Retailers have, however, taken action in recent years. Of the 50 most stolen products, the number of items protected from theft has increased from 60 percent in 2007 to 75 percent in 2011 with EAS (electronic article surveillance) source tagging and special high-theft solutions implemented by more retailers each year.

More than 86 percent of the loss prevention (LP) professionals surveyed saw inventory management and/or loss prevention as primary drivers to implement radio frequency identification.

The report also points out that the role of LP departments is evolving to increasingly provide a strategic service to the other areas of the business. Online retailing and new payment systems such as smart-phones bring new risks to the industry, meaning that LP professionals would benefit from working closely with IT, store operations and marketing in the fight against crime. The report notes that this collaboration draws on joint methods for analyzing shrink while data obtained from electronic surveillance and RFID solutions is often used to make improvements in marketing, operations and logistics.

While the report points out the clear correlation between loss prevention spending and lower shrink, the length and depth of the global recession has resulted in increased rates of shrink since 2007. The report, produced by the Centre for Retail Research, includes recommendations for the retail industry. The report, "Changing Retail, Changing Loss Prevention," is available via free download from Checkpoint Systems. It analyzes the evolution of retail crime and loss prevention uncovered by the "Global Retail Theft Barometer" publications since 2001.

Source: Checkpoint Systems