Here Are the 10 Most Shoplifted Items from Walmart in Michigan

It's been a tough year for big box stores like Walmart, and frankly, feeling sorry for them is tough. Installing and relying on self-checkouts, a move that was billed as a convenience for you and me, their customers; in reality, the move allowed them to downsize their teams dramatically. Ultimately, it resulted in enormous losses for Walmart. Try $6.5 billion in losses in 2023 alone, according to KioskIndustry.org.

$6.5 billion (with a B). I thought it had to be a mistake, but that figure was substantiated by FinanceBuzz.com, which assembled the most commonly stolen items from Walmart's list (see below for the Top 10). That figure is up from 2022, which posted a still impressive $6.1 billion theft loss.

How Walmart Loses Billions in 'Shrinkage'

Retailers dislike using terms like 'theft,' 'shoplifting,' or 'stealing.' They want to use something that conveys the feeling of loss without criminalizing it. Therefore, financial losses associated with merchandise that leaves a store or warehouse without being paid for is called shrinkage.

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So, that $6.5 billion figure may not be all due to self-checkout theft; in fact, some may not have been stolen by individuals at all. Kiosk Industry reports that organized retail crime thefts are also lumped into that figure. If you're curious about what separates organized retail crime from regular retail crime, Reuters says it's planning, scale, and distribution.

Considering all this, let's examine the ten most commonly stolen items from Walmart in Michigan.