Latest news with #EHI
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shoplifting hits record high in Germany: Are criminal gangs behind it?
German retailers noticed a gaping hole of missing merchandise worth €4.95bn when they completed their inventories in 2024. That's according to a new publication by the country's EHI Retail Institute, based on a survey they carry out each year. And while the overall loss is 3% more than in the previous year and a new record, the nearly €5bn is not entirely due to crime. The report estimates that approximately €4.2bn of losses are linked to theft, and the rest can be blamed on companies' own mistakes, such as incorrect price labelling, and recording and valuation errors. The survey collected responses from 98 companies, operating more than 17,000 shops in Germany. The report suggests that shoplifting, including organised crime, cost approximately €2.95bn to the sector last year, an increase from €2.82bn in 2023. Companies' own employees were also behind losses of €890mn, and a loss of €370mn was attributed to theft by suppliers and service companies. According to EHI's report, shoplifting, theft committed by customers, has been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, despite police reports showing a 5% decline in reported cases in 2024. 'A total of 98% of all thefts go undetected in Germany, meaning that counting losses requires checking inventories for missing items,' the report said. Professional theft rings have become a significant retail threat. The study estimates that, compared to last year, shoplifting linked to organised criminal activity increased by 5%. In 2024, organised activity accounted for around one-third of all the customers' theft, or almost €1bn. 'Many retailers are certain that organised theft is becoming increasingly professional and will continue to increase,' the report said. It added: 'Larger groups enter stores and mercilessly pack products. Security and staff usually have no chance. The unmanageable development of gang crime, its connection to large online sales platforms, and the lack of action against it are problems.' Related Average salaries across Europe: Which countries have the highest pay? From gross pay to take-home: The real salary picture across Europe 'Another challenge remains 'ordinary' customer theft, which is partly attributed to rising living costs and higher unemployment,' the report said. Germany, the biggest economy in the EU, has been struggling with inflated energy prices and lower productivity, partly linked to the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's manufacturing sector is now facing major uncertainties in global trade, coupled with elevated energy prices and supply chain issues. The ailing economy has contracted every other quarter since the end of 2022. Housing costs rose to the extent that 12% of the population spent more than 40% of their income on it last year, according to the country's statistics office. The EU average is 8.2%. One-fifth of the people are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and though inflation has eased to around 2%, unemployment is at the highest level since late 2020, sitting at 6.2%, according to the Federal Employment Agency. The agency also said in its latest report that the number of unemployed people is nearing the 3 million mark for the first time in a decade. Nearly €2bn worth of stolen goods were missing from food stores, and smaller supermarkets were the most targeted. Drugstores and hardware stores also saw significantly increased losses in some cases. Meanwhile, official police records, which don't cover each case, show a 5% decline in shoplifting cases for 2024, according to Police Crime Statistics data (Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik). This follows two dramatic increases in 2022 and 2023 when the reported cases showed a double-digit jump each year, rising by 34.3% and 23.6% respectively. However, the survey by EHI Retail Institute said that an estimated 98% of shoplifting cases go undetected. In 2024, retailers' damage, worth €4.2bn, also translated into losses for the federal budget. 'The economic damage resulting from theft due to lost sales tax amounts to approximately €570mn per year,' the report said, assuming that three-quarters of the stolen items are subject to a VAT rate of 19% and the remaining quarter to 7%. Retail companies spend around 0.33% of their turnover on security measures, including staff training, camera surveillance, targeted use of store detectives, and anti-theft display units. The total cost of all related investments was around €3.1bn, bringing the total cost of theft and prevention to €7.3bn last year. This comes down to around 1.5% of the sales prices of the average purchase, meaning that customers had to shoulder the costs, too, the study concluded. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Euronews
05-07-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Shoplifting hits record high in Germany: Are criminal gangs behind it?
German retailers noticed a gaping hole of missing merchandise worth €4.95bn when they completed their inventories in 2024. That's according to a new publication by the country's EHI Retail Institute, based on a survey they carry out each year. And while the overall loss is 3% more than in the previous year and a new record, the nearly €5bn is not entirely due to crime. The report estimates that approximately €4.2bn of losses are linked to theft, and the rest can be blamed on companies' own mistakes, such as incorrect price labelling, and recording and valuation errors. The survey collected responses from 98 companies, operating more than 17,000 shops in Germany. The report suggests that shoplifting, including organised crime, cost approximately €2.95bn to the sector last year, an increase from €2.82bn in 2023. Companies' own employees were also behind losses of €890mn, and a loss of €370mn was attributed to theft by suppliers and service companies. According to EHI's report, shoplifting, theft committed by customers, has been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, despite police reports showing a 5% decline in reported cases in 2024. 'A total of 98% of all thefts go undetected in Germany, meaning that counting losses requires checking inventories for missing items,' the report said. Shoplifting is increasingly controlled by organised crime Professional theft rings have become a significant retail threat. The study estimates that, compared to last year, shoplifting linked to organised criminal activity increased by 5%. In 2024, organised activity accounted for around one-third of all the customers' theft, or almost €1bn. 'Many retailers are certain that organised theft is becoming increasingly professional and will continue to increase,' the report said. It added: 'Larger groups enter stores and mercilessly pack products. Security and staff usually have no chance. The unmanageable development of gang crime, its connection to large online sales platforms, and the lack of action against it are problems.' Poverty could also fuel shoplifting 'Another challenge remains 'ordinary' customer theft, which is partly attributed to rising living costs and higher unemployment,' the report said. Germany, the biggest economy in the EU, has been struggling with inflated energy prices and lower productivity, partly linked to the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's manufacturing sector is now facing major uncertainties in global trade, coupled with elevated energy prices and supply chain issues. The ailing economy has contracted every other quarter since the end of 2022. Housing costs rose to the extent that 12% of the population spent more than 40% of their income on it last year, according to the country's statistics office. The EU average is 8.2%. One-fifth of the people are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and though inflation has eased to around 2%, unemployment is at the highest level since late 2020, sitting at 6.2%, according to the Federal Employment Agency. The agency also said in its latest report that the number of unemployed people is nearing the 3 million mark for the first time in a decade. Where does shoplifting occur the most? Nearly €2bn worth of stolen goods were missing from food stores, and smaller supermarkets were the most targeted. Drugstores and hardware stores also saw significantly increased losses in some cases. Meanwhile, official police records, which don't cover each case, show a 5% decline in shoplifting cases for 2024, according to Police Crime Statistics data (Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik). This follows two dramatic increases in 2022 and 2023 when the reported cases showed a double-digit jump each year, rising by 34.3% and 23.6% respectively. However, the survey by EHI Retail Institute said that an estimated 98% of shoplifting cases go undetected. In 2024, retailers' damage, worth €4.2bn, also translated into losses for the federal budget. 'The economic damage resulting from theft due to lost sales tax amounts to approximately €570mn per year,' the report said, assuming that three-quarters of the stolen items are subject to a VAT rate of 19% and the remaining quarter to 7%. Increased security budgets Retail companies spend around 0.33% of their turnover on security measures, including staff training, camera surveillance, targeted use of store detectives, and anti-theft display units. The total cost of all related investments was around €3.1bn, bringing the total cost of theft and prevention to €7.3bn last year. This comes down to around 1.5% of the sales prices of the average purchase, meaning that customers had to shoulder the costs, too, the study concluded.
DW
04-07-2025
- Business
- DW
Germany sees surge in shoplifting cases – DW – 07/03/2025
A new survey of major German retailers has found a rise in theft, committed by organized gangs or by individuals who find it ever more difficult to make ends meet. But some criminologists doubt the figures. Germany has never had more shoplifters than in 2024. An annual survey of 98 retailers estimates a 3% increase on the year before — amounting to some €4.95 billion ($5.84 billion) in losses. The latest study by Germany's Retail Institute (EHI) on "inventory differences" shows that the vast majority of those losses (€4.2 billion) was down to theft from customers, employees, or delivery workers, the EHI said, which would mean losses of some €570 million to the public purse through lost sales tax. The EHI also said that retailers had to resort to balancing out their losses and the costs of extra security by increasing prices. Study author Frank Horst calculated that some 1.5% of prices in stores could now be attributed to covering theft and security. The EHI said there had also been a 5% increase in organized shoplifting, which accounted for a third of the total shoplifting losses. Horst said this could be individual thieves working their way through a "shopping list," or else, the thefts could be carried out by coordinated groups. "One of them drives a vehicle, one of them distracts the staff, or shields the one putting the goods away so they can't be seen," Horst told DW. "Sometimes so-called depots are set up in the store, where all the goods are packed in a bag, and then someone else carries it out in a surreptitious moment." The survey does not include exact breakdowns of the kinds of articles that get stolen, but Horst says that thieves often target anything small, expensive, and that can be easily re-sold, such as perfume and cosmetics. There had also been a rise in the theft of foods, especially relatively expensive things like meats and cheeses. But Nicole Bögelein, a criminologist at Cologne University, cast doubt on how useful the study actually is. She told DW that the researchers estimate that 98% of cases aren't even discovered. "So it's just an assumption that the majority of these losses can be attributed to theft," she said. Bögelein also cast doubt on the EHI's conclusion that there are more organized shoplifting gangs, as that could simply be because store detectives are more on the lookout for such groups. Despite its shortcomings, the annual EHI survey is one of the few shoplifting studies there are, and it is focused mostly on the economic impact. Bögelein, by training a sociologist as well as a criminologist, has a different perspective and says that almost all cases of shoplifting are so-called poverty crimes — defined as crimes that don't cost any money to carry out, and are committed by people because they have no money. Bögelein's own investigations into shoplifting have found that the people who are caught are often poor — possibly, she says, also because store detectives are more likely to keep an eye on people who "look poor." Official statistics suggest that the majority of thefts from shops are relatively petty. According to German federal police statistics, in 66.7% of discovered and prosecuted thefts, the value of the items stolen was under €50 and in 40.2% of cases even under €15. The punishment is usually a small fine, or, if the fine can't or won't be paid, a prison sentence. Horst described Germany as a "paradise" for shoplifters, as the punishments are often relatively mild. Though theoretically thieves can be imprisoned for up to five years, he said that in practice first-time offenders are often not charged at all. Bögelein said that deterrence might have an effect on some minor thefts, but was generally skeptical of the idea that more punishment discourages petty crime. "People don't not steal because they're scared of punishment," she argued. "In criminology, we find that people stick to rules because they think those rules are correct and because they fear a bad conscience if they don't stick to them." There has been a debate among German criminologists about to what extent "poverty crimes" should be decriminalized altogether, on the grounds that such crimes are usually victimless and therefore don't require criminal justice. There have long been calls to downgrade one classic "poverty crime" — riding public transport without a ticket — to a misdemeanor, partly because punishing it has become a burden to public coffers and is clogging up the justice system. Between 8,000 and 9,000 people end up in prison in Germany every year for riding without a ticket. But Horst argued that shoplifting shouldn't always be defined as a poverty crime: The EHI estimates that two-thirds of shoplifting cases were what he called "opportunistic perpetrators," and many of them are not necessarily poor. Horst does think that inflation and higher prices for basic items may be playing a role in the rise of shoplifting, but he was reluctant to accept that poverty was the driving element of all theft. "It could be a protest theft, because people are saying they're not prepared to accept the price rises for a particular product," he said, "I'm sure poverty is a part of it, but that it explains the rise on its own — I don't see that."While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
DW
03-07-2025
- Business
- DW
Shoplifting on the rise in Germany – DW – 07/03/2025
A new survey of major German retailers has found a rise in theft, committed by organized gangs or by individuals who find it ever more difficult to make ends meet. But some criminologists doubt the figures. Germany has never had more shoplifters than in 2024. An annual survey of 98 retailers estimates a 3% increase on the year before — amounting to some €4.95 billion ($5.84 billion) in losses. The latest study by Germany's Retail Institute (EHI) on "inventory differences" shows that the vast majority of those losses (€4.2 billion) was down to theft from customers, employees, or delivery workers, the EHI said, which would mean losses of some €570 million to the public purse through lost sales tax. The EHI also said that retailers had to resort to balancing out their losses, and the costs of extra security, by increasing prices. Study author Frank Horst calculated that some 1.5% of prices in stores could now be attributed to covering theft and security. The EHI said there had also been a 5% increase in organized shoplifting, which accounted for a third of the total shoplifting losses. Horst said this could be individual thieves working their way through a "shopping list," or else, the thefts could be carried out by coordinated groups. "One of them drives a vehicle, one of them distracts the staff, or shields the one putting the goods away so they can't be seen," Horst told DW. "Sometimes so-called depots are set up in the store, where all the goods are packed in a bag, and then someone else carries it out in a surreptitious moment." The survey does not include exact breakdowns of the kinds of articles that get stolen, but Horst says that thieves often target anything small, expensive, and that can be easily re-sold, such as perfume and cosmetics. There had also been a rise in the theft of foods, especially relatively expensive things like meats and cheeses. But Nicole Bögelein, criminologist at Cologne University, cast doubt on how useful the study actually is. She told DW that the researchers estimate that 98% of cases aren't even discovered. "So it's just an assumption that the majority of these losses can be attributed to theft," she said. Bögelein also cast doubt on the EHI's conclusion that there are more organized shoplifting gangs, as that could simply be because store detectives are more on the lookout for such groups. Despite its shortcomings, the annual EHI survey is one of the few shoplifting studies there are, and it is focused mostly on the economic impact. Bögelein, by training a sociologist as well as a criminologist, has a different perspective, and says that almost all cases of shoplifting are so-called "poverty crimes" — defined as crimes that don't cost any money to carry out, and are committed by people because they have no money. Bögelein's own investigations into shoplifting have found that the people who are caught are often poor — possibly, she says, also because store detectives are more likely to keep an eye on people who "look poor." Official statistics suggest that the majority of thefts from shops are relatively petty. According to German federal police statistics, in 66.7% of discovered and prosecuted thefts, the value of the items stolen was under €50 and in 40.2% of cases even under €15. The punishment is usually a small fine, or, if the fine can't or won't be paid, a prison sentence. Horst described Germany as a "paradise" for shoplifters, as the punishments are often relatively mild. Though theoretically thieves can be imprisoned for up to five years, he said that in practice first-time offenders are often not charged at all. Bögelein said that deterrence might have an effect for some minor thefts, but was generally skeptical of the idea that more punishment discourages petty crime. "People don't not steal because they're scared of punishment," she argued. "In criminology, we find that people stick to rules because they think those rules are correct and because they fear a bad conscience if they don't stick to them." There has been a debate among German criminologists about to what extent "poverty crimes" should be decriminalized altogether, on the grounds that such crimes are usually victimless and therefore don't require criminal justice. There have long been calls to downgrade one classic "poverty crime" — riding public transport without a ticket — to a misdemeanor, partly because punishing it has become a burden to public coffers and is clogging up the justice system. Between 8,000 and 9,000 people end up in prison in Germany every year for riding without a ticket. But Horst argued that shoplifting shouldn't always be defined as a poverty crime: The EHI estimates that two-thirds of shoplifting cases were what he called "opportunistic perpetrators," and many of them are not necessarily poor. Horst does think that inflation and higher prices for basic items may be playing a role in the rise of shoplifting, but he was reluctant to accept that poverty was the driving element of all theft. "It could be a protest theft, because people are saying they're not prepared to accept the price rises for a particular product," he said, "I'm sure poverty is a part of it, but that it explains the rise on its own — I don't see that." While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter, Berlin Briefing.
Bloomberg
25-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
German Retail Losses Hit New High as Criminal Gangs Target Shops
Germany's retailers are seeing more stock vanish from shelves as in-store theft, driven in part by organized crime, reaches new heights. Retail inventory losses in Germany rose to €4.95 billion ($5.7 billion) in 2024, a 3% increase from the previous year and the highest number ever recorded in industry surveys by the Cologne-based EHI Retail Institute. The increase was largely due to a nearly 5% rise in shoplifting, and a growing number of thefts associated with organized criminal groups, which typically steal at least €1,000 in goods per offense.
