How to Tackle the $110 Billion Shoplifting Problem with OSINT

Retail shrinkage, the loss of inventory due to theft, fraud, and administrative errors, has become an increasingly complex challenge for retailers, with losses spiking during peak shopping seasons. 

Shoplifting is at the heart of this issue, costing the U.S. $110 billion annually and accounting for 65% of all retail losses. Beyond the U.S., retail theft is also rising internationally, with incidents surging in the UK.

What was once opportunistic theft has evolved into organized, large-scale criminal operations. Networks now involve not only shoplifters but also dealers of stolen goods and sometimes even complicit employees.

Causes of Retail Theft

Retail theft is driven by a combination of economic pressures, organized criminal exploitation, and employee involvement, creating a multifaceted challenge for retailers and law enforcement. While economic hardship can trigger opportunistic theft, repeat offenders often have deeper issues, such as substance abuse or even resentment toward retailers. External theft, including Organized Retail Crime (ORC), accounts for 36% of shrinkage, while internal employee theft contributes 29%. These dynamics highlight the need for comprehensive security strategies.

The Collaborative Fight Back

Law enforcement and retailers in the U.S. are increasingly working together to combat organized retail crime. Just this year, local police departments across the country have ramped up efforts to tackle retail theft by forming partnerships with major retailers. In New Jersey, police chiefs have joined forces with businesses to pool intelligence and target repeat offenders. Similarly, in New York City, the mayor’s office launched a new pilot program to address retail theft, focusing on improving collaboration between law enforcement and retailers. Philadelphia is implementing a comparable plan. These initiatives reflect a growing recognition that a united approach is key to addressing the rising problem of organized retail crime.

Leveraging OSINT to Combat Retail Shrinkage

Automated OSINT platforms have transformed investigative capabilities for retailers and law enforcement, providing a powerful tool to combat theft with unprecedented efficiency. By instantly processing publicly and commercially available data, these platforms enable rapid, cost-effective intelligence gathering that dramatically reduces investigation expenses when applied at scale.

Here are the areas where OSINT can help:

1. Situational Awareness: Analysts can transform reactive security into proactive prevention. By continuously reviewing social media and crime data, alongside internal data, teams can identify emerging theft hotspots and tackle organized crime groups. Particularly critical during peak shopping seasons, this approach allows retailers to deploy targeted security measures before criminal activities escalate.
2. Evidence Gathering: OSINT investigators collect crucial information on retail thieves from public records, social media profiles, and vehicle data. This can help by identifying when suspects have a criminal history, associated addresses, and the vehicles they use to get away after thefts or transport stolen merchandise.
3. Link Analysis: Theft rings are behind many high-value retail crimes, and OSINT can help identify and map the connections between criminals involved in these operations, making it easier to dismantle them and prevent additional crimes. By creating link analysis charts with public data points, investigators can uncover commonalities that help connect the dots between criminals and internal actors who work together to carry out thefts.

The Economic Logic of OSINT

Traditional investigation methods are expensive. A single, manual internal theft investigation averages over $2,000 per case, making many small-scale incidents economically unfeasible to pursue. Automated OSINT platforms, however, can change this calculation, dramatically reducing the average cost of investigations and increasing the potential for successful prosecution.

Automating OSINT Workflows

Retail shrinkage has evolved from a mere operational challenge to a critical security issue, driven by rising shoplifting rates and increasingly sophisticated criminal networks. The future of retail security demands a transformative approach, moving beyond traditional defensive strategies to proactive, intelligence-driven prevention.

OSINT plays a key role in this paradigm shift. By leveraging advanced tools that enhance situational awareness and investigative capabilities, retailers and law enforcement can disrupt criminal networks more effectively. The key lies not in building higher walls but in developing deeper, more strategic intelligence that anticipates and prevents criminal activity. Combining inter-organizational collaboration with modern OSINT technologies creates a formidable defense to protect assets and reduce inventory shrinkage.

Skopenow's platform stands at the forefront of this technological approach, offering automated, reliable tools for flagging and investigating retail crime. 

Join over 1,500 organizations—including law enforcement agencies across the country and 20% of the Fortune 500—that rely on Skopenow's platform to automatically collect and process relevant publicly available information and make better decisions. Learn more and schedule a personalized demo today at www.skopenow.com/try.