Economy shoplifting in the supermarket
Sausage and cheese are suddenly among the most frequently stolen products
As of: 5:53 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Source: pa/Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
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34 percent more shoplifting than in the previous year was reported in Germany in 2022. This is essentially a post-pandemic normalization. Dealers are concerned about the increasing willingness of thieves to use violence. The high prices are “an increased risk of theft”.
The growth rates are alarming. According to police crime statistics, 344,669 shoplifting cases were reported in Germany in 2022, 34.4 percent more than in the previous year. The amount of damage also increased noticeably, as the study “Inventory Differences 2023” by the Retail Research Institute EHI Retail in Cologne shows. It rose by twelve percent to 4.6 billion euros.
Despite these values, Frank Horst has not been worried so far. “What appears at first glance to be a dramatic development is, on closer inspection, a return to the normality of earlier years,” explains the head of the Inventory Differences and Security department at the EHI.
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“Basically, the values of the pre-Corona period have now been reached again.” In the pandemic years, the number of thefts in shops had decreased. The reason was the officially ordered shop closures, and there were generally fewer customers on the go.
However, the number could continue to increase in the coming months, says Horst. “Especially in the strong price development there is an increased risk of theft,” says the expert. Grocers are observing that meat, sausage and cheese are among the most frequently stolen products for the first time.
Source: Infographic WORLD
Source: Infographic WORLD
In many cases, however, it is not about personal needs. “For some groups of perpetrators, the easy resale of the stolen goods plays a decisive role,” says the EHI study, for which more than 100 companies with almost 17,000 sales outlets and a total turnover of a good 84 billion euros were surveyed.
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This applies to drug-related crime, but above all to thieves organized by gangs. They often work off lists and, according to Horst, steal goods worth between 1,000 and 2,000 euros per access. For individual perpetrators, the average is less than 100 euros. Dealers are concerned about the growing propensity for violence from these professional thieves. They report increasing attacks on staff.
Source: Infographic WORLD
Cosmetics, perfumes, branded fashion, sneakers, alcohol, cigarettes, smartphones, electronic devices and accessories such as batteries and chargers are stolen particularly often. Items that are comparatively easy to steal and sell again. The majority of thefts are attributed to customers. According to the EHI study, they stole goods worth more than 2.4 billion euros in 2022, which corresponds to a good half of the total damage.
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The second largest group of perpetrators are the employees with a loot value of 920 million euros. But suppliers and service staff also steal. There are also organizational losses, for example due to errors when scanning at the checkout or incorrect bookings. The food trade is hardest hit, followed by clothing stores, hardware stores and drugstores.
Source: Infographic WORLD
In order to protect itself against theft, retailers invested around 1.45 billion euros in protective measures in 2022, above all in camera systems, the electronic security of articles and training for staff.
But the classic department store detective is still in action. Currently are loud COW 13,000 of them on the way. However, according to expert Horst, you could not change anything about a fundamental problem. “The work of thieves is made easier by insufficient staffing in the shops.”
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