The Impact of Retail Theft & Violence 2026

Retail theft and violence remain persistent and costly issues for retailers, employees and communities. In response, retailers have invested heavily to harden stores and deter violence — efforts that appear to be having an effect.

“The Impact of Retail Theft and Violence” 2026 report explores how retailers continue to manage an evolving landscape of theft, violence and fraud. Criminals and organized theft groups continue to adapt, using more sophisticated and far-reaching tactics to exploit the retail environment — requiring retailers, law enforcement and legislators to continue building out stronger collaboration against expanding criminal behavior and cross-jurisdictional activity.

Key findings include: 

• Retail theft still indicates theft for greed rather than need. Repeat offenders and organized retail crime activity indicate that theft remains a major concern across the nation.

• ORC continues to evolve. Retailers report rises across several methods of theft conducted by organized retail crime groups, including phone scams, gift card fraud, and cargo and supply chain theft. 

• Retailers' efforts are paying off. On average, respondents experienced a 12.4% decrease in shoplifting incidents and an 8.1% decrease in merchandise theft incidents between 2024 and 2025. This can be attributed in part to retailers' efforts to protect goods, employees and consumers. 

• Violence continues to be a concern. Retailers report increasing frequency of events like homelessness-related incidents and guest-related violence while other violence-related incidents remain at high levels of risk.

• The need for federal legislation and support persists. Ninety-four percent of respondents agree it would be beneficial in disrupting organized theft groups.