The cost of retail crimes is growing, costing Australian retailers $7.79 billion annually, according to new research – almost 2 per cent of full-year turnover.

Griffith University’s 2024 ANZ Retail Crime Study showed that customer theft, dominated by concealment and opportunistic strategies, remained the primary driver of external losses.

However, employee theft costs millions per year, with insider knowledge worsening its impact, the study concluded.

Michael Townsley, a professor at Griffith University, also noted that there had been a rising trend among small businesses to purchase stolen goods.

“Financial pressures affect all strata of society, and with more demand for cheap food, small businesses are trying to meet their customers’ demands,” said Townsley.

Townsley added that as e-commerce activities rose, online theft also became more prevalent, which included stealing credit card details to buy goods and deceitfully claiming packages weren’t delivered to gain more products or refund or getting the item for free.

“Many retailers had to roll things out faster than they probably planned to, which left some vulnerabilities for a lot of merchants,” said Townsley.

“Particularly during peak times, such as Christmas or Black Friday, retailers have a far higher volume going through their systems, and fraudsters will tend to play on that.”

Earlier this year, Australian retailers called for stricter laws and deterrents for retail crime, emphasising its negative impacts in the industry and the economy.