Survey: Retail theft increases despite efforts to curb organized crime
Retail theft is still on the rise and remains top of mind for store managers even after years of tougher laws and coordinated crackdowns.
New research from warehouse and store inventory management software firm GreyOrange reveals that 61% of store managers have seen no improvement in theft following the recent crackdowns on organized crime (GreyOrange says more than 30 state laws have been enacted since 2022 to curb organized retail crime, including bills that enforce stricter penalties and lower felony thresholds).
Of those who report no improvement, 20% added that they believe theft has increased, while only 16% of managers have noticed a decrease. Food and grocery stores were the most likely to report theft increases (28%), and were 1.6-times more likely to say theft is up than to say it’s down.
Theft incidents are becoming more planned out, harder to thwart, and more dangerous, according to the survey. Nearly four-in-10 (37%) store managers said that theft seems to be more organized, while 35% say tactics are sneakier and harder to detect. Twenty-three percent of store managers describe incidents as becoming more “aggressive.”
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of store managers have felt unsafe due to attempted or successful theft in the past few months, while one-in-10 say they’re “frequently” worried about their safety. GreyOrange found that the problem is especially prominent at health and beauty stores, where more than three-quarters (77%) of managers report feeling unsafe because of theft incidents.
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“Retail theft doesn’t seem to be easing up, despite recent crackdowns and tougher criminal penalties,” said Troy Siwek, general manager of gStore by GreyOrange. “If anything, store managers feel that tactics are evolving to be even more aggressive, coordinated, and sneaky. High crime rates have a compound impact on the whole retail ecosystem. When team members feel unsafe at work, it’s harder to find and retain staff. When goods keep walking out the door, it’s harder to stay profitable. And when everyday items have to be locked behind glass, it’s harder for honest customers to enjoy their shopping experiences.”
GreyOrange’s survey was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 500 middle or senior managers working at retail stores in the U.S., aged 18 years or older. The data was collected between July 16 - 28, 2025.
