A significant proportion of retail crime across New Zealand is not reported to police, according to a new report by Retail NZ.
The peak body’s COMS Retail Crime Report 2024 found that 99 per cent of respondents, representing more than 1500 stores across New Zealand and online, experienced some form of retail crime or anti-social behaviour, totalling 140,746 incidents.
The incidents ranged from credit card fraud and shoplifting through to threatening behaviour, criminal damage and physical assault.
But almost 40 per cent of those retail crimes were never reported to the local authorities.
There were a range of reasons why respondents did not report incidents to police, such as low value items not being worth the effort; the retailer discovered the offence too late; or dealt with it directly. Some also raised concerns that police would not do anything.
“Our 2023 Retail Crime Report found that the cost of retail crime is around $2.6 billion a year,” Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young said. “This cost flows through from retailers to customers to the New Zealand economy, and so is a major brake on the retail sector’s contribution to economic growth.
“In this latest survey, we focused on identifying the actual level of retail crime in New Zealand, confirming that it is much higher than official statistics show.
“Every day, retailers are dealing with threatening, violent or simply unpleasant customers, who are trying to steal or damage their property. Almost every retail worker has been affected by crime and aggression which is traumatic for those directly involved and their colleagues.”
This is a serious health and safety issue for retail employers, she added.
Retail NZ strongly recommends that all crime incidents are reported to the police, regardless of the scale of the offending.
“This is essential to enable police to track the full extent of retail crime, ensuring that they can assign appropriate resources and keep track of repeat offenders. Full reporting also enables policy makers and government to see the full scale of retail crime, and implement appropriate policies and support to the sector.”
COMS Systems director Paul Andrew said it is disappointing that shoplifting and aggressive behaviour have increased.
Police data shared in the report found that retail theft increased by 25.3 per cent, topping 78,693 incidents across 2024. However, aggravated robbery has fallen by 10.9 per cent.
Andrew added there are a range of measures being implemented by retailers, with the most popular being alarms and cameras. He said there is also support for Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) within the retail sector, which he called encouraging. This comes after Foodstuffs North Island completed a trial of FRT last year.
New Zealand’s government also established the Ministerial Advisory Group for the victims of retail crime. Young is a member of this group.
Police are also rolling out new Community Beat Teams in cities and towns across Aotearoa New Zealand, and stronger sentencing legislation has been enacted.
Meanwhile, Retail NZ has formed a working group comprising a number of large retailers which is developing agreed approaches to crime prevention measures including legislative change and technology like FRT.