Robert Besser
26 Nov 2022, 13:29 GMT+10
LOPS ANGELES, California: To deter shoplifters and thieves during the post-COVID-19-pandemic rush of holiday shoppers this year, many U.S. retailers, including Walmart and Barnes and Noble, are installing cameras or locking away items for sale.
Walmart, J.C. Penney, Apple, Walgreens, and others have even installed new surveillance systems or hired more security guards, while Target and Barnes and Noble have sealed merchandise behind plexiglass or tethered it with steel cables to store shelves.
As it struggles to deal with excess inventories and lower consumer spending amidst high inflation, the retail industry has expressed concerns about theft this holiday season.
Burt Flickinger, managing director at retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group, said, "Sales are suppressed. Profits are being punished at the time of the highest inflation in 42 years. And now with the cost of preventing crime going up, that is going to be passed along in higher prices." as quoted by Reuters.
The effect on holiday sales and profits "will be horrific," he added.
After a series of bold and violent store thefts, including a "smash and grab" incident last year in a Nordstrom near San Francisco that involved 80 thieves, crime has been in the spotlight around the country. A survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) showed a 26.5 percent rise in "organized retail crime" carried out by groups of people last year.
But with little data available, it is unclear whether overall U.S. retail crime is actually rising. In 2021, total losses from shoplifting, theft, fraud, and errors for U.S. retailers remained steady at an average rate of 1.4 percent of total sales, the same figure over the past five years.
Get a daily dose of Jamaican Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Jamaican Times.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - A slowing of wages growth in the fourth quarter, as reported by the Labor Department, ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: As it sets aside more funds to cover potentially bad loans, American Express announced that ...
LONDON, England: Flybe, a British regional airline, abruptly closed operations on January 28. The airline offered flight to Belfast, Birmingham ...
JERUSALEM, Israel: As demand for its driver-assistance technology rises among vehicle-makers, Mobileye Global is forecasting revenues for the 2023 fiscal ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Monday as investors fretted over which way the Federal Reserve ...
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], January 30 (ANI/Big News Network): The Adani group, in a sharp and focused response to Hindenburg Research's ...
MIAMI, Florida: This decade, the US south is expected to see more new residents than any other region in the ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: After reporting record revenues in the fourth-quarter of 2022, US airlines expect strong travel demand ...
MANILA, Philippines: After a Filipina domestic worker was killed and dumped in the desert in the oil-rich emirate of Kuwait, ...
LONG BEACH, California: Long Beach, California-based Rocket Lab has launched its first mission from the United States, as part of ...
Israel was behind Sunday morning's drone strike on an Iranian munitions facility; the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing American ...
LONDON, England: Of the 14 main battle tanks and additional artillery support it will send to Ukraine, Britain hopes its ...