Shops lost £3.4bn to crime last year
Shoplifting, fraud and organised retail crime cost the UK high street more than £3.4bn last year, data released today shows. The report by market research Euromonitor International for retail security firm Checkpoint Systems shows that the cost of these losses to UK shoppers averaged £124.60 per household and represented 1.2 per cent of retail sales on average. Shoplifting represented the biggest problem to UK retailers, accounting for 36 per cent of total loss. However, theft by employees was also a major concern, making-up 33 per cent of the overall figure. Food theft in particular was reported to have increased in the last 12 months.