The UK continues to dominate the European league for retail shrinkage.
The UK continues to dominate the European league for retail shrinkage caused by theft or wastage in 2002 but other countries where the problem is growing more rapidly could soon steal its title, according to new figures. According to the second edition of the European Retail Theft Barometer ‘ a study on retail crime sponsored by Checkpoint Systems – shrinkage has increased by five per cent and costs the sector more than 30 billion euros (£19.2 bn) this financial year compared to 28.9 bn euros (£18.7 bn) in 2001. The overall loss equates to a 1.45 per cent of retail turnover with a human cost of almost 80 euros (£50) per head of population of the territories polled, compared to 76 euros (£47) in 2001. The survey carried out by Professor Joshua Bamfield of the Centre for Retail Research in Nottingham had a better response rate to this second survey than the first ‘ highlighting the increased importance retailers attach to ‘shrinkage’ ‘ the loss suffered through theft and wastage. A total of 476 retailers from more than 16 countries and with a combined turnover of almost 492 million euros took part in the study. Together they represent almost 32,000 stores and accounted for a representative sample of 23 per cent of the total European retail trade.
<br><br>
UK worst
<br><br>
The UK continues to be the worst affected area with a shrinkage rate of 1.77 per cent (1.76 in 2000) well ahead of the other countries polled, although its increase was smaller than other countries. Norway had the second highest shrinkage rate with 1.59 per cent (1.56 in 2000) followed by Greece (1.53 per cent compared to 1.44 in 2000), and the Netherlands (1.48 per cent compared to 1.42 in 2000). But a notable trend that has emerged is the dramatic increase in other countries. In Denmark shrinkage had increase 9.1 per cent from 1.21 in 2000, to 1.32 per cent this year. Likewise, Italy saw an increase of 8.5 per cent (1.41 per cent, compared to 1.30 in 2000), along with Ireland which saw a 8.1 per cent rise (1.34 per cent compared to 1.24 in 2000) and Greece which saw the shrinkage rate go up by 6.3 per cent(1.53 per cent compared to 1.44 in 2000).
<br><br>
Vulnerable items on the thieves’ shopping list continue to be the high value and aspirational branded items including clothing, alcohol and cosmetics. Thieves are also continuing to help themselves to Do It Yourself (DIY) goods. The worst affected retailers continue to be department stores and non-food outlets. But the survey did uncover evidence of retailers fighting back. Although retailers were despondent about the problem, many more are now taking direct action through ‘source tagging,’ the installation of sophisticated electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology such as new digital radio frequency (RF) tagging applied at the point of manufacture. A large proportion of retailers who responded have started to use EAS in some or all of their stores and two thirds said source tagging would help curb shrinkage. Security managers reported that where source tagging had been introduced, it had helped reduce shrinkage. The number of lines source tagged had also increased from 19 last year to 61 this year, a massive hike of 221 per cent.
<br><br>
More co-operation
<br><br>
However, retailers issued a warning that although source tagging was seen as a valuable weapon in the fight against theft, more co-operation was needed from manufacturers to realise its true potential. A total of 34 per cent said source tagging would be helpful to help fight shrinkage, but 42 per cent said that manufacturers had been less than co-operative in its implementation. "We are very pleased that European retailers value this unique study," said Per Levin, Vice President and General Manager for Europe at Checkpoint Systems. "A rise of 5% in shrinkage is alarming and we will keep on supporting the retail industry with the European Retail Theft Barometer to help them understand the causes of shrinkage and to develop the right technologies and equipment to tackle it, bring it under control, and ultimately eliminate it. For this reason it is very encouraging that the use of source tagging ‘ an effective deterrent against retail crime – is noticeably increasing across Europe."
<br><br>
About the Centre for Retail Research
<br><br>
The Centre for Retail Research provides consultancy and research for the retail sector dealing with the changing face of retailing and focussing on retail fraud and crime. The European Retail Theft Barometer has been produced by the Director of the Centre, Professor Joshua Bamfield.
<br><br>
Training Support
<br><br>
Retail security manufacturer Checkpoint Meto has launched a new training and after-sales support programme for electronic article surveillance system installations called CheckCare. It includes bespoke post-installation training, operational support to help maintain equipment and follow-up evaluation visits. The store visit involves visual and operational checks of EAS equipment on site, tests of how staff respond to alarm activations, checks that the alarm activation log is up to date, and evaluation of tagging levels. A report gives the client details of how efficiently their system is being used – a management tool towards a loss prevention strategy. There are three packages within the programme: Advantage, Performance, and Performance Plus.
