National Retail Federation says 2021 data was flawed and based on congressional testimony from president of an advocacy group
The powerful National Retail Federation (NRF) lobbying group has retracted a claim that “organized retail crime” accounted for “nearly half” of the shopping industry’s $94.5bn losses due to theft or “shrink” in 2021.
The industry group had said the impact of organized retail crime, which it previously claimed had increased by 26.5%, had become increasingly violent. Retail giants like Target, Walmart and Walgreens said it was threatening their businesses.
The NRF said the figure was based on a congressional testimony from Ben Dugan, the former president of an advocacy group, the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail, and that an analyst from K2 Integrity, a risk consultancy that co-authored the report, inferred the “nearly half” claim.
Why do you think that?
Experience. It’s illegal in Brazil, no one has ever been convicted. It’s a hard crime to define. It’s like a law saying “strictly no ambling”, but how do you differentiate from regular walking?