“We take a multi-layered approach to combating organized retail crime,” Brian Harper-Tibaldo, senior manager of crisis communications for Target, told Yahoo Finance. “This includes in-store technology, training for store leaders and security team members, and partnerships with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies as well as retail trade associations.”
Why are people stealing these days? That’s a tough one. To some degree it’s a reflection of our times. Simply put, America’s social contract is straining. Until recently we’ve been able to lay out goods—often in mammoth, big box stores with only a handful of employees. When our social contract is strong—i.e people are getting a fair shake—it’s a model that works. Now it seems more people are stealing instead. (BTW, our stressed social contract may be capping how far we can push this people-light, technology-heavy model. Last month Wegman’s ended its scan-and-go shopping app. Why? Shrinkage of course.)
I think wealth inequality has everything to do with all this. Think back to the so-called Public Enemies era in the 1930s, when bank robbers ran rampant across the land. That also coincided with the Great Depression. Less money in the hands of poor people and more stealing. Seems like cause and effect to me.
Also exacerbating the situation are some additional factors: The opioid crisis, a dearth of employees and now inflation. More stealing may make matters worse.
“This is a problem for all of us, because it raises prices for all of us,” says Mark Mathews, of the National Retail Federation. “This is an industry with very low margins, often below 2%. So, when you're losing goods, the cost of that gets passed onto the customer.”
And locking up goods has its own downside for retailers as it can reduce impulse buying. If you have to wave down an employee to unlock the door, you might be less inclined to grab that Häagen-Dazs.
Does anyone benefit here? Online marketplaces benefit as consumers switch to e-commerce because shopping in stores with locked merchandise is too much of a hassle.
Who else benefits? Companies such as Indyme, InVue, RTC and Vira Insight, which produce among other things, those systems with clear plastic shelving, locks and buttons to summon employees. Also makers of turnstiles, security cameras, mirrors and security guards. Business is brisk here.
Yes, there are places in America where you can leave $5 at an honor-system farm stand for a dozen eggs, but in other places you need to get a store clerk to unlock a $5 tube of Crest. Like so many things in America these days, our social contract doesn’t seem well distributed. | 
