Light-fingered DIY enthusiasts

DIY goods are among the most frequently shoplifted products in the retail trade. Retail shrinkage in the car accessories/hardware/DIY product group accounted for 1.77 per cent of global sales from July 2010 to June 2011. The figure was 1.81 per cent in the previous year.Retail shrinkage of fashion apparel comes top, with cosmetics in second place. Across all retail sectors and product groups, retail shrinkage costs the retail trade US $ 119.1 bn, according to the Global Retail Theft Barometer. This equates to 1.45 per cent of retail sales, meaning that the shrinkage rate has risen by an average of 6.6 per cent. The main cause is theft by customers and employees. The shrinkage rate was highest in India (2.38 per cent), Russia (1.74 per cent) and Morocco (1.72 per cent). The lowest rates were to be found in Taiwan (0.91 per cent), Hong Kong (0.95 per cent) and Japan, Austria and Switzerland (all 1.04 per cent).