The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has declared a warning to retailers that the total cost of theft over the Christmas period is set to hit $1.4 billion.
Research conducted by the ARA and Roy Morgan said that this loss will diminish the predicted $46.8 billion in sales by 3% throughout the six weeks leading up to Christmas.
ARA executive director Russel Zimmerman said that retailers should have strong security systems in place to deter criminal activity.
“Theft is a serious problem for retailers, accounting for around three percent of all retail spend.”
“Christmas is a prime time for thieves, because with more people in shops it allows more opportunity to slip under the radar unseen.
“Despite new and sophisticated technologies aimed at stopping these criminals, thieves are also becoming smarter and employing their own advances techniques to commit crimes.”
Zimmerman also said that as Australian consumers are set to spend $2.8 billon online this festive season, ecommerce breaches are also a danger.
“Security is of huge importance online given the level of financial and personal details entrusted by shoppers, and measures to ensure this information remains safe should be continually reviewed by e-tailers.”
This week the NSW Government confirmed that theft from retail stores in the state has increased by 5.3% over the past two years.