US 'zero-dollar shopping' on the rise

The United States has reached a peak season for “zero-dollar shopping,” a term associated with retail crimes, including theft, costing the industry US$112 billion (HK$877 billion) last year.

It is up from US$93.9 billion in 2021, a report by the National Retail Federation showed.

Retailers are seeing unprecedented levels of theft coupled with rampant crime in their stores, and the situation is only becoming dire, said the NRF. Far beyond the financial impact of these crimes, the violence and concerns over safety continue to be the priority for all retailers, regardless of size or category, it added.

In the UK, some 88 retail leaders, including the bosses of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Marks & Spencer, have signed a letter to interior minister Suella Braverman, demanding action over rising rates of retail crime.

A survey showed that incidents of violence and abuse toward retail workers in the country almost doubled compared with pre-pandemic levels to 867 incidents every day in 2021/22.