i'm not even convinced that companies are losing this much money to shoplifting, it seems like a convenient excuse for either poor management or intentionally using the real estate wrong to do weird fucky financial fraud. I used to work at a grocery store and far, far more loss of profit came from stuff not getting sold, or stuff being broken or expiring. Sometimes a case of pickles or whatever would arrive completely busted. Sometimes the wrong thing got ordered. Sometimes stuff falls off shelves or you have hyperactive kids pick stuff up and break it. Shoplifting was a rounding error compared to all of that.

Maybe it's different in other areas, but I'm not convinced. These are gajillion dollar companies and they're being brought down by people stealing eye liner and baby formula?

Chuds have to come up with these narratives that some states simply allow shoplifting by law.