Shoplifting hits record high in Germany: Are criminal gangs behind it?

German retailers noticed a gaping spread of missing merchandise worthy €4.95bn erstwhile they completed their inventories successful 2024. That's according to a caller publication by nan country’s EHI Retail Institute, based connected a study they transportation retired each year.

And while nan wide nonaccomplishment is 3% much than successful nan erstwhile twelvemonth and a caller record, nan astir €5bn is not wholly owed to crime. The study estimates that astir €4.2bn of losses are linked to theft, and nan remainder tin beryllium blamed connected companies’ ain mistakes, specified arsenic incorrect value labelling, and signaling and valuation errors.

The study collected responses from 98 companies, operating much than 17,000 shops successful Germany.

The study suggests that shoplifting, including organised crime, costs astir €2.95bn to nan assemblage past year, an summation from €2.82bn successful 2023.

Companies' ain labor were besides down losses of €890mn, and a nonaccomplishment of €370mn was attributed to theft by suppliers and work companies. 

According to EHI’s report, shoplifting, theft committed by customers, has been connected nan emergence since nan COVID-19 pandemic, contempt constabulary reports showing a 5% diminution successful reported cases successful 2024.

“A full of 98% of each thefts spell undetected successful Germany, meaning that counting losses requires checking inventories for missing items,” nan study said.

Shoplifting is progressively controlled by organised crime

Professional theft rings person go a important unit threat. The study estimates that, compared to past year, shoplifting linked to organised criminal activity accrued by 5%. 

In 2024, organised activity accounted for astir one-third of each nan customers’ theft, aliases almost €1bn.

“Many retailers are definite that organised theft is becoming progressively master and will proceed to increase,” nan study said. 

It added: “Larger groups participate stores and mercilessly battalion products. Security and unit usually person nary chance. The unmanageable improvement of pack crime, its relationship to ample online income platforms, and nan deficiency of action against it are problems.”

Poverty could besides substance shoplifting

“Another situation remains ‘ordinary’ customer theft, which is partially attributed to rising surviving costs and higher unemployment,” nan study said.

Germany, nan biggest system successful nan EU, has been struggling pinch inflated power prices and little productivity, partially linked to nan warfare successful Ukraine and nan COVID-19 pandemic.

The country’s manufacturing assemblage is now facing awesome uncertainties successful world trade, coupled pinch elevated power prices and proviso concatenation issues. 

The ailing system has contracted each different 4th since nan extremity of 2022.

Housing costs roseate to nan grade that 12% of nan organization spent much than 40% of their income connected it past year, according to nan country's statistic office. The EU mean is 8.2%.

One-fifth of nan group are astatine consequence of poorness aliases societal exclusion, and though ostentation has eased to astir 2%, unemployment is astatine nan highest level since precocious 2020, sitting astatine 6.2%, according to nan Federal Employment Agency. The agency besides said successful its latest study that nan number of unemployed group is nearing nan 3 cardinal people for nan first clip successful a decade.

Where does shoplifting hap nan most?

Nearly €2bn worthy of stolen equipment were missing from nutrient stores, and smaller supermarkets were nan astir targeted. Drugstores and hardware stores besides saw importantly accrued losses successful immoderate cases.

Meanwhile, charismatic constabulary records, which don’t screen each case, show a 5% diminution successful shoplifting cases for 2024, according to Police Crime Statistics information (Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik).

This follows 2 melodramatic increases successful 2022 and 2023 erstwhile nan reported cases showed a double-digit jump each year, rising by 34.3% and 23.6% respectively. However, nan study by EHI Retail Institute said that an estimated 98% of shoplifting cases spell undetected.

In 2024, retailers' damage, worthy €4.2bn, besides translated into losses for nan national budget.

“The economical harm resulting from theft owed to mislaid income taxation amounts to astir €570mn per year,” nan study said, assuming that three-quarters of nan stolen items are taxable to a VAT complaint of 19% and nan remaining 4th to 7%.

Increased information budgets

Retail companies walk astir 0.33% of their turnover connected information measures, including unit training, camera surveillance, targeted usage of shop detectives, and anti-theft show units. The full costs of each related investments was astir €3.1bn, bringing nan full costs of theft and prevention to €7.3bn past year. 

This comes down to astir 1.5% of nan income prices of nan mean purchase, meaning that customers had to enarthrosis nan costs, too, nan study concluded.