Manitoba retailers warned to watch for theft as holiday shopping season kicks off

As Winnipeggers hit the shops for Black Friday, a longtime retail manager says she’s preparing for a darker side of the holiday shopping season — a spike in theft.

Crystal Johnson from Wilderness Supply says along with an increase in customers, the Winnipeg business can also count on seeing more thieves this time of year.

“It’s a little funny, when Daylight Savings Time happens and it starts getting dark earlier we do notice an increase around fall, coming into October,” Johnson said of people trying to steal things like clothes and sunglasses from the Isabelle Street shop.

“Then it ramps up quite a bit in November and December.”

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Johnson says the business is dealing with theft on a weekly basis and even cameras, a no-backpack policy and personalized service from trained staff aren’t deterring some repeat offenders.

“Often people are quite brave and brazen and they just don’t care,” she said.

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Winnipeg police say monthly figures show retail thefts trending upwards ever so slightly in 2022, but overall the city has seen a marked decrease in reports of shoplifting over the past five years.

In 2021 Winnipeg police say officers responded to 3,006 reports of shoplifting under $5,000, a drop of 54.4 per cent from the previous year and a 37.7 decrease compared to the five-year average.

But John Graham from the Retail Council of Canada says the crime stats don’t always give an accurate picture of how theft is affecting local businesses, because much of the crime goes unreported.

The council estimates nearly $180 million worth of products are lost as a result of theft at Manitoba businesses every year.

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Graham says businesses across the province are seeing an uptick in theft, especially as more people head back to brick and mortar stores with pandemic-related restrictions all but gone this holiday season.

“After a couple of years of more predominantly shopping online as customers had to or wanted to stay away from stores, we’re seeing significantly more customers in stores now,” he said.

“What that means also is higher opportunities for theft as stores are busier and customers are focused on meeting the needs of those customers.”

Graham also says thefts tend to spike during financial rough patches, like Manitoba and the rest of the country is seeing with rising inflation.

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He said that’s why the council is working with retailers to help them implement loss prevention strategies.

Graham said things as simple as greeting every customer as they enter the store and making sure surplus inventory is kept in the back can help to reduce theft, the cost of which often gets passed down to paying customers.

“Many stores have dealt with some real economic challenges over these past couple of years through the pandemic,” he said.

“The last thing we want to do is see that success undermined by theft.”

— with files from Rosanna Hempel