Retailers in 32 countries suffered losses estimated at US$98.6 billion says a finding by Centre for Retail Research with the parameter for measuring the crime including shoplifters, disloyal employees, suppliers and vendors, as well as the cost of crime prevention.
The survey made by “Global Retail Theft Barometer”, is touted to be the world’s first attempt to calculate the total cost of retail theft.
About S$274.03 million (US$179 million) was lost to retail crime in Singapore this year alone. That translates to S$434.18 per household.
In Singapore, 96 percent of 2,395 retail thieves caught this year were shoplifters. They made away with S$143.9 million worth of goods.
Among the stolen items, alcohol was the most popular in the Asia Pacific region, followed by cosmetics and skincare products.
It is the same trend in Europe, but in North America, shoplifters tend to target cosmetics and skincare products as well as ladies’ apparel.
It estimates that by the end of the decade, 47.3 percent of large retailers in Asia Pacific will source-tag their merchandise. This compares to 69.3 percent of European retailers and 68.7 percent in North America.
