Holiday Series: Shoplifting
Dr. Jo Turner, Professor, Family and Consumer Economics
You may have heard remarks like: "I deserve this. I should have it. Prices are too high and retail stores make lots of money, so I will go ahead and take this. No one will ever know or be hurt." This is a typical statement made by a shoplifter or a friend of a shoplifter. In either case the statement doesn't justify shoplifting.
According to the Better Business Bureau shoplifting is one of the most costly crimes a business faces. During the Christmas season shoplifting is expected to increase. Retail stores have also increased their surveillance.
Everyone pays for shoplifting. Prices in stores must be raised to cover the cost of shoplifting. Estimates vary, but some retailers are forced to raise prices as much as 15 percent to cover these losses. An item that would cost $100 may be priced at $115 simply to cover the cost of shoplifting. According to one study, each family in the United States pays as much as $2000 extra in retail stores each year because of shoplifting.
Still another cost of shoplifting has been store guards and security devices, closed circuit television cameras and public relations personnel. Unfortunately, only about 10 percent of shoplifters think that the cost of shoplifting is passed on to consumers.
Who are the shoplifters? Studies show that teenagers are responsible for about half of the retail loss due to shoplifting. Young people see things that they want and cannot resist the temptation. The old, the rich and the poor join the ranks of shoplifters. Housewives account for about 25 percent of shoplifters.
Merchants deal with three kinds of losses from consumers. The first is shoplifting, the taking of merchandise without paying for it. The second is from consumers who destroy or damage merchandise by careless behavior or return merchandise to the wrong store. A third kind of loss is pilferage from employees themselves. These three losses cost nearly $26 billion a year according to a University of Florida report.
In any case, we the consumers pay for the loss. If you are thinking about shoplifting, don’t. It is not the thrill many people have led themselves to believe. Something that you want so badly to pick up without paying for it can get you a permanent criminal record. On an average day 5,400 people are detained for shoplifting. (That is 162,000 per month.) It can affect your whole life. A criminal record and loss of voting privileges is no thrill. Shoplifting is stealing and is a crime.
During this holiday season help stop shoplifting by reporting to an authority at the store anyone you see taking merchandise. Remember, we all pay for shoplifting.
