Shrink Grows
By George Anderson
A survey from the National Supermarket Research Group (NSRG) has found shrink
in supermarkets is growing, with overall inventory losses up three percent.
Shrink currently stands at 2.32 percent of sales, according to the report that
involved analysis of responses from more than 100 companies representing nearly
9,000 supermarkets.
Employees were the largest source of loss, with 57 percent of shrink attributed to this group. Shoplifting was next at 20 percent followed by back-door receiving errors at 11 percent.
NSRG said cashier dishonesty was the largest factor representing 35 percent of employee-caused shrink.
Moderator’s Comment: Why does shrink continue to grow
when electronic security technology is more sophisticated than it has ever been?
The NSRG study found the average store loses $452,446
every year to shrink. [George
Anderson – Moderator]