It's the five finger discount that is costing us all in the long run. A 2017 study estimated shop lifting and retail theft costs more than a billion dollars a year, with businesses spending more than $500 million in security and prevention measures.
And those costs are passed on to honest customers.
Now retailers report the thefts are getting more aggressive, with a series of ram raids around Auckland in the last fortnight - one involving an 11-year-old driver.
Retail Crime research and prevention company Auror pulls together reports of retail crime for most major retailers in NZ.
Chief executive Phil Thomson says more weapons are being used.
