Companies Say Organized Retail Crime Is on the Rise, but There’s No Data To Prove It

Retailers are raising concerns about organized retail theft affecting their profits, but there's a lack of concrete data to validate these claims. Many companies have cited shrink, which refers to lost inventory from theft, as a reason for reduced profit outlooks. However, retailers are not required to disclose losses from stolen goods, and the difficulty in accurately quantifying these losses makes it challenging to confirm their impact on profits, leaving investors and policymakers to rely on retailers' claims.