Shoplifting fuels a $94.5 billion problem in American stores

The clear advantage of brick-and-mortar retail over e-commerce is that consumers can get what they want quickly and feel the product before they buy it.increased theft and Store measures to prevent it— can dull that edge.

The National Retail Federation estimates that shrink, an industry term for inventory loss, will be about 1.4% of retail sales in 2021, or about $94.5 billion. Most of that contraction is caused by theft. In an interview with CNBC earlier this month, walmart Chief executive officer Doug McMillon Over time, if we don’t address the retail theft problem, “we’re going to either see higher prices or we’ll have to close our stores,” he said.