ORC & Theft Hits $379B Globally
Theft and Shrink Now Cost Retailers $379 Billion a Year Worldwide
Locked shelves and plexiglass cases have become the public face of retail theft. The numbers behind them are harder to see. Organized retail crime and theft jumped to $379 billion globally, according to new research from analyst firm IHL Group, and the report points to a cost that never shows up on a security camera.

That cost is bad data. IHL finds that despite technological advances, ground-truth inventory accuracy remains compromised by shrinkage at every level from the store shelf to the supply chain. When goods leave a building without being recorded, the system of record starts lying.

The count says 12 while the shelf says 4

The math behind that number is where the damage spreads. Every stolen item creates a phantom unit, a product the system believes exists but doesn't. The replenishment software sees healthy stock and skips the reorder. The website promises next-day delivery on an item nobody can find. A customer walks out empty-handed while the dashboard reads green.

Theft is not the only thing corrupting the count. IHL attributes an additional $248 billion in global inventory distortion to personnel issues, including understaffing and training gaps. A mis-scanned pallet or a skipped receiving step produces the same result as a shoplifter: a record that no longer matches reality.

Both problems feed the same larger figure. IHL puts total global inventory distortion, the combined cost of out-of-stocks and overstocks, at $1.73 trillion annually, equal to 6.5% of global retail sales.

Retailers spent $172 billion on fixes. The count is still wrong

The locked toothpaste aisle has become shorthand for retail crime, and shoppers mostly read it that way. The IHL data supports a second reading: the $379 billion in theft also degrades the information layer of retail, the running count that decides what gets ordered and what gets promised.

That puts the problem in different hands. Loss prevention teams can harden stores, but keeping recorded inventory aligned with physical inventory is an operations job, and it runs through the warehouse and the receiving dock. IHL notes the industry poured $172 billion into improvements over the past year, and the losses persist anyway. Cameras and cases protect the product. Only accurate records protect the decisions built on top of it. missoulian.com


The CORCA Debate Continues to Rage
Retail theft bill spurs ‘very large and very dangerous’ surveillance fears

The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act has won a big House vote and could be on the fast track in the Senate — and supporters say it could help fight cybercrime.

A bill to battle organized retail theft has wide bipartisan support and momentum on Capitol Hill, even as opponents say it threatens to dangerously expand surveillance centered in Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a time when the agency’s aggressive conduct is under scrutiny.

Backers counter that critics are wrong about the bill that they say only would enhance existing information sharing arrangements, and could play a role in fighting cyber-enabled crime, too.

At its core, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) establishes an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division. It also would create criminal penalties for money laundering proceeds from selling stolen goods, and a $5,000 threshold for the combined total value of stolen property over a year for charging purposes.

Backers argue that the bill poses no risk to anyone but organized retail crime leaders.

A Senate Judiciary Committee spokesperson said the bill doesn’t give DHS any additional enforcement authorities, and is housed within DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations to build on the role they currently have in addressing transnational and organized criminal activity.

David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations for the National Retail Federation, noted the difference between ICE’s HSI, focused on a variety of criminal investigations including cybercrime, and its Enforcement and Removal Operations division that’s focused on finding and evicting those who violate U.S. immigration laws.

The bill could be one answer to rising cybercrime, he said.

Cyber means have also aided cargo theft with the creation of false personas and more, Johnston said: “They’re not going and stealing these trucks with physical violence. They’re driving them right out of the yard, waving to the security officer because they’ve got this whole organization behind them that are using these cybercriminal tactics.” cyberscoop.com


When Shoppers Enter the Crossfire
The Overlooked Bystander Risk in Retail Violence

By the D&D Daily staff

Much of the conversation around retail violence understandably focuses on protecting store associates. But violent incidents in retail environments can create another challenge for loss prevention and security teams: protecting everyone else who happens to be there.

Customers, delivery drivers, contractors and even people simply walking through a parking lot can suddenly become part of an incident that began as a shoplifting confrontation, robbery, domestic dispute or altercation between customers.

That creates a considerably different safety problem than traditional loss prevention.

Retailers can train employees on de-escalation procedures, emergency communication and when not to intervene. Customers receive no such training. During a violent incident, they may move toward the disturbance to see what is happening, attempt to intervene themselves, begin recording with their phones or unknowingly enter an area employees are trying to clear.

The problem becomes especially complicated in large-format stores, shopping centers and busy parking lots, where an incident can move rapidly from one location to another.

For LP and asset protection teams, this expands the concept of violence prevention beyond simply training associates.

Store layouts, exits, public-address systems, surveillance coverage and communication procedures can all influence how effectively employees protect customers when an incident occurs. Employees may also need clear guidance about directing shoppers away from danger without placing themselves at additional risk.

Parking lots deserve particular attention. Unlike controlled employee areas, parking lots bring together shoppers, employees, delivery workers, rideshare drivers and pedestrians while providing offenders with multiple avenues of escape.

The broader lesson is that retail violence rarely respects the boundaries of an LP incident.

A confrontation involving two people can quickly become a safety event involving dozens more. As retailers continue strengthening violence prevention programs, preparing employees to avoid confrontation remains critical — but so does planning for the customers and other bystanders who may suddenly find themselves in the middle of one.


New Law Aims to Deter Retail Violence
Louisiana's Behind the Counter Protection Act Expands Workplace Violence Protections
The Louisiana Behind the Counter Protection Act (“LBCPA”), which took effect on August 1, 2026, aims to deter workplace violence against employees who work directly with the public in retail, restaurant, and other customer-facing businesses. The Act strengthens criminal penalties for certain acts of violence against employees working at checkout stations, service counters, drive-through windows, customer service desks, and similar points of transaction.

Although the LBCPA does not impose new compliance obligations on employers, Louisiana businesses with covered employees should understand the law and consider incorporating its protections into their existing workplace-safety practices.

Who is Protected?

The LBCPA defines an “employee” as an individual who performs duties at or behind a checkout station, service counter, drive-through window, customer service desk, or similar location used as a point of transaction between an employee and a customer.

The Act is expressly directed toward workplace violence in retail and food-service establishments and applies its protections to employees of a “regulated establishment.” Notably, however, the Act does not separately define the term “regulated establishment.”

Enhanced Criminal Penalties

The LBCPA enhances Louisiana’s criminal penalties for simple battery and assault when those offenses are committed against an employee of a regulated establishment. jdsupra.com


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