Survey depicts shrinkage trends

August 2003 News & Events

A recent survey, conducted by the UK's Centre for Retail Research, found that shrinkage in 2001 cost Europe's retailers 28 900 million euro. A total of 15 European countries were included in the survey, the results of which were released earlier this year.

According to the survey, the most vulnerable items include branded goods that are heavily advertised, designer products, everyday luxury items with high resale value, and small, costly goods. In supermarkets, vulnerable items include food, alcohol, fresh meat, cosmetics and perfumes, tobacco, chocolate, videotapes, DVDs and CDs, clothing, tea and coffee.

In retail stores, the items most likely to be stolen are designer fashion and accessories, small electrical items, womenswear, gifts and toys, perfumes, health and beauty products, watches, and jewellery. "Unfortunately we have not conducted such a study in South Africa," says Neil O'Reilly, MD of Advanced Technologies. "However we believe that the trends are similar in this country, with the same articles being targeted." O'Reilly's affiliate company in the UK, provided an independent grant to fund the research for the European retail theft barometer.

A complete spectrum of retail industries was surveyed, including food stores, department and general stores, clothing outlets, electrical/video/music stores, hardware/DIY/furniture stores, shoe stores, and other non-food stores. "In South Africa, we estimate that annual inventory losses are about 2% of industry turnover," comments O'Reilly.

Professor Joshua Bamfield of the centre for retail research says that in Europe the culprits responsible for retail crime are customers (46%), employees (28%), suppliers (8%), and error (18%). The reasons behind shoplifting appear to be peer pressure, the need to stay in fashion, support a drug addiction, social fracturing, and failure of the justice system to deter offenders.

Research indicates that staff theft tends to be under-reported, that collusion with customers may be significant, and that staff may use company property for the 'social exchange process'. Furthermore, a shocking find was that many retail trends are conducive to theft. Features such as store layout, employing casuals, emphasising brands, and a service-oriented economy all help to encourage rather than deter theft.

The survey also found that those retailers who spent money on security did seem to have lower shrinkage. And their most important security product is electronic tagging with 65% saying it is 'reasonably' or 'very' effective.

A separate study conducted at the same time as the European retail theft barometer, looked at electronic tagging's market share within the European and global retail markets. There are three basic technologies in electronic tagging: radio frequency (RF), acousto-magnetic (AM), and electro-magnetic (EM). In Europe, department stores use predominantly RF (43%), followed by EM (30%) then AM (27%). Hypermarkets on the other hand use mostly EM (51%) while RF (50%) dominates in supermarkets. Shoe stores find RF (62%) most helpful, as do music/electrical stores (45%) and DIY/hardware stores (53%) while bookstores tend to use EM (54%) over RF (46%).

"In South Africa, radio frequency has taken off, and is following similar trends to those in Europe," explains O'Reilly.

For more information contact Pieter van Rensburg, Advanced Technologies, 011 450 2851, [email protected]





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Highest increase in global cyberattacks in two years
Information Security News & Events
Check Point Global Research released new data on Q2 2024 cyber-attack trends, noting a 30% global increase in Q2 2024, with Africa experiencing the highest average weekly per organisation.

Read more...
From the editor's desk: We’ve only just begun
Technews Publishing News & Events
The surveillance market has expanded far beyond the analogue days of just recording and/or monitoring screens. The capabilities of surveillance technology today extend to black screen monitoring with ...

Read more...
SAFPS issues SAPS impersonation scam warning
News & Events Security Services & Risk Management
The Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) is warning the public against a scam in which scammers pose as members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and trick and intimidate individuals into handing over personal and financial information.

Read more...
Strong industry ties set Securex South Africa apart
News & Events Training & Education
Securex South Africa, co-located with A-OSH EXPO, Facilities Management Expo, and Firexpo, is a meeting place of minds, where leading security, safety, fire, and facilities professionals come together, backed by strong ties with the industry’s most influential bodies.

Read more...
Connected commercial drone market to reach US$37.3 billion
News & Events Commercial (Industry) IoT & Automation
The global market for connected commercial drones is forecast to grow from US$18.6 billion in 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% to reach US$37.3 billion in 2029

Read more...
Phishing attacks through SVG image files
Kaspersky News & Events Information Security
Kaspersky has detected a new trend: attackers are distributing phishing emails to individual and corporate users with attachments in SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files, a format commonly used for storing images.

Read more...
Fully-integrated browser AI
News & Events
Opera Mini now provides all its smartphone users with its own free built-in browser AI, Aria, including AI chat, Ask Aria and image generation. According to an Opera survey, 80% of South Africans want AI tools integrated into their browser.

Read more...
Amendments to the Private Security Industry Regulations
Technews Publishing Agriculture (Industry) News & Events Associations
SANSEA, SASA, National Security Forum, CEO, TAPSOSA, and LASA oppose recently published Amendments to the Private Security Industry Regulations regarding firearms.

Read more...
Local innovation driving excellence in FM
Securex South Africa News & Events
As organisations seek cost-effective, sustainable, and high-quality solutions, home-grown facilities management innovation is proving to be a critical driver of operational efficiency and long-term success.

Read more...
PIV-ready High Sec Controller 7000
News & Events
Gallagher Security announced the release of the latest addition to its controller product range; the High Sec Controller 7000, which incorporates all the core functions of the C7000 Standard variant released less than 18 months ago.

Read more...