News Feature | September 28, 2015

NRF Survey: Organized Retail Crime Rates Remain High Industry-Wide

Christine Kern

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

NRF Survey: Organized Retail Crime Rates Remain High Industry-Wide

According to the National Retail Federation’s 11th Annual Organized Retail Crime Survey, 97 percent of retailers surveyed report that they have been a victim of ORC in the past year, an increase from 88.2 percent last year. And perhaps more troubling, of those who have been victimized over the past year, more reported an increase in ORC activity at their own company, rising from 60.3 percent last year to 84.9 percent this year.

Retailers on average report they have lost $453,940 per $1 billion in annual sales over the past year. Additionally, the survey found that on average retailers allocate approximately $434,032 to specific organized retail crime personnel in their company.

Retailers are fighting back, with 47 percent of those surveyed reporting that they are allocating additional resources of some kind to combat the problem, up from 41.3 percent last year. Those resources include additional staffing (31.8 percent) and additional budget resources (24.2 percent).

“Even with state-of-the-art technology available, trained employees on the ready, extensive partnerships with all levels of law enforcement and additional resources on hand, retailers continue to grapple with the challenges that come with fighting organized retail crime,” said Bob Moraca, NRF VP of loss Prevention.

“Brazen and often dangerous criminals are finding new ways every day to manipulate the retail supply chain; from the docks where merchandise comes in to criminal flash mobs that involve several individuals running into a store at once, the methods used by crime gangs today run the gamut. These new criminal methods are making it even more crucial for retailers and law enforcement to work together to combat this crime.”

In 2015, five additional states enacted their own state legislation around ORC, bringing the total to 30 states that now have laws against criminals who are found to be associated with an organized retail crime gang. Almost eight in 10 retailers surveyed (78.8 percent) believed that a federal ORC law is crucial.