"Most Frequently Shoplifted [Supermarket] Items in Rank Order." (.pdf file) (Via ResourceShelf)

Go ahead, guess the top five.

Comments

[The Eclectic Econoclast]

There must be an identification/classification problem here. Surely candy should have made the top fifty, but maybe there are so many different varieties of candy (and shoplifters are so non-discriminating), that no single UPC-code of candy makes the top 50. Surely not all shoplifters are arthritic low-income pensioners; some must like candy bars, too.

And how the heck does one "shoplift" a CASE of Similac??? Are they sure that wasn't sold out the backdoor? If so, maybe many of these products appear on the list because of employee theft, not because of shoplifting.

[William Sjostrom]

At first I was puzzled that the smaller Advil was more likely to be targeted, but the bigger Aleve. There are two offsetting effects here. One is likelihood of being caught. It is easier to disguise a small package. (A port agent once told me that liquor is usually shipped in big shipments because it was easy for a longshoreman to steal one bottle, but very hard to disguise several stolen bottles. If they shipped a large volume each time, they lost proportionally less to theft.) On the other hand, there is the Alchian-Allen effect. The penalty for 50 Advil is probably about the same as for 100 Advil, making the bigger package more attractive. So I was puzzled why the net effect was different for Advil and Aleve. But notice, the list is under the FMI Organized Retail Theft section, which they distinguish from petty theft for personal use. That likely means larger scale theft, so the Alchian-Allen effect probably does not apply at the package level. (Notice that whole cases of Similac are more likely to be stolen than individual cans.)

[Kerry]

As a former retail drone, I can attest to the fact that people do steal entire cases of Similac...it's much easier than you'd think. Most security people won't get involved with similac theft since it's largely used to cut cocaine. If you're a security guard no form of protection besides a whistle and a walkie talkie...do you want to confront a cocaine dealer about stealing some baby formula?

Yeah, me neither.

[Brutal Hugger]

If you read the background document about that list, you'll see this isn't about petty shoplifting for personal use. This is a list of the stuff taken by organized groups of thieves for resale. It's not kids looking for candy bars.

[benny]

i definatly know why those gilette razor blades are being stolen. fucking expensive for some plastic things you are in need of. its almost like this printer is cheap, color is expensive thing. :o

[Obnoxious]

Reading through the list and original spiel - one item just jumps out at me as 'odd' - EPT Pregnacy Test single

I can understand the other items as they can be used for drugs or are easily disposable in large quantities - but pregnancy test kits?

What is being suggested here? Organised 'shop-lifting' gangs are stealing large quantities of pregnancy test kits possibly suggesting an indirect affliation with brothels? Surely by now with all the broadcast 'safe sex' messages the trend would be towards condom theft instead? Like...if your up to the stage of using a test kit your a bit late if you know what I mean...both in pregnacy and in STDs

Just seems strange that it appears in this list - maybe I am missing some alternative use for the item?

Do you feel it may be a case that the original author is trying to conjur up a listing of the 'most taboo' items they can think of to get their point across? I.e., prostitution, drugs, etc.???

[Jack]

I had guessed the reason the pregnancy tests (and condoms) appear is that people are embarassed to ask for them and so steal instead. However, if the list does not refer to theft by customers, but instead for resale, then that may not apply.

[Obnoxious]

I honestly thought the same too - possibly single persons grabbed a packet the morning after a big night - but the original article related to 'organised gangs' - this to me suggests stealing in bulk - I think the idea of organised gangs tagetting selected goods either relates to the good being usable in an alternative way (i.e., cough syrup and drug making) or easily and quickly dumped onto the market (i.e., CDs at the local Sunday market) - but pregnancy kits? I honestly can't see such a personal item being sold in great quantities at the local weekend markets - then again, perhaps I don't walk down that aisle

There must be an alternative use for them - perhaps they add a blue minty flavour to the drugs if used as swizzle sticks?

[jallgor]

There are a number of items on here that would fit into the "to embarrassed to buy" catgory. How do they track what the thieves do with the goods afterward? How do they know these are gang thefts? What I thought was interesting was the number of items on the list that people need almost everyday but that most people (in my opinion) feel are overpriced. Razors are all over the list as are batteries and I think most people feel these items are overpriced.

[Kevin Murphy]

Sure does seem like all shoplisfting happens at drug stores. Not ONE food item on the list. I'd have to believe that some food item would come higher than, say, Preparation H. Snickers comes to mind.

[jj mollo]

I believe Sudafed is used in making methamphetamine.