Retail shrinkage is the loss suffered by retailers as a result of shoplifting by customers and/or employees, supplier fraud and inventory miscounts. Those in the field of security work may see the size of retail shrinkage as a sort of market size, the maximum amount that could be saved for a retailer if deterrent measures were taken to eliminate all such losses.

Today’s market size is the estimated value of all retail shrinkage in the United States in 2010.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market size: $37.1 billion
Source: Andrew Allentuck, “Security Cameras, Detection is Also Deterrence,” The Costco Connection, September 2011, page 21.
Original source: National Association for Shoplifting Prevention
Posted on September 8, 2011