Shoplifting is costing retailers $9 billion a year – and is on the rise on the Lower North Shore. With cost of living biting consumers, North Shore Living looks at the causes.
There’s been a noticeable increase in shoplifting in retail stores on the Lower North Shore this year. The latest figures from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research Australia (BOSCAR) reveal that from June 2022 to June 2023, shoplifting is up by 51.2 per cent in the North Sydney government area and up by 54.7 per cent in Willoughby, compared to the previous year.
The only other government areas in the Sydney basin that recorded shoplifting figures higher than those for North Sydney and Willoughby were Waverley and Burwood. When looking at these figures Sydney-wide, this shows the areas of North Sydney and Willoughby have become hotspots for shoplifting this year.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) confirmed there has been an increase in shoplifting across Australia, with Chief Executive Officer Paul Zahra telling North Shore Living: “Retail theft is on the rise. Shoplifting has become increasingly prevalent in the last six months, at a time when retailers are already battling rising operating costs associated with fuel, energy, labour, supply chains, rent and loans.”
“We anticipate shoplifting is costing the industry upwards of $9 billion per year,” Mr Zahra adds.
This trend of an increase in shoplifting is being largely attributed to the recent increase in cost-of-living most Australians are currently experiencing. Monash Business School’s Australian Consumer and Retail Studies unit (ACRS) conducted research into the attitudes and behaviours of Australian shoppers in September. The report showed 50 per cent of Australian shoppers said they were financially worse off than they were a year ago.
Charities have corroborated these findings, recording an increase in demand for their services. Anglicare’s Sue King, Head of Advocacy and Research, told North Shore Living the charity is finding the change is noticeable. “There has been an increasing demand for Anglicare Sydney’s financial hardship services in relation to support with rising housing costs – both for private rental and mortgage where people are struggling to meet current interest rates,” Ms King says.
“Demand is rising,” says Ms King. “In the first eight months of this year, we have had 3,686 new visitors – people who have never needed our assistance before, and 26 per cent of these people were either homeless or at risk of being homeless.”
Ms King notes they’ve had a high number of new visitors who are employed, and not out of work. This shows it is not just people on government support payments who are now experiencing financial hardship and rental stress, she argues.
“An increasing proportion of new people seeking our help are either part-time or full-time employed,” Ms King explains. “The proportion of new visitors in work was 14 per cent in 2022, but in 2023 this has risen to 26 per cent.”
These statistics from Anglicare reveal the increase in hardship for everyday people is real, and it is likely one of the factors which has led to the current increase in shoplifting. Recent reports from major retailers have indicated they’re seeing an increase in stock loss through shoplifting. For example, Coles’ newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer, Leah Weckert, recently reported a 20 per cent increase in stock loss (that is, theft and food wastage) in 2023 compared to last year.
Woolworths also confirms shoplifting has spiked in the last year in most Woolworths stores. Managing Director Brad Banducci notes however that shoplifting figures have risen to pre-COVID-19 levels. During COVID-19, shoplifting figures decreased. “Unfortunately, (elevated shoplifting figures) have come back,” Mr Banducci says. “We need to work hard to make sure they don’t get out of control. But it’s not a new phenomenon.”
Mr Banducci added that its BIG W outlets had actually spiked the highest. “It’s not something we have been used to seeing in BIG W, and so we haven’t had the same processes around it there than perhaps we might have had in our food business,” he explains.
In terms of the kinds of items which are being stolen – both at BIG W and at Woolworths – Mr Banducci says they’re often the types of items which are easier to resell: “Items such as razor blades (and) small items you see in the health and beauty aisle that you see being taken and then resold,” he adds.
Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci says shoplifting has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Bunnings Director of Store Operations, Ben Camire, says the hardware chain has also been hit. “As is the case across the industry, retail crime is a challenge we face in our stores every day,” Mr Camire tells North Shore Living. “While we’ve seen an increase in incidents year-on-year across our Australian store network, stock loss relative to sales is effectively returning to pre-COVID-19 levels.”
The bleak financial outlook means retailers are now facing the issue of decreasing consumer spending and at the same time, an increase in stock loss through shoplifting. In response to this, major supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths have rolled out new security measures, including cameras at self-service checkouts and body cams for staff to wear which they can use if they think someone is shoplifting.
Woolworths has introduced security cameras this year at tills to monitor shoplifting.
A Coles spokesperson told North Shore Living that Coles has introduced
a range of security measures to reduce theft from their stores including: “CCTV, electronic article surveillance and in some stores, new smart gate technology that automatically opens as customers make payment for their products.”
The spokesperson adds: “Additionally, trolley lock technology has been in place at a number of our stores in recent years, and this technology uses sensors to prevent trolleys leaving the store if someone hasn’t first paid at a register.”
“We anticipate shoplifting is costing the industry upwards of $9 billion per year.” Paul Zahra, CEO, Australian Retailers Association
Bunnings Ben Camire said the company was also looking at body cameras: “We’re exploring the use of team member safety cameras to support our team if they feel unsafe in a threatening situation.”
The ARA’s Paul Zahra says new technologies are being used by many companies to reduce financial losses. “Most businesses are turning to technology to reduce losses from theft,” he says. “We expect these technologies to result in an immediate reduction in shoplifting, but the extent of which depends on individual technologies.
“Gates at self-serve checkouts, for example, are likely to have a greater immediate effect than surveillance cameras.
“An important part of alleviating shoplifting is deterrence. We hope these new technologies may deter would-be shoplifters, as prevention is the best cure,” Mr Zahra adds.
Unless the Australian Government does something dramatic to curb inflation, it looks like shoplifting will only continue to rise.
By Pamela Connellan