Holiday weekend recap: Purchases up, but average spending declines
Average spending per person over Thanksgiving weekend totaled $289.19, down from $299.60 last year, according to a survey conducted by National Retail Federation. The survey found that 154 million people made purchases over the extended holiday weekend, up from 151 million a year ago. When it comes to where consumers shopped, 44% went online and 40% shopped in-store. The most popular day to shop online was Black Friday, up 1.3% from last year to 74%, followed by Saturday (49%), Thanksgiving (36%), and Sunday (34%). Of those that shopped in store, 75% shopped on Black Friday, up 3.4% from last year, 40% on Saturday, 35% on Thanksgiving and 17% on Sunday.
Additional highlights from the survey:
- 29% of shoppers headed out after 10 a.m. on Black Friday, up from 24% last year. Less than 15% of consumers arrived to the stores by 6 a.m. or earlier on Black Friday.
- Early Thanksgiving Day in-store shopping dropped by 19% with only 7% of consumers heading to stores before 5 p.m. – while shopping that day itself was up 1%.
- Only 9% of consumers have finished their holiday shopping, down from 11% last year. And 23% have yet to make any dents to their lists, up from 19% last year.
- Of those that shopped in store, 51% shopped at department stores, 34% at discount stores, 32% at electronics stores, 28% at clothing or accessories stores, and 25% at grocery/supermarket stores.
- 56% of smartphone owners and 53% of tablet owners used their devices to assist with weekend shopping activities.
According to research by Adobe Digital Insights, online sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday were $5.27 billion, up 18% from a year earlier and higher than its estimate of $5.05 billion. [Source: Chain Store Age]
‘Operation Blitz’ targets large-scale retail theft
While holiday shoppers are out searching for bargains this season, police will be out looking for professional shoplifters. Starting Friday, 30 law enforcement agencies across the state of Minnesota are targeting organized retail theft and financial fraud through an effort called Operation Blitz. The operation will run until Christmas.
Participating agencies will focus on organized retail crime — bank card skimming, identity theft, large-scale shoplifting and the like, said St. Paul Police Sgt. Charles Anderson. Anderson, who serves as executive director of the Twin Cities Organized Retail Crime Association, said Operation Blitz won’t focus on “the mom who goes in and steals a can of baby formula for her kid.” “What we care about is the guy going in and stealing 50 cans of baby formula, repackaging and selling it overseas,” he said.
Take what police say happened at a St. Paul CVS two weeks ago, when a man walked in with a gym bag and loaded it with cleaning supplies. He was out of the store in under 40 seconds. Police busted him outside another store. “In plain view, inside his van it was just packed,” Anderson said.The thief had a list from someone else known to police. He had been ordering $1,000 worth of stuff every week from this professional shoplifter with ties to drug and human trafficking cases.
During Operation Blitz, law enforcement agencies and retailers will share information with each other and physically target locations, like retail parking lots and social media-based trade and swap groups, where stolen goods are sold.
Police believe it is time the public had a better understanding of these kinds of crimes, considering it costs us all in the end. “It has a public safety impact and we aim to address it,” Anderson said. [Source: CBS News Minnesota]
LP Worldwide: Cops hit brakes on York region theft ring
Three members of a Mississauga family, nabbed repeatedly for theft and drug related charges over the last 16 years, were scooped up by York Regional Police as the alleged leaders of a massive auto theft ring. Balwinder Dhaliwal, his wife Kuljit, and their son Balkevinjit. aka Kevin, face a slew of charges. But the investigation into the father, mother and son — dubbed Project Cyclone — also led to 20 other arrests and uncovered links to alleged cocaine trafficking, conspiracy to import heroin, cargo theft and fraud, police said.
“If there was a profit to be made, this group … would jump on the opportunity,” Det.-Sgt. Paul LaSalle said Friday, explaining the allegations. More than $5 million in high-end vehicles and stolen goods were recovered in the probe, he said.
Investigators also allegedly uncovered a plan to kidnap a wealthy Vaughan man. “This plot included plans to impersonate as police … taze the victim to incapacitate him and eventually demand a ransom to secure the safe release,” LaSalle alleged, adding cops “foiled” the suspected kidnapping plot before anyone was hurt.
In all, police recovered 60 vehicles worth over $3.4 million — Lamborghinis, Maseratis and Porches as well as Hondas, Toyotas and Fords. Cops also found a warehouse filled with $1.4 million in stolen goods, including alcohol and a trailer full of Nutella. Two firearms, cocaine, heroin and marijuana were also seized along with over $200,000 in cash, including nearly $20,000 allegedly found buried in the backyard of the accused family’s home. [Source: The Toronto Sun]
FBI releases 2015 crime statistics
After two years of decline, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation increased 3.9 percent in 2015 when compared with 2014 data, according to FBI figures released Sunday. These and additional data are presented in the 2015 edition of the FBI’s annual report “Crime in the United States”. This publication, which is a statistical compilation of offense, arrest, and police employee data reported by law enforcement agencies voluntarily participating in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, also includes limited federal crime reporting, human trafficking, and cargo theft data.
The program collects information on crimes reported by law enforcement agencies regarding violent crimes, as well as the property crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The program also collects arrest data for 20 additional offenses that include all other crimes except traffic violations.
16,643 city, county, university and college, state, tribal, and federal agencies submitted data in 2015. A high-level summary of the statistics submitted included:
- The FBI estimated that law enforcement agencies nationwide made 10.8 million arrests, excluding traffic violations, in 2015.
- Nationwide, there were an estimated 7,993,631 property crimes. The estimated numbers for two of the three property crimes show declines when compared with the previous year’s estimates. Burglaries dropped 7.8 percent, and larceny-thefts declined 1.8 percent.
- Collectively, victims of property crimes (excluding arson) suffered losses estimated at $14.3 billion in 2015.
- The arrest rate for violent crime was 157.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, and the arrest rate for property crime was 458.9 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Each year when “Crime in the United States” is published, some entities use the figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. This can lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting communities and their residents. As a result, caution must be practiced when comparing such statistics. [Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation]
Online shopping security tips for Cyber Monday and beyond
If you buy more items online than in-store, you are not alone. According to a recent study, consumers are buying more items on the Internet than at traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. A growing number of consumers are opting for Cyber Monday to kick-off their holiday shopping.
Randal Vaughn, professor of information systems in Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, said that while most online merchants seem to have excellent consumer protections in place, he has a few tips to help consumers be smart online shoppers.
- Consider alternative payment options besides credit cards. For shoppers who want to limit their use of credit cards or protect their credit card information, they can consider other payment options. For example, using gift cards such as an Amazon gift card at some online merchants. Others may want to consider using a virtual credit card such as Bank of America’s ShopSafe virtual card or a Paypal virtual card, Vaughn said.
- Avoid using debit cards for online merchants. “Protections against fraudulent debit card charges are not as strong as protections against fraudulent credit card charges. He said if reported within two days, debit card losses are capped at $50. However, consumers who delay longer than two days can be liable for as much as $500.
- Stick with well-known merchants. Extremely deep discounts could be a sign of a less-than-reputable business. “There is a large market for counterfeit goods, particularly in the fashion industry. I generally search for online reviews of a web merchant before doing business with the merchant. However, reviews can be faked and one should be cautious,” Vaughn said.
- Although online shopping is convenient, don’t completely forego traditional retailers or local businesses. Even with the ease of online shopping, sometimes going in-store may be the best option.
[Source: Knowridge Science Report]
Nothing like the real thing: 1 in 5 Americans believe the quality of counterfeit products is often the same as real products
An alarming 1 in 5 Americans (22 percent) said they believe the quality of counterfeit products is often the same as the quality of the real products, according to a recent survey conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of The U.S. Golf Manufacturers Anti-Counterfeiting Working Group (The Golf Group). This despite the fact that there is no way to verify the quality of the process or materials used to make counterfeit products.
The survey highlighted several key gaps in Americans’ perception of counterfeit products. The gaps were magnified among younger Americans. Twenty-nine percent of Millennials (ages 18-34) and 26 percent of those aged 35-44 said that counterfeits are often the same quality as the real products. Furthermore, 86 percent of Americans said they believe fashion products are counterfeited frequently.
The Office for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that counterfeit products across all industries cost the world approximately $250 billion each year.
In the survey, several concerning developments about the opinions of Americans toward counterfeit products were uncovered:
- Money Matters More – While the vast majority of Americans (77 percent) said that they believe buying known counterfeits is unethical, almost 1 in 3 (29 percent) said they would consider purchasing counterfeit products if it saves them money.
- Millennials Miss the Message – Millennials are more likely than those aged 45 and older to admit they would consider purchasing counterfeit products if it saves them money – 39 percent of Millennials say they would consider it, compared to 22 percent of those 45 and older.
- Looks Make an Impression – About one quarter of Americans (24%) said they don’t care if a product they purchased is counterfeit as long as it looks like the real thing.
[Source: Market Wired]
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