Employee theft from retail businesses accounts for over a third of shoplifting cases in stores, the highest level in Europe, according to a new study by Retail Ireland.
The study of 33 retail companies, which between them operate 800 shops and employ over 67,500 people around the country, found that 52% of retailers said that they have experienced an increase in crime in the last two years.
82% of respondents say they have suffered from shoplifting, with 39% experiencing theft of stock from employees.
Nearly half of retailers (49%) have experienced theft of cash from their premises, while over a third (36%) have experienced refund fraud and almost half (46%) have experienced credit card or cheque fraud. Retailers’ inventory loss caused by crime in Ireland stood at 1.43% in 2011, the equivalent value in sales of some €512 million.
