Retail Theft -- Credit Card Company Source -- Updated April 13, 2023 -- Some Data Old -- October 14, 2023

Locator: 45777RETAIL.

Updates

Later, 10:30 p.m. CT: going down this rabbit hole was because I was curious if shoplifting was actually increasing (it appears it has) and, if so, why? I now feel very comfortable connecting the dots. One five-letter word connects the dots. And the theft of Tide is not due to "my" definition of shoplifting. Exhibit A: Portland, Oregon.

Later, 9:57 p.m. CT: in a sidebar e-mail discussion with a reader, a reader was surprised about Tide being under lock and key in the Target stores in the reader's home town. I didn't think much about it. I've been used to seeing high-priced, high-demand items under lock and key for a long time. The best example: Rogaine has been under lock and key for as long as I can remember.

I was kind of perplexed -- what was I missing? KSN-16, Joplin, Missouri, provides some help. Once you go down that rabbit hole, it never stops. But I still think folks are connecting important dots. Link here.

KSNF/KODE — Everyone needs it and if you buy if from Facebook Marketplace, chances are it’s stolen. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2022 Retail Security Survey, laundry detergent remains a staple for thieves just as it does for the average consumer. 

In fact, when breaking down the percentages of items stolen from retailers, detergent sits right behind designer clothes (34%) in second place at 21%. 

But what makes the clean commodity so popular among thieves? 

There’s a couple of reasons why it’s earned the moniker “liquid gold”: For starters, the desire for clean clothes extends to all social strata; rich or poor. A highly consumed product like detergent (or razors and baby formula) is always in need. This high demand assures thieves a quick turnaround. Along the same lines, detergent does not spoil which gives shoplifters an added layer of security to their haul. Finally, these pirates-of-Persil know that retailers have strict rules in place for employees to not interfere with shoplifters due to liabilities. 

Just recently, two California Big Lots managers were fired even after successfully stopping a man taking a cart full of stolen Tide jugs. Where do these ill-gotten-‘Gain(s)’ wind up? Often times right in your community’s Facebook marketplace. A search for ‘laundry detergent’ will turn up hundreds of results for local detergent sellers in many areas of the country.

I could go on all night but one gets the picture. Google shoplifting top items detergent Tide and one will get more than 550,000 hits in less than a second. 

Two big dots connected: Tide -- quick money to buy illicit drugs. 

By the way, a bit more searching reveals that shoplifting Tide is not likely the work of amateurs. This is "organized" crime and not shoplifting per se. The fog on this issue is starting to lift. Link here to a Denver story, July, 2023.

But there you have it. When a product is the #1 target of "organized" crime, no wonder it's under lock and key. For the record, Tide is not locked up in any of the big box stores, including both Walmart and Target, where I shop.

But it does suggest to me, that I may want to start stockpiling detergent. What's in our utility room?

Original Post

From credit card statistics, retail theft (shoplifting) by state, per capita, selected, link here, grouped by region. I did not find any state higher than ND / SD but I did not look at all states. If one finds a state higher than ND/SD let readers know (it turns out there are at least three).

• North Dakota: 24% higher than national average. [Apparently oil workers like clean clothes also.]
  
• South Dakota: 28% higher than national average.
• Montana: 12% higher than national average.
• Minnesota: 10% higher than national average.

• California: 4% lower than national average.
• Oregon: 6% lower than national average.
• Washington: 8% lower than national average.

• Mississippi: 15% higher than national average.
• Alabama: 2% higher than national average.
• Louisiana: less than 1% higher than national average. $270 per capita.

• Texas: 12% lower than the national averag.
• New Mexico: 4% higher than national average.
• Arizona: 13% lower than national average.

• Nation's capital, DC: 26% less than the national average.

Would this suggest in some states a very small group of folks are shoplifting high-priced items and in other states lots of shoplifters but engaged in small nickel-dime stuff? I honestly don't know. There is a lot of data but I'm not sure what it all means -- and, of course, retail theft must include both consumer- and employee-related.

So, let's check my theory. I haven't looked at Wyoming. I just did. Does Wyoming's data support my "theory"?

You can also check another "small" state: New Hampshire. And Vermont.

Maine? Maybe.

A different statistic:

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Self Check-Out 

Social media impact. 

The most recent "controversy" on self-checkout lanes at US retail stores started with this -- across the entire United States, repeat, across the entire United States, Walmart, which has 10,500 stores in the US, it was reported by local media and then spread across social media like wildfire: three Walmart stores in one city has removed all self-checkout lanes.

Say what you want but this sounds like a "test" by corporate headquarters to see if removing self-checkout lanes makes a difference. [Later, I'm wrong, here we go: wow, wow, wow -- I've just connected the dots -- it now all makes sense why there's an upsurge in shoplifting in the city in which Walmart has removed all self-checkout lanes. Wow, wow, wow. It connects the dots: Texas is now laying concertina wire along the border with New Mexico. Taking this a step further: the word is out: Texas will off free (Greyhound bus) transportation to points west and north. We're seeing the 21st century version of the underground railroad: families making their way to sanctuary states and sanctuary cities. Wow, wow. wow.  Why I love to blog.]

Let's say it's not a test. Let's say Walmart sees something in this city it sees nowhere else. That says more about that city than about pros/cons of self-checkout.

Surfing the net suggests retailers will take a page out of the Las Vegas casino playbook. Using facial recognition technology, retailers will concentrate on the 20% that account for 80% of consumer retail theft (shoplifting). That 80/20 rule? I think it's more like 95/5 across most of the US. 

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Texas

Everyday is a circus. 

I can't articulate how incredibly fun this area is. Everyday something happening. Today, I took Sophia to Daiso, and en route saw a huge party down at "Total Wines and More" -- O\one vendor --tequila -- has just completed 31 weeks of a national tour -- Rock And Roll Tequila -- based out of Miami -- one last month on tour -- will spend the last month in Texas. Whoo-hoo!

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The Book Page

This is really, really cool.

The writer of the Shakespeare plays was Sir Henry Neville, from a long line of a very, very important family during the reign of Henry VII, and perhaps before. The Neville family would have played key roles during the transition from Henry VII to Queen Anne (nine days) to Mary I to Elizabeth 1. 

It is most interesting to read biographies of British royalty during those periods to see if one can spot the Neville family.

I am now finishing Linda Porter's biography of Queen Mary 1, the first queen of England -- and I've run across the Neville name three times. Neville is in the index only twice. Neville, aka the bard, would have come of age during the last days of Henry VIII and would have started to reach his stride during the reign of Mary I. The next book I need to read is one that covers the transition from Mary 1 to Elizabeth 1 to see if I can find the dots of that period to connect with the dots of the Shakespearian plays.

One book? Rewriting The Renaissance. 

Really, really cool, the heroines of the Renaissance.

• Isabella of Castille, 1451 - 1504. She and her husband financed an important voyages in the 1490s.
  
• Katherine of Aragon: Henry VIII's first wife. Died after divorce, 1485 - 1536. Daughter of Isabella of Castille. And Ferdinand. Wow.
  
• Catherine de Medici, 1519 - 1589.
• Born into one of the most powerful families in Medieval Florence, Catherine de Medici was her own force to be reckoned with. She may not have been born with a crown on her head but the Medici money kept Henry II of France’s country and court afloat. Catherine is remembered for producing a great number of heirs and for fostering and betrothing her son to Mary, Queen of Scots.
• Elizabeth I, 1533 - 1603. Contemporary of Sir Henry Neville, aka the bard.
• Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542 - 1587.
• My personal favorite Renaissance queen, Mary Queen of Scots has such a troubling history. The Scots have always been a rambunctious people, a people that don’t like to be told what to do or who their ruler is. Throw in religious divides and you have yourself Mary’s life. Mary was Catholic while many of the Scots wanted to be Protestant. After the death of her father, at six days old, Mary was queen. At age five she was sent to the safety of France to be raised at French court where she was betrothed to the French heir, Francis. She and Francis ruled for a short time, until his untimely death. She then went to Scotland to her rightful seat only to be pushed to abdication by the Scottish nobles. Seeking sanctuary from those who didn’t want her in Scotland, she went to England. Instead of sanctuary, Elizabeth I imprisoned and later executed the Scottish Queen.

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The Book Page

Bonus: a kletic poem. Not keltic (Celtic) but kletic.

Link here.

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NASCAR XFINITY

Playoffs.

Round of 8:

• Las Vegas: today. For points and/or a win.
• Herbst wins by 15 seconds -- holy mackerel
• then Nemechek, Custer, C. Smith, Mayer, Allgaier, A. Hill, Jones, Hemric, and Riggs round out the top 10
  
• Homestead-Miami: next week (October 21)
• Martinsville, VA: weekend before Halloween

Championship: down to 4:

• Phoenix: November 4.