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When she was young, writer Susan Sontag used to frequent the Pickwick bookstore in Los Angeles and shoplift works of literature. “Each of my occasional thefts cost me weeks of self-revilement and dread of future humiliation, but what could I do, given my puny allowance?” she later wrote.
This made her a snitch, as defined in a classic study of retail theft in a 1960s Chicago department store. Snitches were mostly amateur women who pilfered purses and accessories from the beautifully displayed items. On the other hand, boosters were a smaller group of professional thieves who were systematic and ruthless.
In today’s society, boosters seem to be more prevalent, evident in the complaints from supermarkets, department stores, and electronics retailers about the rise in theft. This week, US chain Target announced the closure of nine stores in cities like New York and San Francisco due to the increasing threat of “theft and organized retail crime” to the safety of staff and customers.
Target is not alone in warning of the surge in organized theft, which includes instances of young thieves threatening staff through “flash robs” and openly carrying bags filled with stolen goods. Dame Sharon White, chair of John Lewis, recently referred to shoplifting as an “epidemic,” and the Co-op supermarket chain expresses concerns about certain districts being affected by repeated robberies.
Although robbery is not an existential threat to all stores, the US National Retail Federation estimates that last year’s “shrinkage,” which includes theft by both staff and customers, as well as lost items, amounted to $112 billion. However, this represents only 1.6% of sales, returning to pre-pandemic levels, and external theft accounted for only about a third of the total.
The modern-day snitch still plays a significant role in shoplifting. In the past, detectives often complained about women entering stores to steal high-status goods. However, with increasing inflation and poverty, even necessities are out of reach for some families. The NRF acknowledges that social challenges require an empathetic solution.
However, not all store closures can be attributed to theft. Target, despite closing nine stores, will still have more than 1,900 stores throughout the US. The chain, like others, has been affected by consumers reducing spending due to rising prices. Blaming shrinkage is convenient if downsizing is already necessary.
Nevertheless, there is undoubtedly a problem. Almost everyone I talked to this week shared some personal experience or noticed the ripple effects of retail crime. Supermarkets limit the number of shopping carts to prevent theft, clothing stores lock their doors and have a buzzer system for customer entry, and more products now require cabinet locks.
The ones who suffer the most are retail workers. While crime rates may be in line with historical standards, many workers face increased abuse from disgruntled shoppers during these anxiety-ridden times. Those working in the most affected stores must endure repeated criminal activities and even violence while not receiving adequate compensation for the stress.
The necessary technology is readily available online. One criminal entrepreneur sells “booster bags” lined with metallic fabric to disable anti-theft tags when items are inside. These bags are shipped from Poland. Additionally, there are keys to unlock tags and jammers to block scanners, providing everything a modern booster needs.
At this level of preparation, shoplifting transitions into what stores define as organized retail crime, where stolen goods are not consumed but sold for cash. This type of crime involves a division of labor, where young thieves pass the stolen items to fences who sell them in bulk online. In return, the young thieves receive only a small portion of the profits, akin to participating in a Fagin-like criminal enterprise.
This is not precisely like Ocean’s Eleven, but rather a semi-organized endeavor. As noted in an NRF study, such groups often employ the homeless or addicts as boosters. Additionally, members of drug gangs occasionally steal from stores in their spare time. The greater the urban dysfunction, the larger the pool of potential recruits.
Stopping this type of crime is not apparent. Stores complain about the lack of police action against crimes that individually may not amount to much. It makes sense for criminals to repeatedly target the same place if each theft falls below the felony threshold. Alternatively, perhaps too many people simply view shoplifting from chains as a victimless crime.
It is worth noting that Sontag’s shoplifting in the 1940s, compared to the boosting gangs in present-day Los Angeles, occurs at a time when physical retail is already on unstable ground. Many towns and cities have numerous vacant shops, and retailers are constantly reminded that leaving goods on open display is risky. While supermarkets save money by letting customers fill their own baskets and check out themselves, the ability to browse freely is a daily miracle and highly convenient. Society would lose a great deal if this freedom became a perk only for the privileged or those living in areas where stores are not concerned about being ransacked.
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