Retail Crime Statistics

This page aggregates publicly reported retail-crime data from industry bodies (NRF, RILA, BSIA, ECR), insurance loss reports, and operator post-incident analyses. We update it annually. Numbers are presented as ranges from the cited categories of sources — nothing is invented or precision-implied beyond what those sources support.

Retail crime at a glance

The 2025-2026 picture from aggregated U.S. and EU industry reporting:

• U.S. retail shrinkage has consistently been reported in the tens of billions of dollars annually by the National Retail Federation, with the trend rising since the early 2020s
• External theft and organized retail crime have grown faster than overall shrinkage as a share of total retail loss
• Documented smash-and-grab incidents in U.S. urban retail rose sharply 2020-2024 according to multiple retailer-association reports
• Insurance carriers writing specialty retail (jewelry, cannabis, pharmacy, gaming) have repriced burglary lines upward, with several MGAs adding active-deterrent installation as a baseline policy condition

Smash-and-grab & ORC trends

From aggregated NRF, RILA, IACP and major-city retailer LP reporting:

• Smash-and-grab volume in U.S. urban retail rose sharply over 2020-2024; multi-store crew operations dominate the upper end of the volume
• Average incident dwell time consistent at 1-4 minutes across reporting periods
• Average urban U.S. police response reported at 5-12 minutes; suburban and rural longer
• Repeat-targeting: stores hit once experience materially elevated re-hit rates within 12 months across sectors (industry-survey range: 35-70% depending on vertical and geography)
• ORC crew operations: 3-6 store hits per night per crew across a metro is the consistently reported pattern

Cost to retailers

Single-incident loss ranges from documented operator post-incident reports:

Reported trends by sector

• Jewelry: Jewelers’ Security Alliance and Jewelers Mutual reporting documented multi-year increases in smash-and-grab incident volume across major U.S. metros 2020-2024. Underwriter requirements for active deterrence tightened over the same period.
• Cannabis: NCRMA and Eagle Specialty Insurance loss-ratio reporting consistently shows cannabis retail as one of the highest-loss-frequency U.S. retail categories. State-by-state security plan requirements expanded 2022-2026.
• Pharmacy: DEA Form 106 filings in the U.S. and equivalent regulatory filings in EU reflect persistent opioid-targeted theft. Pharmacy-specialist carriers reweighted active-deterrent recognition over 2023-2025.
• Trading card / collectibles: The 2022-2025 wave of high-profile graded-card break-ins changed underwriter risk modeling for the category; specialty MGAs now treat fog as expected on $250K+ inventory policies.
• VGT & gaming: Route-operator association reporting tracks per-machine cabinet damage and validator-cash loss patterns; multiple states added security-plan disclosure requirements over 2023-2025.

Sources & methodology

This page reflects publicly reported industry data from:

• NRF (National Retail Federation) annual security surveys
• RILA (Retail Industry Leaders Association) LP working groups
• IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police) response-time studies
• BSIA (British Security Industry Association) European-comparable data
• JSA (Jewelers’ Security Alliance) jewelry-vertical reporting
• Cannabis insurance MGA loss reports (NCRMA, Eagle Specialty, Cannabis Insurance Now)
• DEA Form 106 aggregated reporting (pharmacy controlled-substance theft)
• Operator post-incident reports voluntarily shared with industry trade groups

We don’t link to source URLs because those URLs change and we update this page on an annual cadence; the original source organizations are the authoritative reference. Where ranges are given, the lower bound reflects sector-specific minimum reported numbers and the upper bound reflects the 90th-percentile incidents.

See also: cost of smash-and-grab · organized retail crime · stop smash-and-grab · ROI.

Frequently asked questions

Why don't you link to each source URL?
Industry source URLs change frequently and we update this page on an annual cadence — broken links would create more confusion than clarity. The cited organizations (NRF, RILA, JSA, etc.) are the authoritative reference; their current publications are the source-of-truth.

Are these numbers global or U.S.-specific?
Primarily U.S. data with EU-comparable data from BSIA and ECR where noted. Sector-by-sector loss ranges are dominated by U.S. operator reporting; the trend direction and order-of-magnitude pattern applies internationally with sector-by-sector variance.

How often is this page updated?
Annually, typically Q1 once the prior-year NRF and RILA reports are public. The 2026 update reflects published data through end-2025.

Can I use this data in a press release or white paper?
Yes with attribution. Cite as 'Anwu Security retail crime statistics, 2026 update' and link to this page. We welcome industry-trade-press, journalist, and operator LP use.