Organised crime rings in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston are targeting retail inventories, causing more financial loss, according to a report by the National Retail Federation (NRF), a trade group representing USretailers.
Dollar stores and big-box retailers like Target and Kroger have issued warnings about rising inventory theft and organised retail crime, which might exacerbate this year’s challenges brought on by weaker customer demand.
According to the NRF research, inventory ‘shrink’ as a percentage of overall retail sales resulted in losses of US $ 112.1 billion in 2022, up from US $ 93.9 billion in 2021.
“Retailers are seeing unprecedented levels of theft coupled with rampant crime in their stores, and the situation is only becoming more dire,” said NRF Vice President for Asset Protection and Retail Operations David Johnston.
In order to address the rise in retail crime, retailers are either being compelled to close a specific store location, cut back on working hours, or change the in-store product assortment, according to the research.
Men’s knickers, which are the product most vulnerable to retail theft, will no longer be sold at Dollar Tree, the company has said.
According to the NRF, retailers are boosting their use of preventative measures, with 34 per cent of respondents raising internal payroll to cover risks associated with retail crime and 46 per cent raising the employment of third-party security employees, among other things.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
