailers in the nation are spending more money on security solutions. India’s spends on loss prevention at 0.23% of sales is higher than China and Asia Pacific region but lower than the global spends, which are at 0.35% of sales.

How to spot a shoplifter- a small tip:

While the following characteristics don't necessarily mean the person is a shoplifter but retailers should keep a close eye on them who exhibit the following as the chances are more that the person is a shoplifter:

  • 1. Spends more time watching the cashier or sales clerk than actually shopping.
  • 2. Wears bulky, heavy clothing during warm weather or coats when unnecessary.
  • 3. Walks with short or unnatural steps, which may indicate that they are concealing lifted items.
  • 4. Takes several items into dressing room and only leaves with one item.
  • 5. Seems nervous and possibly picks up random items with no interest.
  • 6. Frequently enters store and never makes a purchase.
  • 7. Enters dressing room or rest rooms with merchandise and exits with none.
  • 8. Large group entering the store at one time, especially juveniles. A member of the group causes a disturbance to distract sales staff.