Consumer
US Retailers Pare Store Locations, Hours Due to Increase in Theft
- Losses from shrink edged up to 1.6% of sales in 2022, NRF says
- Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York among hardest-hit markets
In the survey, 28% of respondents said they’d closed some stores and 45% said they’d pared operating hours at some locations.
Photographer: Cole Burston/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
US retailers are closing stores, cutting operating hours and changing product selections in response to an increase in crime, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.
Safety concerns are also intensifying, with about half of respondents saying shoplifters were “much more” aggressive and violent last year than in 2021, the NRF said Tuesday. One source of increased theft is organized retail crime, and its biggest effects were in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area, Houston, New York and Seattle, said the trade group, which represents retailers.