MASSIVE Retail Theft: The Unspoken Cause of High Prices and Economic Harm

The New American ^ | October 16, 2025 | Selwyn Duke

[E. Pluribus Unum]

There’s more than one reason for the high prices hurting average Americans. But one of them is seldom discussed: the massive retail theft now plaguing our country. How serious is it?

The total annual 2022 losses (e.g., including security and insurance) associated with criminality amounted to approximately $112.1 billion. Theft alone was 65 percent of this “shrinkage,” totaling a $72.9 billion loss. Of course, good citizens are supporting these criminals, too.

In fact, theft cost the average family more than $400 in 2022.

This isn’t distributed equally, though. Families in high-crime areas — i.e., people generally poorer to begin with — bear a greater cost, perhaps $600 to $800.

Citizens should ponder this the next time they contemplate supporting soft-on-crime politicians, whose inaction enables retail theft.

What’s more, theft causes many stores in high-crime areas to shut down completely. This reduces local market competition, allowing prices to rise further. Think about this when NYC Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani talks about creating city-run grocery stores or Michelle Obama complains of “food deserts.” (Inner-city residents, who may not have cars, may have to travel significant distances to a supermarket.) The real problem is law-and-order deserts — caused by the virtue deserts found in dishonest politicians’ hearts.

Stores Shuttering

In fairness, there are multiple reasons why brick-and-mortar establishments have been closing in recent years. Among them are e-commerce competition, high operating costs, consumer preference for online shopping, store over-expansion, and supply chain disruptions. But retail theft can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Apropos here is a forecast from Coresight Research, a leading retail analytics firm. It holds that approximately 15,000 U.S. retail stores are expected to close in 2025. This means a net loss of about 9,200 stores after accounting for approximately 5,800 planned openings.

…

[Brian Griffin]

Minor criminals can be dealt with so major criminals can be locked up longer.

The word "cangue" is French, from the Portuguese "canga" ... Frequently translated as pillory, it was similar to that European punishment except that the movement of the prisoner's hands was not as rigorously restricted and that the board of the cangue was not fixed to a base and had to be carried around by the prisoner.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cangue

One might use steel plates welded together. The welds might be photographed to verify it wasn't removed and only replaced shortly before scheduled removal.

[Brian Griffin]

"A type of shackle, the ball and chain is designed so that the weight of the iron ball at the end of the short chain restricts and limits the pace at which its wearer is able to move, making any attempt at escape much more difficult. The weight of the ball would typically be determined by the court, typically ranging from five to twenty-five pounds (2.27-11.34 kg)."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_and_chain

"This ball and chain leg-iron weighs 36 pounds (16.3 kilograms) and was designed to make movement extremely difficult and escape virtually impossible."

"Leg-irons were made by convict blacksmiths at Sydney’s lumberyard after those sent from England proved to be inferior and easily slipped off. Irons were affixed to and struck off convicts’ ankles by the blacksmiths."

https://mhnsw.au/stories/convict-sydney/ball-and-chain/

[gnarledmaw]

The massive retail organizations like Walmart approve of shrinkage or they wouldnt all supposrt democrat socialists and their Soros DAs.

[Brian Griffin]

I have proposed a penalty time room system. Shoplifters might choose to sit 100 hours in a penalty time room in 40 days rather than sit in prison. Penalty time rooms would allow criminals to retain/work a regular job. There would be no need to provide taxpayer-funded meals, medical care or public defenders to participants. Criminals would have to spend say 20 hours in a penalty time room in the first seven whole days after arrest to enroll in the system, otherwise there would be prison time.

Imprisonment is expensive. Democrat-run cities are overflowing with criminals.

[Veto!]

A few years ago, I was shopping at Target. Saw a woman walk in, take two dresses off the rack and walk out the door without paying for them. Employees did nothing to stop her.

“Why”I asked. “Because it costs more to prosecute her than the wholesale value of the clothes.”

If you shop at Target, go steal some clothes...

[chajin]

I wonder what the shrinkage is at an Amazon warehouse. I would assume that it would be organized theft, a la Goodfellas.

[Leaning Right]

There are a ton of videos on YouTube of shoplifters getting arrested. The really depressing part is how many get off with a slap in the wrist.

The store declines to press charges. Or the DA reduces the charges. Or the judge sentences them to probation. Even for repeat offenders.

I suppose stores might eventually have to go to the old Service Merchandise model. You pick want you want from a store catalog. You pay for it.

Then a store employee gets you your order from a secure back room.

[Leaning Right]

> “Because it costs more to prosecute her than the wholesale value of the clothes.” <

These stores are also afraid of lawsuits. An employee gets hurt trying to stop a shoplifter. Or the shoplifter gets hurt. Then the lawsuits get filed.

This whole thing is a rot on society. Some poor slob stands in line with his last $20 bill to buy something his family needs. Then he watches someone walk right out without paying.

How long before this poor slob’s moral compass starts to slip?

[Verginius Rufus]

If they are sentenced to spend time in a penalty time room, they should be forced to listen to someone reading to them (like medieval monks at meals). Maybe give them a choice: someone reading from the Bible, or from the Federalist Papers, or from The Wealth of Nations, or War and Peace or Crime and Punishment. Maybe they would leave as better persons.

[bakeneko]

Thanks Chamber of Commerce for clearing that up for me. All this time I thought it was FED money printing and GOV porkulus projects that caused inflation. It was shoplifters all along.

[AZJeep]

The worst problem is the organized theft.
Professional thieves supported by organization with system of distribution of the stolen mechanize.
Those people are very skilled, they know what to steal and how to steel it.

[Old Yeller]

Self-checkouts depend on the honor system in order to work. Most people seem to have no honor.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Self-checkouts depend on the honor system in order to work. Most people seem to have no honor.

The new self-checkouts at my local Walmart have overhead cameras that watch you as you check out. The AI alerts the attendants when you do something furtive. It works pretty well. It flagged me merely for accidentally having my body in the way of the basket when I took something out. I am pretty sure it would catch you if you put something in a bag without scanning it.

[Noumenon]

That assumes that they can read.

[hanamizu]

The Chinese punishment included the fact that the punished man had to have people willing to feed him and give him water to survive.

[Verginius Rufus]

No, they just have to listen to someone else reading. Of course whether they can understand what was being read is another question. Well-written books from 150 or 200 years ago are sometimes hard for people today (including typical college students) to understand.

[spintreebob]

Nationwide we need the Broken Window approach of Rudy Guliani and James Q Wilson.

Prosecute the minor crimes and there will be no escalation to major crimes.

[Henry Hnyellar]

But I was told, “They just write if off!”

[Henry Hnyellar]

But I was told, “They just write if off!”