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Rising Retail Burglaries Prompt Stores to Board Their Windows

Boarding up windows could invite crime.
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Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.

Shuttered stores from Boston’s Newbury St. to NYC’s SoHo to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile boarded up their windows in recent weeks. All the goods they’re holding are sitting Dolces for thieves—or so high-end retailers seem to think.

Retail thefts are indeed up. In NYC, reports of commercial property burglaries increased 75% annually in the 19-day period ending March 31, per NYPD data.

But the Bling Ring isn’t out of retirement. Thefts actually spiked at essential establishments like grocery stores and restaurants.

  • Burglaries of grocery stores and bodegas rose 400% annually in the March 12–31 period.
  • Thefts at restaurants nearly doubled in the same period.
  • Most thieves pilfered cash, electronics, and consumables like food and alcohol—not luxury handbags.

Self-fulfilling prophecy? Reps for local business-improvement districts told the WSJ stores that board up their windows invite vandalism and ignite fear in law abiding residents. Sure enough, one of fancy soap purveyor Aesop’s Brooklyn stores was graffitied shortly after its windows were boarded up.

Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.