By Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
Today is Black Friday, traditionally considered the day of the year that retailers logged a profit and began operating “in the black.”
Now it’s considered the ceremonial kickoff to the holiday shopping season, according to the National Retail Federation.
It’s also one more day for criminals to prey on retailers.
Last year, retailers lost $11.7 billion to shoplifting. That’s in addition to $14.4 billion lost to employee theft, $4.9 billion to administrative errors and $1.3 billion to vendor fraud, according to the federation.
During the holidays last year, retailers lost $2.7 billion in fraudulent returns, including refunding money to people who stole the merchandise to begin with, either directly or through using counterfeit currency.
Shoplifting is on the rise in Florida too, according to state statistics provided by Assistant State Attorney Dan Skinner.
Skinner is the senior division chief of the State Attorney’s Office Special Prosecution Division.
Skinner provided Florida Department of Law Enforcement data that law enforcement agencies worked more than 85,000 cases last year, up from more than 73,000 cases in 2007 and more than 68,000 cases in 2005.
“Certainly, these numbers prove that theft has increased statewide as the economy dropped,” said Skinner.
The National Retail Federation also reports that retailers are ripped off by people making returns with counterfeit receipts.
Then there’s “wardrobing,” or the intentional use of goods before returning. Most commonly used and returned are jewelry, formalwear and electronics.
“Return fraud often raises prices for honest shoppers and forces retailers to change their return policies,” reports the federation.
Skinner, who said County Court Supervisor Sheila Loizos also provided information, reports that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office “and all of our law enforcement agencies work well with so many of our local Northeast Florida merchants’ loss prevention units by taking a united front in combating theft,” particularly during the holiday season.
“Generally, if a retailer is victimized by a first-time offender, he or she will be arrested and/or sometimes noticed to appear before a judge, and our office always seeks to make the merchant whole,” he said.
Skinner said his office works to “fashion a sentence in accordance with the offender’s record, so whether we seek to incarcerate the offender for an extended period of time largely depends on his or her criminal history.”
But in any event,”We always seek to make the offender pay back the merchant the restitution that is owed. There is also a civil remedy where the merchant can seek treble damages not to exceed $200, but we are not involved in that since it is civil and is completely separate from the criminal case.”
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, was the busiest shopping day of the year in 2009, said the National Retail Federation. That’s not always the case because the Saturday before Christmas often is the busiest.
Then there’s Cyber Monday, which is this coming Monday. The term was coined by the federation in 2005 “based on a clear consumer trend” that retailers began seeing in 2003 and 2004, when consumers shopped online the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Online sales spike, but it’s not the busiest online shopping day, the federation said.
While retailers might benefit from online shopping, employers might not. The federation reported that 28 percent to 74 percent of people, based on age, with online access at the office shopped from the office last year.
Workers age 65 and over were the least likely to take advantage of shopping from the office, at 27.6 percent, while 73.8 percent of those age 18 to 24 did so.
The federation expects holiday sales to grow 2.3 percent this year from last year to $447.1 billion during November and December, covering Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. More than nine of 10 adults celebrated at least one of the three winter holidays last year – Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, said the federation.
Last year, the average Black Friday shopper spent $343.31 from Thursday to Monday, and one in three shoppers showed up at the stores by 5 a.m. on Black Friday. On that day alone, 79 million people shopped.
In all, shoppers spent an average $681.83 for the holidays last year.
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Theft and fraud
Last year, return fraud cost retailers $2.7 billion during the holidays and $9.6 billion throughout the year.
Retailers experienced the following return and other types of fraud:
93% Returns of merchandise stolen from the store
90% Victimized by organized retail crime the past year
75% Returns of merchandise purchased fraudulently
66% Found merchandise stolen from store on internet auction sites
46% Wardrobing (intentionally using an item before returning), most common with jewelry, formalwear and electronics
43% Returns with counterfeit receipts
Black Friday
Facts about Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, in 2009:
• 79 million people shopped
• One in three shoppers was in the stores by 5 a.m.
• One-third bought toys
• $343.31 was spent on average from Thursday-Sunday
• 8 percent finished their holiday shopping by Monday
Cyber Monday
Facts about Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, in 2009:
• 96.5 million people shopped online last year
• 91.5 percent shopped from a home computer that day
• 41.5 percent said they shopped early that morning
• Among retailers, 87.1 percent offered specific Cyber Monday deals.
Shopping from work
Some shoppers with online access at the office took advantage of it last year on Cyber Monday. Here is the percentage, by age group, of people who had online access at work and shopped from the office.
Age group and percentage who shopped online at the office
| Age 18-24 | 73.8% |
| Age 25-34 | 67.1% |
| Age 35-44 | 58.2% |
| Age 45-54 | 50.7% |
| Age 55-64 | 44.1% |
| Age 65 and over | 27.6% |
Where consumers shop
The National Retail Federation reports that 11 percent of Americans bought at least one holiday item at a thrift store last year. Here’s a look at what percentage of annual sales stores posted during the 2009 holidays.
| Type of store | % of annual sales during holidays |
| Jewelry | 29.5% |
| Department | 24% |
| Discount | 23.2% |
| Electronics and appliances | 23% |
| Sporting goods, book, hobby and music | 22.5% |
| Clothing and accessories | 22.4% |
| Warehouse clubs and superstores | 19.3% |
| Food and beverage | 17.5% |
| Health and personal care | 17.5% |
| Furniture and home furnishings | 18.8% |
| Building equipment and supplies | 15.2% |
What consumers spend
Last year, 40 percent of people started holiday shopping before Halloween. Another 38 percent shop during November and 22 percent buy in December. Here’s what they spent on average:
| Amount | What they bought |
| $386.55 | Gifts for family |
| $90.14 | Candy and food |
| $66.68 | Gifts for friends |
| $40.70 | Decorations |
| $34.76 | Other gifts |
| $26.73 | Cards and postage |
| $19.24 | Gifts for co-workers |
| $17.03 | Flowers |
| $681.83 | Total |
Gift cards
Last year, consumers spent $23.6 billion on gift cards during the holiday season, buying an average 3.5 gift cards at an average $39.80 each. And 67 percent bought a card from the store where the card could be used. Also, 27 percent of people say they prefer buying cards because it allows the recipients to choose their own gift. Here’s a look at the most popular gift cards bought during last year’s holiday season.
| Gift card | Percentage chosen by shoppers |
| Restaurant | 31% |
| Department store | 29.3% |
| Book store | 14.7% |
| Electronics store | 13.6% |
| Discount store | 12.2% |
| Coffee shop | 12% |
| Entertainment (movies, etc.) | 10.2% |
| Grocery store/gasoline | 9.2% |
| Home improvement store | 8.2% |
| Clothing store | 7.5% |
Online shopping
Last year, 42 percent of shoppers shopped online during the holiday season, primarily for convenience, free shipping, crowd avoidance, variety and promotions.
Among other facts:
• 47 percent of online retailers used social media more last
year than during 2008
• 79 percent of online retailers offered free shipping
with conditions
• 34.2 percent of online retailers started holiday promotions
earlier
• 77 percent of retailers sold gift cards and certificates online
Holiday jobs
The National Retail Federation reported retailers hired another 453,600 workers during the holiday season in 2009, almost double the 231,000 hired in 2008. Here’s a look at holiday hiring, with declines in 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2008. The average total hourly pay for U.S. retail employees was $17.22. Also, 14 percent of holiday help was over 55 years old.
| Year | Holiday hires | Increase from prior year |
| 1999 | 684,850 | 7.31% |
| 2000 | 618,600 | (9.67%) |
| 2001 | 402,500 | (34.93%) |
| 2002 | 451,350 | 12.14% |
| 2003 | 488,550 | 8.24% |
| 2004 | 524,350 | 7.33% |
| 2005 | 629,000 | 19.96% |
| 2006 | 596,000 | (5.25%) |
| 2007 | 618,000 | 3.69% |
| 2008 | 231,000 | (62.62%) |
| 2009 | 453,600 | 49.07% |