The holiday season often means festive parties and special dinners with elaborate spreads. Did you ever stop and wonder where all that food came from? Did your host purchase that filet mignon, or did he hide it under his sweater as he casually walked out of the grocery store? It's not that far-fetched of an idea considering that nearly one in ten people that walk into a retail store walk out with something they have not paid for.
Choice cuts of meat are the number one shoplifted item this year, according to a top ten list of the most shoplifted goods published by AdWeek. Since 2009, the loss rate for luxury meat has risen by 21 percent, and it is not too hard to believe if you take into consideration the rising price of beef.
With cattle prices up 15 percent this year, "U.S. shoppers may pay as much as nine percent more for beef this year," reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The beef industry is aware of the risk of raising its prices. It fears that its customers will turn to other, more affordable proteins, such as chicken -- which is not seeing the same price hike in production.
According to a recent survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, shrinkage -- an industry term for retail loss including employee theft, shoplifting, administrative error or vendor fraud -- cost the retail industry $37.14 billion last year, with an even higher total expected this year. It is believed that 32.6 percent of that is a result of shoplifting.
The second most shoplifted item on AdWeek's list? The Irish whiskey, Jameson. Teens looking for a good time aren't the only ones to blame for this finding; hard drinkers with little cash are also fingered.
While beef and whiskey are seeing popularity among shoplifters in the U.S., the same is not true on the global market. The most stolen food in the world, apparently: cheese.
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