ORC rates area at an all time high, estimated to cost retailers $778,000 per $1 billion in sales in 2018, according to a National Retail Federation (NRF) survey. For the past three quarters, Home Depot reported that an increase in shrink hurt its financial results. CNBC spoke with Home Depot leaders about how the opioid crisis, organized retail crime, shoplifting, other factors affect retailer’s profitability.
“We have been very good about not raising prices as a result of our shrink equation,” said Scott Glenn, JD, LPC, Home Depot’s vice president of asset protection. “But if [shrink] gets to a point where we cannot continue to do business this way, ultimately, we will have to pass it along.”
Glenn said he has seen a correlation between higher rates of organized retail crime and areas of the country where the dollar amount for felony thresholds have been raised. The felony threshold is the dollar value of goods stolen that determines if charges are a felony or a misdemeanor. It varies widely by state… CNBC News