Cost of Shoplifting in Australia.
Why have supermarkets been installing more cameras and security systems recently?
Experts have estimated the cost of supermarket theft to be in excess of $9 billion annually.
Spread over the almost 10 million households in Australia, that works out at about $900 per year, per household, being paid as an extra cost to cover the shoplifting losses incurred by the supermarkets.
If you see a shoplifter what do you do?
- Ignore them and accept your share of the cost?
- Mention it to someone?
It has been reported that the average Woolworths has 62 CCTV cameras in each store, together with around six and eight cameras, and an Artificial Intelligence overhead camera, determining whether the correct products are being scanned correctly.
Coles operates in a similar way, and is now introducing body-worn cameras in 30 of its most high-risk stores.
Woolworths CEO, Brad Banducci, has recently confirmed their stock lost costs at between $22 million and $25 million per week.