Because they fought very hard to open those stores over the last 20 years in the very neighborhoods you’re talking about. While at the same time forcing out smaller stores that were there for decades. What changed?
I know this is anecdotal, but I’ve noticed more and more products at my local Walmart (not even in a high crime neighborhood) being put inside locked cabinets. Even razor blades, condoms, and beauty products need to be locked up. Shoplifting is spiraling into an epidemic because it is no longer being treated as a serious crime.
They thought they could come into these neighborhoods and profit and it turns out they were wrong. They’re the bad guys, go look up how much these stores were not wanted by its residents.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10112809/Chicago-bl...
https://chicagocrusader.com/shoplifting-a-big-problem-at-loc...
But you just put "wrong" with zero facts, this surely makes you right..
We don't know exactly what shrink is because the rate is low enough companies don't bother investigating in depth. It includes some mistakes and damage, employee theft, and shoplifting.
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/18/business/retail-shoplifting-s...
What are the margins in typical retail? If 10%, then that's some 10% of the margin lost to shrink.
> In 2021, retail shrink hit $94.5 billion,
I realize the economy as a whole is big, but that's still a pretty big number. Like, the budget of a large state's government. Still, not all of it is theft. As you say shrink is a larger category than that.
So it's unlikely any recent phenomenon is to blaim.
what changed? The laws around prosecuting shoplifters:
"Previously, if you were charged with theft or retail theft, and the value of the item or items taken was over $300 you could be charged with a class 4 felony. A class 4 felony carries with it a penalty of between 1-3 years in prison. The new statute has raised the value of the item to $500."
My impression is that a lot of people are struggling to make ends meet, and stealing from a walmart employed by careless slackers is always a more attractive option than from your neighbor or straight up armed mugging/robberies. I highly doubt the $500 felony threshold is what's green-lighting them vs $300.