{"id":2019508,"date":"2023-09-01T15:15:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T19:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mayhem-on-main-street-retail-theft-has-serious-side-effects-for-wider-community\/"},"modified":"2023-09-01T15:19:03","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T19:19:03","slug":"mayhem-on-main-street-retail-theft-has-serious-side-effects-for-wider-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mayhem-on-main-street-retail-theft-has-serious-side-effects-for-wider-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Retail theft has severe consequences for the community."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmayhem-on-main-street-retail-theft-has-serious-side-effects-for-wider-community%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2019508&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Mayhem on Main Street: The Hidden Costs of Retail Theft<\/h2>\n<p>A\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/small-businesses-helpless-over-spike-in-retail-thefts-say-they-feel-abandoned-by-lawmakers\/\" title=\"Small businesses feel abandoned by lawmakers amid surge in retail thefts.\">nationwide retail theft epidemic<\/a> has wreaked havoc \u200con the United States, resulting in a staggering loss of nearly $100 billion in 2021 alone. The consequences are far-reaching, with stores forced to raise prices or close their doors, insurers refusing to provide assistance, and small businesses\u200b left struggling to survive. In this\u200c captivating series, Mayhem on Main Street, the Washington Examiner delves deep into the\u2063 causes \u2063of this shoplifting scourge, \u200cexploring the role of cartels, the impact on both large and small stores, and the complicity of \u200clenient prosecutors. Part 5 of this series focuses on the ripple effects of retail theft on communities. To catch up on parts 1, 2, 3, and 4, click here, here, here, and here.<\/p>\n<h3>The Hidden Consequences \u2064of \u200bOrganized \u2063Retail Theft<\/h3>\n<p>Organized retail theft not \u2064only eats into the profits of major brands but \u2062also has a profound impact on the shopping\u200b experience\u200b and the broader community in various indirect ways.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Shoppers are now seeing everyday items like toothpaste and dish soap behind lock and\u2064 key. Retailers know it is an inconvenience for customers,&#8221; the National Retail Foundation\u200c said in a statement to Congress\u200b this year. &#8220;The anti-theft security \u2062measures can lead to lost sales from customers who must wait for an employee to unlock a cabinet so they can access a \u2063product.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Headline-grabbing videos of \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mayhem-on-main-street-retail-theft-has-serious-side-effects-for-wider-community\/\" title=\"Retail theft has severe consequences for the community.\">masked\u200d individuals swiftly looting store shelves<\/a> and making a clean getaway have highlighted \u200dthe immediate financial losses faced \u2064by retailers due to increasingly sophisticated \u2062organized \u200dretail theft rings.<\/p>\n<h3>The Domino Effect of Store Closures<\/h3>\n<p>Big-box\u200b stores \u200chave been\u200b forced\u2063 to close their doors in high-crime areas due to organized\u2064 retail\u200b theft, making it impossible to sustain operations. Unfortunately, \u200cthe closure of flagship stores often seals the fate of surrounding small businesses.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Crime is partly to \u2064blame. Last month, in the nearby San Francisco Centre mall, Nordstrom closed its flagship location in the city, joining other retailers that have fled the \u2064effects of theft \u2064and overall crime \u2063levels and leaving a gaping hole in\u200c the already-struggling mall.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>For instance, in San Francisco&#8217;s Union Square, the departure of a few well-known retailers triggered a mass exodus, resulting in the closure of nearly half of the \u200ccomplex&#8217;s stores since 2019. When major retailers abandon shopping\u200b complexes \u200cdue to retail theft and crime, the decrease in foot traffic further exacerbates the challenges faced by the remaining stores.<\/p>\n<h3>The Rise of Online Shopping<\/h3>\n<p>Even before the pandemic, online shopping was \u200cgaining\u200c popularity. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dozens-of-looters-storm-a-california-nordstrom-employees-pepper-sprayed-physically-assaulted\/\" title=\"Dozens Of Looters Storm A California Nordstrom; Employees Pepper-Sprayed, Physically Assaulted\">organized retail theft<\/a>\u200c has pushed more shoppers away from physical stores and towards e-commerce platforms.<\/p>\n<p>One of the indirect effects\u2063 of retail theft is the implementation of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chicago-news-crew-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-reporting-on-robberies\/\" title=\"Chicago news crew robbed while reporting on robberies.\">anti-theft measures<\/a>, such as locking up commonly stolen items. \u2062This inconvenience has driven more\u200b customers\u2062 to \u200bshop online, where they\u200b can easily find\u2064 the products they\u2064 need.<\/p>\n<h3>Staff Shortages and Decreased Morale<\/h3>\n<p>Retail theft \u200dhas not only impacted profits \u2063but has also driven many workers away from the industry, exacerbating the crime problem.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Surveys\u2063 show retail workers report feeling\u200d less \u200csatisfied and safe on\u200d the job as crime becomes a more regular occurrence in many of their workplaces.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>During the pandemic, assaults at grocery \u200cstores \u200crose by 63%\u200d and assaults \u2064at convenience stores rose by 75%. Frustratingly, corporate \u2062policies often \u2064prevent employees from intervening in theft incidents, leading to further demoralization among retail workers.<\/p>\n<h3>Higher Prices and Localized Shortages<\/h3>\n<p>Consumers\u200c are likely to face higher prices for goods due to the effects of retail theft. Retailers lose billions of \u2062dollars each year, and some of that loss is passed on to shoppers\u200c through increased prices.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore,\u2064 areas \u2064heavily impacted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dicks-sporting-goods-sees-profits-plummet-24-amid-retail-theft\/\" title=\"Dick's Sporting Goods' profits drop 24% due to retail theft.\">organized retail\u200c theft<\/a> may experience localized shortages. Theft rings target specific products for resale, causing temporary shortages that drive consumers towards online shopping.<\/p>\n<p>Retailers have responded by\u2062 adjusting their strategies. For example, Target has stopped stocking frequently stolen\u200b items\u200c in areas \u2063most affected by organized retail theft.<\/p>\n<p>As Brian Cornell, CEO of Target, aptly stated, &#8220;When products \u2062are stolen, simply put, they&#8217;re no longer available for guests who depend on them. \u2064And\u200b left unchecked, theft and organized retail crime [begin] \u200c to degrade \u200dthe communities we call home.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US faced a $100 billion loss in 2021 due to a widespread retail theft crisis. Stores are increasing prices or closing down, insurers are uncooperative, and small businesses suffer the most. The Washington Examiner&#8217;s series, Mayhem on Main Street, delves into the root causes of this alarming issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2019509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2019508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2019508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2019509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2019508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2019508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2019508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}