“Shrink and theft losses near $1 billion at Lowe’s — here’s how much they’re costing other retailers”
September 8, 2023
“Generally, the inventory losses are only a small fraction of the retailers’ net sales. They also pale in comparison to other factors squeezing margins, such as excessive discounting and promotions, according to a CNBC analysis of their balance sheets. While shrink is growing for some companies, losses are generally in line with the retail industry standard of 1% to 1.5% of sales — signaling the problem may not be as dire as certain retailers and trade associations have suggested…
Meanwhile, Ulta and Foot Locker, which both blamed “organized retail crime” for losses in May, did not mention theft during their most recent results. They only used the term “shrink” when discussing how it squeezed margins…
Over the last few quarters, more and more retailers have called out shrink as a drain on profits and blamed theft for those losses. But they have offered few details about how much inventory losses are actually costing them….”
What this article doesnt say is the majority of the Theft is happening in Blue states. Businesses are also starting to catch on and are closing stores in these areas.