eBay Partners With Retailers to Battle ORC
To fight organized retail crime, brands and government must join forces

By Christian Hardman, who leads eBay’s North America Criminal and Regulatory Investigations team.

Institutions such as eBay, where I lead the North American Criminal and Regulatory Investigations team, have made real strides in addressing organized retail crime, but without action from the federal government, our efforts can only address a fraction of the issue.

The size and scale of the problem explain why eBay has invested billions in making our platform safer. Advanced AI tools and highly trained inspectors constantly monitor our listings to identify and remove potentially stolen or prohibited items. Thanks to these efforts, 99.2 percent of prohibited item violations were blocked last year before ever appearing on eBay.

Additionally, my team proudly partners with retailers and law enforcement agents nationwide to investigate and prosecute these cases. Our work with CVS helped prevent an estimated $50 million from being stolen from the pharmacies last year.

Attorneys general across the nation are putting real resources into stopping these crime rings, starting task forces, partnering with retailers, and working with companies like eBay to fight back. In California, for instance, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a new law last month that makes it easier to prosecute these cases and enforce existing laws.

Now, it’s time for the federal government to step up as well. Fortunately, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) have introduced the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, which would go a long way toward ending these activities.

If passed, the law would launch a Center to Combat Organized Retail Crime at Homeland Security Investigations. The new center would bring together representatives from industry and state and local law enforcement agents. The bipartisan law would also establish new tools to help in federal investigation and prosecution. thehill.com


Security Firm Returns to Hands-Off Policy After Fatal Shoplifting Confrontation
A Shoplifter Gets Shot Stealing Candy at Walgreens. Who’s to Blame?

More than a year after the killing, the official answer is no one; even San Francisco’s mayor backs a state ballot measure to stiffen shoplifting penalties

Private security guard Michael Anthony carried a .40-caliber Glock on his last shift at the Walgreens near Union Square, under fresh orders to crack down on shoplifters. Anthony wanted to keep his bosses happy and hold on to his $40-an-hour job. His work as a security guard had over a decade helped him escape poverty, buy a car and rent an apartment.

The 33-year-old guard was told to retrieve stolen goods, part of a stepped-up security push. An eruption of petty thievery at chain stores in U.S. cities nationwide had cut into revenue and put scores of household items—from toothpaste to deodorant—under lock and key.

The deadly confrontation, which lasted less than a minute, drew citywide attention: A Black homeless man killed over a pittance. A Black security guard working to stay afloat. A corporate giant relying on contract workers with limited training to combat a shoplifting epidemic driven by homelessness, addiction and avarice.

Anthony was in custody several days while prosecutors weighed whether to charge him, a decision that officials said was insulated from politics and public sentiment.

Local authorities had been under pressure to punish shoplifters. In the summer of 2021, the video of a man in San Francisco casually bicycling from a Walgreens with a garbage bag full of stolen goods aired nationwide to outraged viewers. Store owners complained that police didn’t arrest shoplifters. Police officials groused about laws easing penalties for petty crimes, making arrests a waste of time. Shoppers gawked at brazen thievery.

The decision about Brown’s homicide—was it murder or self-defense?—rested with San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, a career prosecutor. She won election as a law-and-order candidate in 2022, replacing Chesa Boudin, a progressive who was recalled by voters of the pointedly liberal city for being too soft on crime.

After Brown’s killing, Anthony’s employer, Kingdom Group Protective Services, a California-based private security firm, lost its Walgreens contract and laid off the guards who worked at the stores. The firm returned to a hands-off policy toward shoplifters and prohibited its guards from carrying firearms. Kingdom’s chief executive declined to comment on company policies.  wsj.com


Target Takes a Sigh of Relief As Theft Problem Improves
Target CEO hopes the company will eventually remove locked cases as it combats retail theft
Target is trying to thread the needle as it combats retail's long-running problem: store theft. "I feel so much better today than I did a year ago," Target CEO Brian Cornell said in an interview with Yahoo Finance for its Lead This Way series. "It comes back to support at the federal level, at the state level, and at the local level."

The federal INFORM Consumers Act, which took effect in June of 2023, helps deter theft by making it more difficult to resell stolen goods online. Under the legislation, companies with "high-volume third-party marketplaces" like Amazon (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY) must "collect, verify, and disclose certain information about those sellers." Any violations will result in a penalty of $50,120 per infraction.

The legislation is "starting to crack down on some of the marketplace abuses that were out there," said Cornell. He also noted he's "seeing some actions" in state legislation, particularly in California.

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed 10 bills to crack down on theft, including stricter penalties for retail theft and anyone involved in organized retail crime. There are also new penalties for "smash-and-grabs," or "flash robs" like the one seen at a Nordstorm (JWN) last year that resulted in the loss of roughly $300,000 in merchandise.

An ultimate fix won't happen overnight; "It's going to take several years. We're trying to make sure we can control what we can control," Cornell said.

In its second quarter report, Target's gross margin rate reflected roughly 90 basis points "of benefit from lower inventory shrink." That's compared to a 20-basis-point lift in Q1. Its guidance assumes that benefit will increase year over year. finance.yahoo.com


The Debate Over California's New Theft Ballot Initiative - Prop 36
Pro/Con: Would Prop 36 help California’s theft and drug problems or make them worse?

San Jose Mayor Mahan, Sacramento Mayor Steinberg debate measure toughening laws but offering treatment instead of prison

Proposition 36 on the Nov. 5 ballot would make thefts of $950 or less a felony, punishable by up to three years in county jail or state prison, if the person has two or more past convictions for theft crimes. The measure also permits prosecutors to charge people who possess illegal hard drugs and have two prior drug convictions with a special felony that lets them choose treatment over prison.

Yes: San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan says Prop. 36 would help end suffering on the streets. The measure wouldn’t return California to mass incarceration, but would keep people alive and out of jail. A growing community of locally elected officials are also voting yes.

No: Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg says Prop. 36 would slash treatment funding and increase incarcerations. The measure offers a Catch-22 for addicts — jail if you don’t accept drug treatment. But it would make deep cuts to funding for treatment so that no slots are available.

Editorial: Prop. 36 is a smart response to crime, addiction and homelessness. It’s a much-needed adjustment of Proposition 47, the well-intentioned criminal justice reform measure state voters passed in 2014. While the measure would increase punishments for some theft and drug crimes, it would also create incentives for addicts to seek drug treatment. mercurynews.com


Business Community Favors Prop 36 Passage
CalChamber Supports Prop 36 Measure to Penalize Retail Theft
At its most recent meeting, the California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors took a support position on Proposition 36, a November ballot measure that would allow felony charges for thefts under $950 with two prior theft convictions and allows felony charges for possessing certain drugs, including fentanyl, with two prior drug convictions.

The CalChamber supports this measure because retail theft harms California businesses and residents. Increasing penalties for offenses will hold criminals accountable and deter future offenses. The low penalties currently in place create little incentive to report, prosecute, and punish offenders, meaning that criminals are let back out into communities. Prop 36’s heightened penalties are intended to break that cycle.

Moreover, fentanyl is now responsible for 20% of youth deaths in California. Defining fentanyl as a hard drug will hold drug dealers accountable and gives judges tools to impose harsher sentences for drug trafficking crimes.

Breaking the cycle of retail theft also requires addressing the causes of theft. This proposition provides mental health, drug treatment services, and job training for those struggling with homelessness, substance abuse or mental illness. advocacy.calchamber.com


Prop 47 Becomes Hot Button Issue in Presidential Campaign
Trump claims Harris is responsible for a controversial shoplifting law, but he overstates her role
Former President Donald Trump often blames Vice President Kamala Harris for a California law that he claims permits shoplifting up to $950 in merchandise without consequences, seeking to portray her as a member of the "radical left" by lambasting her positions and record on criminal justice.

In at least eight recent campaign and press events, Trump and other high-profile Republicans have sought to cast Harris as weak on crime, holding her responsible for California's Proposition 47, which makes the theft of goods worth $950 or less a misdemeanor, rather than a felony.

"She came up with a great idea. You can steal as much as you want up to $950, and nothing happens to you," Trump said earlier this month in remarks to the Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Trump's claim is misleading because it overstates Harris' role in the bill. As California's attorney general when the proposal took effect, Harris had a role in writing the initiative's finalized title and summary, and she verified that the proposition met the number of signatures required to be added to the ballot. However, Harris was not involved in drafting the law or passing it, and she remained neutral on the initiative throughout the process, according to The Mercury News and SFGate. cbsnews.com


RetailTech: Loss Prevention—Understanding the Big Picture To Prevent, Mitigate and Recover “Shrink”ing Profits

FBI's 'flawed' crime data highlighted by Chicago's 118 'missing murders': expert
 

The Retail Impact of a Possible Port Strike
What Would an East Coast Port Strike Mean for Retail?
According to the National Association of Manufacturers, over 68% of containerized exports and 56% of containerized imports pass through ports along the East and Gulf Coasts, amounting to an average daily trade value exceeding $2.1 billion.

Holiday selling isn’t expected to be impacted as freight was brought in earlier or diverted to the West Coast. Those moves sent U.S. imports to multi-year highs in July and August, exacerbating a shipping price increase tied to rerouting vessels around Africa to avoid rebel attacks on ships near the key Suez Canal trade shortcut.

However, even a short strike could lead to significant disruptions in regional trade flow. JPMorgan transportation analysts project that a strike could inflict a $5 billion daily loss on the economy, equivalent to around 6% of daily GDP. They further estimate that for every day the ports remain closed, it would take approximately six days to clear the resulting backlog.

A prolonged strike lasting a month would almost certainly hurt the U.S. economy, leading to shortages of consumer and industrial goods as well as higher shipping costs, driving up prices just as U.S. inflation normalizes. retailwire.com


More Retailers Cutting Prices
Giant Eagle announces 20% produce price cuts
Giant Eagle, Inc. is slashing prices on fruits and vegetables to help its shoppers save.

The Pittsburgh-based grocer has announced a 20% average price reduction on more than 200 produce items across its Giant Eagle and Market District locations, which it says will offer customers an estimated $25 million in annual savings. The “New Low Price” initiative will include many of the most popular items in the produce department, including oranges, avocados, broccoli, mushrooms, potatoes and yams, salad kits and much more.

Giant Eagle added that the long-term price reductions play a “critical role” in how it plans to deliver value to customers. Giant Eagle operates more than 470 stores throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.  chainstoreage.com


JLL: Holiday budgets up this year, but gift spending to fall; mall visits to rise
Holiday budgets are expected to rise 31.7% this holiday season, totaling $1,261 per shopper for gifts, holiday food and décor, and experiences and up from $958 last year, according to JLL’s 2024 Holiday Shopping Survey. Gift spending, however, is expected to make up only 46% of total holiday budgets, compared to 55% in 2023, due to increased spending on holiday-related experiences such as dining out or attending a live performance.  chainstoreage.com


Salt Life retail stores to close in bankruptcy

Bath & Body Works cuts executive role to streamline organization