Target says theft and other shortages are expected to reduce its gross margins for the recently completed fiscal year.
PHOTO: RACHEL WISNIEWSKI FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Revelations 18:23:’For the merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.’
Important Takeaways:
- Shoplifting Climbs as In-Store Shopping Returns
- Retailers lock up goods, use facial recognition software to track repeat offenders
- Retailers say theft is rising as more people shop in stores, cutting into profits that were already under pressure.
- “We definitely had an uptick since last year,” Macy’s Chief Executive Jeff Gennette told analysts earlier this month. “It’s an industrywide trend.”
- “Theft is growing at a faster rate than sales,” said Dean Rosenblum, a senior U.S. retail analyst at Bernstein Research.
- A jump in organized retail crime in certain areas of the country is also a factor. “These are crime levels we haven’t seen before,” Mr. Gennette said. 50% increase from 2015, it said.
- Retailers are combating the problem by adding security guards and cameras to stores, locking up goods and making use of facial recognition software to help identify repeat offenders.
- A month ago, New York City police asked shoppers to take off their face masks before entering stores, a measure intended to help them better identify criminals. The plea came after four unidentified men stole roughly $1.1 million of goods from a Queens jewelry store.
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