Theft Is ‘Higher Than What It Has Historically Been’: Walmart CEO

A 24-hour grocery pickup location at a Walmart in Oklahoma City, Okla., on May 30, 2017. Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has weighed in on the rising trend of retail theft, terming it an issue that has become much worse than ever before.

During an interview with CNBC, McMillon said that Walmart stores across the United States are experiencing an uptick in shoplifting. The issue of theft is now “higher than what it has historically been,” he added. “We’ve got safety measures, security measures that we’ve put in place by store location. I think local law enforcement being staffed and being a good partner is part of that equation, and that’s normally how we approach it.”

As to how jurisdictions should handle shoplifting cases, the Walmart CEO warned that if the situation is not corrected over time, prices will rise and some stores will shut down.

McMillon’s comments come after Target CFO Michael Fiddelke said last month that shoplifting had risen by around 50 percent on an annual basis, resulting in company losses to the tune of $400 million. Rather than petty theft, it is organized retail theft that now accounts for a majority of shoplifting, he stated.

Back in January, Scott Glenn, vice president of asset protection at Home Depot, said in an interview with Fox that the firm has been implementing “more physical security” as well as deploying new technologies and tools to make theft harder.

A Sept. 14 report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) claims that the number of professional organized retail crime rings and the frequency of attacks have reached a “crisis” level.

“These highly sophisticated criminal rings jeopardize employee and customer safety and disrupt store operations. Retailers are bolstering security efforts to counteract these increasingly dangerous and aggressive criminal activities,” said Mark Meadows, NRF vice president for research development and industry analysis.

Retail Theft

A survey of small-business owners found that 54 percent saw an increase in shoplifting last year. In 2020, organized retail crimes cost stores more than $700,000 per $1 billion in sales on average, which is more than 50 percent higher than the previous five years, according to a survey by NRF.

The large-scale theft and looting puts more pressure on the retail industry that has been struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, supply-chain disturbances, and shortages of labor, Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement.

“Retail theft is becoming a national crisis, hurting businesses in every state and the communities they serve. We call on policymakers to tackle this problem head-on before it gets further out of control. No store should have to close because of theft.”

The Commerce Chamber has sent a letter to Congress asking for the passage of legislation that prevents stolen goods from being sold in open markets, updates the definition of organized retail crime, raises criminal penalties, and holds those who engage in organized and significant retail theft accountable for their actions.