Shrink is a $45.2 Billion Problem

By: Doug Baker, Vice President - Industry Relations, Private Brands, Technology, Food Marketing Institute

Asset protection and security is becoming an increasingly more complex job. As the techniques for thwarting and catching criminals become more sophisticated, so too do the bad guys.

The 2016 National Retail Security Survey, conducted in collaboration by the National Retail Federation and the University of Florida, is a great snapshot into the environment for asset protection. Last year’s report revealed that retailers’ inventory shrink averaged 1.38 percent of retail sales, or $45.2 billion in 2015, up by $1.2 billion from 2014.

According to the report, nearly half of retailers surveyed reported increases in overall inventory shrink in 2015. And for the second year in a row, shoplifting surpassed employee theft as the greatest cause of inventory shrink.

Regardless of these realities, budgets for asset protection have not increased across the industry. That means AP departments are tasked with figuring out how to do more without spending more. To do that, learning from peers and networking within the industry remains an important priority.

FMI is joining up with the National Retail Federation to offer greater value to the asset protection community by combining our events beginning in 2018. This year’s NRF PROTECT, to be held June 26-28 in Washington, D.C., will feature an expanded offering for food retailers and more exhibit space dedicated to solution providers who focus on serving our community.

Our partnership also gets you a discount on the event. Use promo code FMI17 when you register at nrfprotect.nrf.com to get a full conference retail pass at a special FMI price of $750 (a savings of $500). Retail EXPO only passes are free.

We hope to see you at NRF PROTECT this year—and watch for the 2017 National Retail Security Survey to be released at the event.