Shoplifting has surged to an alarming level across Canada, industry insiders say, with inflation and labour shortages cited as major factors behind the increase.
The uptick has triggered concern among Canadian grocers even as the rise in food prices helps pad their bottom lines. Grocery prices were up 11 per cent year-over-year in October and they’re not expected to ease any time soon. The total cost of groceries for a family of four is expected to be $1,065 more than it was this year, according to the most recent edition of Canada’s Food Price Report.
Inflation in food prices is one of the main drivers pushing more people to steal, says Sylvain Charlebois, senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
“There is a correlation between the two, absolutely. Theft is an ongoing issue. But the intensity actually does increase when food prices go up,” he said, noting that meat and dairy products are the top two stolen items.
He warned the problem may grow if the economy slows down next year as some economists suggest.
“If you see both food prices go up and … the economy slows down, jointly that is when you basically see even more stuff.”
Charlebois said inflation and grocery theft are affecting one another, meaning when prices go up, shoplifting surges, and to offset the loss, businesses have no other option but to further increase the prices.
“Theft will cost everyone more because someone has to pay for that (stolen) food,” he said. “You and I pay for theft.”
Felicia Fefer, corporate affairs manager at Walmart Canada, said the retail giant has seen a historic uptick in theft.
“Retail crime, including theft and arson, is sadly higher than it historically has been at Walmart Canada and across the entire retail industry,” she said.
“This is very concerning for our business, our associates, our customers and the industry.”
Fefer said the company is implementing measures to prevent and reduce theft in order to keep prices low and keep its employees and customers safe.
Metro and Loblaw both declined to comment on the matter, referring The Canadian Press to the Retail Council of Canada. Sobeys did not respond to a request for comment.
Labour shortages are also contributing to the surge in shoplifting, said Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
“There is great concern among Canadian businesses right now about crime, and crime in Canadian workplaces,” he said. “Shoplifting is definitely being felt more, especially as we’ve come out of lockdown and restrictions.”
Kelly said some grocers are struggling to recruit new staff, and when businesses don’t have enough employees to perform physical monitoring, they could be in a vulnerable position.
“If you have fewer people on the storefront, if you know if you have one person deep in the business at the back cash desk,” he said, “it does lead to the business being a bit of a robbery target.
“Fewer people on the floor … makes shoplifters feel a little less intimidated to go in and take something,” he said, adding that employees and customers alike feel more “intimidated and nervous” walking into the stores.
As a result, more retail stores, even smaller ones, are hiring security guards including off-duty police officers. They are also taking other steps such as retrofitting to make sure they have clearer sightlines within the business, using more electronic monitoring technology, and limiting the number of people in the store so they can provide one-to-one service.
As customers who shopped more online during the pandemic return to stores, an uptick in retail crime has been seen across Canada, says Michelle Wasylyshen, a spokesperson for Retail Council of Canada.
She pointed to the economic downturn, a growing resale market for stolen goods and an increase in organized crime as other factors behind the surge.
While it is difficult to know the exact impact of theft on local businesses because much of crime goes unreported, the council’s estimates suggest retail crime cost $5 billion in losses in 2019 in Canada.
Wasylyshen said the council isn’t collecting data on whether there is any connection between inflation and shoplifting, but “theft tends to spike during economic downturns.”
“We also know that break-ins, armed robberies, and physical and especially violent incidents are higher than they have been in previous years,” she said.
Greeting customers as they enter to acknowledge their presence and keeping surplus inventory off the store floor could be effective loss prevention strategies for stores, Wasylyshen said.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
