When times get tough, people start shoplifting more. And retailers are hiring fewer workers, so it's harder to catch them. Most big sellers hire more workers to manage the crowds of gift shoppers during the weeks leading up to Christmas, but last year, retailers cut holiday hiring by 62%.
So store theft increased for the first time in six years, to a rate of 1.5% of total retail sales, or $36.3 billion lost. That rate was up from 1.4% in 2007, according to a survey of 103 U.S. store chains.
This year won't be better. There has also been an increase of shoppers loading up their carts and then running out the door.
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