The ABS recorded 595,660 theft victims nationally in 2024, the highest level in 21 years, up 6% on the prior year. Almost half of those incidents occurred in retail settings. The Griffith University ANZ Retail Crime Study put the total cost to Australian retailers at $7.79 billion in 2023–24, up 40% in two years.
Anecdotal evidence suggests it has grown since.
Newsagencies are not immune. High foot traffic, open floor plans, small items at accessible heights, and often a single staff member on the floor. The category mix — confectionery, stationery, small gifts, trading cards, collectibles — is exactly what opportunistic theft targets.
What is actually driving it
Cost-of-living pressure is part of it. Monash University research found a measurable increase in people who view certain theft as more justifiable under financial strain. Organised retail crime is also growing — coordinated groups, not just opportunistic shoplifters. Both are harder to deter than the individual customer pocketing a chocolate bar.
What works
Visibility is the cheapest deterrent. If your floor layout means there are areas your counter staff cannot see, those are your theft hotspots. Rearrange product so high-value small items are in sightline from the counter. This costs nothing.
Staff acknowledgement matters more than cameras. Research consistently shows that a staff member making eye contact and saying “I’ll be right with you” is more effective at deterring shoplifting than a CCTV sign. Train your team to greet every person who walks in.
For high-value items, trading cards, collectibles, premium stationery, locked display cases are a straightforward solution. The friction of having to ask deters casual theft and doesn’t meaningfully deter genuine buyers who want the product.
The data problem
Most newsagents don’t know their actual shrinkage figure. If your stock-on-hand data in your POS is not accurate, you cannot measure what you are losing. Regular stock counts in your high-theft categories are the baseline. If you have never done a specific count on trading cards or confectionery, do one. The number may surprise you.
The employee theft question
Industry data puts employee fraud at 39% of total retail shrinkage. We think it is higher in our channel. That is not a comfortable number to sit with. Random till reconciliations, dual-person authority on refunds, and reviewing transactions for patterns are the basics. If you have never looked, you do not know.
newsXpress helps newsagents with tough issues like theft. It’s part of the kit of services we provide.
