Retail Shoplifting & Theft Statistics In 2025
Retail crime, including violence and theft, is affecting the retail industry more than ever. Retailers lost over $132 billion to theft in 2024 and this year looks worse with an estimated loss of $142 billion.
These issues aren’t just limited to big brands or major cities. Statistics show that businesses of all sizes and types, across the entire country, are facing these challenges. No retailer is exempt from the impact of these criminal activities.
With 8 out of every 10 Americans shoplifting, the rate at which businesses are incurring losses is increasing year by year.
Let us take you on an insightful report on retail theft where we cover all aspects of it through facts and figures.
Shoplifting losses for retailers over the years
Retail theft will cost $142 billion to U.S. retail stores in 2025, that is a 7.3% increase from the $132 billion lost in 2024.
Retail sales lost due to theft have increased by 33% since the beginning of 2020.
Retail sales revenue lost to theft has only seen a decline once since 2016, that was back in 2017 when the losses decreased by 4.3%.
Here is a table showing the values of retail sales lost due to theft:
| Year | Retail sales lost due to theft |
| 2016 | $48.9 billion |
| 2017 | $46.8 billion |
| 2018 | $50.6 billion |
| 2019 | $61.7 billion |
| 2020 | $90.8 billion |
| 2021 | $93.9 billion |
| 2022 | $112.1 billion |
| 2023 | $121.6 billion |
| 2024 | $132 billion |
| 2025 | $142 billion |
Source: NRF.
General Retail Theft Statistics
- Both internal and external theft accounts for 64% of retail losses.
- Internal theft, involving employees, contributed to 29% of retail theft. Failures in processes, controls, and errors made up 27%, while unknown causes represented 6% and other factors accounted for 1% of the total.
- Retail loss percentages vary widely across different retail sectors. For instance, pharmacies, grocery stores, department stores, and mass merchandise retailers typically experience average loss rates exceeding 2%.
In contrast, specialty apparel stores have an average retail theft rate of 1.9%. Retail segments such as jewelry, watches, home furnishings, furniture, and footwear generally see average retail theft rates of 1.5% or less.
Source: NRF
Retail theft in small businesses
- 85% of small business retailers experience theft at least once a year, while only 5% report never experiencing theft.
- 75% of retailers report monthly theft losses between $500 and $2,500. Nearly 11% of small businesses have monthly losses over $2,500. 90% of businesses employing 31 to 40 people most often reported monthly theft losses between $500 and $2,500. 77% of businesses with 21 to 30 employees also reported this range.
- In 2023, 17% of small business retailers with 1 to 20 employees were the most likely to see an increase in the value of stolen items compared to previous years.
- Small business retailers with 41 to 50 employees were the most likely to report a decrease in the value of stolen items in 2023 compared to previous years, at 44%.
Source: Forbes
Frequency of shoplifting Statistics
Shoplifting is the most prevalent property crime in the U.S., with over 550,000 incidents occurring daily and $35 million worth of goods stolen each day.
Source: Price Gun
Shoplifter Demographics
- There are nearly 27 million shoplifters in the United States, that is equivalent to 8% of the country's population.
- 25% of shoplifters are juvenile while 75% are adults.
- 72% of juvenile shoplifters make the decision to steal while being in a shop and 33% of them admit that it's hard to break this habit even after getting caught.
On the other hand 73% of adult shoplifters make the decision to steal while being in a shop and 57% of them say it's hard to stop.
- 47% of high schoolers have shoplifted in the past year.
Source: Price Gun.
Types of Shoplifters Have Evolved in 2025
The type of shoplifter is changing. 62% of retailers in a survey say that two to three individuals working together to steal multiple items is more of a concern than it was a year ago, followed by individuals who shoplift several items at once (58%), often indiscriminately. Another 47% have seen an increase in groups of more than three individuals working together to steal multiple items.
| Type of Theft or Crime | Percent More Concerned |
| Multiple individuals shoplifting | 62% |
| Individual shoplifting several items | 58% |
| Individual shoplifting few items | 55% |
| Group shoplifting | 47% |
| Grab-and-run events | 38% |
| Smash-and-grab events | 26% |
Source: NRF's report on retail theft and violence.
Organized retail crime statistics
- Organized retail theft accounts for nearly 36% of the retail theft.
- 58% of organized retail crime is cargo theft.
- 70.7% of retailers report an increase in organized retail crime incidents over 5 years.
- Here is the list of most stolen items from specific categories:
| Category | Top stolen Items |
| Accessories | Backpacks, handbags, hats, jewelry, sunglasses |
| Clothing | Athletic clothes, denim, graphic t-shirts, lingerie, outerwear, workwear |
| Electronics | Mobile devices and tablets, audio equipment, batteries, gaming consoles, office printers |
| Food and Beverage | Alcohol, candy and gum, energy drinks, frozen seafood, fresh meat and seafood |
| Footwear | Branded athletic shoes, designer footwear, work boots |
| Health, Beauty and Personal Care | Cosmetics, deodorant, fragrance, over-the-counter medications, vitamins and supplements |
| Home Furnishings and Home Improvement | Bedding, home electronics, household chemicals, small appliances, tools, kitchen accessories |
| Infant Care | Diapers, infant formula |
| Other | Ammunition, cash, gift sets, lottery tickets, luggage, party supplies, toys |
Source: NRF.
Walmart Theft Statistics
- Theft costs Walmart an estimated $3 billion annually.
- Walmart loses approximately $800 million annually due to organized retail crime.
- 43% of Walmart's total annual losses are attributed to employee theft.
- Walmart faces over 900,000 shoplifting incidents annually across U.S. stores.
- The company experiences an average of 1,000 theft incidents daily in its U.S. locations.
- Each Walmart shoplifting incident results in an average of $200 in lost merchandise.
Electronic gadgets, meat, and beauty products are the most stolen items at Walmart.
Shoplifting Statistics by state
Washington is the most affected state by organized retail theft in the United States. The value of stolen goods in the state accounts to $347 per resident.
Below is the overview of the 10 most affected states with shoplifting:
-
Washington
| Metric | Value |
| Retail Theft Index | 48% higher than expected |
| Value of Stolen Goods | $347 per resident |
| Larceny-Theft Growth Rate | +24% (2019-2022) |
-
Washington, D.C.
| Metric | Value |
| Retail Theft Index | 69% higher than expected |
| Value of Stolen Goods | $336 per resident |
| Larceny/Theft Incidents | Highest in the U.S. (2,829 per 100,000 residents) |
-
Maine
| Metric | Value |
| Retail Theft Index | 13% higher than expected |
| Value of Stolen Goods | $228 per resident |
| Larceny-Theft Growth Rate | +6.5% (2019-2022) |
-
Hawaii
| Metric | Value |
| Value of Stolen Goods | $288 per resident |
| Lost Tax Revenue | $60 per resident |
| Larceny-Theft Incidents | 14th highest (1,532 per 100,000 residents) |
-
Pennsylvania
| Metric | Value |
| Value of Stolen Goods | Highest at $430 per resident |
| Lost Tax Revenue | $96 per resident |
-
New Hampshire
| Metric | Value |
| Retail Theft Index | 43% higher than expected |
| Value of Stolen Goods | $210 per resident |
| Cost to Business | $644 per resident |
| Lost Tax Revenue | $43 per resident |
-
Minnesota
| Metric | Value |
| Retail Theft Index | 10% higher than expected |
| Value of Stolen Goods | $199 per resident |
| Lost Tax Revenue | $49 per resident |
| Larceny-Theft Growth Rate | 15th worst |
-
North Dakota
| Metric | Value |
| Retail Theft Index | 71% higher than expected |
| Cost to Business | $916 per resident |
| Value of Stolen Goods | $168 per resident |
| Larceny/Theft Incidents | 21st worst (1,426 per 100,000 residents) |
-
Missouri
| Metric | Value |
| Value of Stolen Goods | $218 per resident |
| Retail Theft Index | 11% higher than expected |
| Larceny/Theft Incidents | 11th worst (1,580 per 100,000 residents) |
| Lost Tax Revenue | $42 per resident |
-
California
| Metric | Value |
| Value of Stolen Goods | $353 per resident |
| Lost Tax Revenue | $86 per resident |
| Retail Theft Index | 8% higher than expected |
| Cost to Business | $489 per resident |
Source: Forbes Impact of retail theft report.
Shoplifting behavior statistics
While theft seriously hurts retailer profits, what’s causing even more concern is the growing level of violence and threats that come with these crimes. Take a look at some behavioral statistics associated with retail thieves.
- 88% of retailers report that shoplifters are more aggressive and violent compared to the previous year.
- Retailers who specifically track violent shoplifting incidents saw a 35% average increase in incidents involving violence.
- 81% of retailers observed that Organized Retail Crime (ORC) offenders had become more violent in 2023.
- 67% of retailers see an increase in violence and aggression from ORC perpetrators compared to the previous year.
- 70% of retailers have observed an increase in theft by repeat offenders, and 61% of these respondents have also seen a rise in financial losses due to this group.
- 53% of retailers have reported an increase in violence from repeat offenders.
- More than 33% of respondents have noticed increases in juvenile shoplifting across all aspects: frequency, financial loss, and violence.
- 41% of retailers have seen a rise in juvenile violence during theft incidents.
- 53% of retailers report a moderate to significant increase in violence among repeat offenders during shoplifting, while 41% note an increase in violence among juveniles. Additionally, 59% of respondents saw no change in juvenile violence, compared to 47% who observed no change in violence among repeat offenders.
Source: NRF Security Survey.
Return fraud statistics
- 10.1% of holiday returns are fraudulent.
- 13.7% of retail returns were fraudulent in 2023, an increase from 10.4% the previous year. Return fraud cost retailers $101.91 billion, marking a 20.0% rise year-over-year.
- 48.8% of retailers encountered "wardrobing, where customers purchase an item, use it, and then return it, despite it not being defective.
- 44.2% retailers reported that consumers returned shoplifted or stolen merchandise, while 37.2% encountered returns of items bought with fraudulent or stolen payment methods.
Source: eMarketer
