In America’s Retail Crime Battle, E-Commerce Has Become Both the Battlefield and the Weapon.

Retail crime in America is no longer confined to the image of a shoplifter slipping items into a bag and rushing out of a storefront. It has evolved into something larger, more coordinated, and far more difficult to contain. The takeaway is clear: stolen goods now move through structured criminal networks, counterfeit products flood online listings, and resale channels blur the line between legitimate commerce and illicit trade. What was once a local policing issue has become a national supply chain challenge.

At the center of this shift is e-commerce itself. The takeaway is that online marketplaces are not simply passive platforms where goods are bought and sold. In modern America, they are part of the infrastructure through which retail crime is increasingly detected, enabled, and fought.

A recent analysis from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) argues that organized retail crime has adapted alongside retail itself. As commerce shifted toward digital platforms, criminal groups followed suit, using online marketplaces as resale channels for stolen and counterfeit goods. At the same time, ITIF draws a clear distinction: while e-commerce platforms are on the front lines, they are not substitutes for law enforcement. They can detect suspicious behavior and remove bad actors, but they cannot prosecute, investigate across jurisdictions, or dismantle criminal networks on their own.

A Growing Criminal Economy Hidden Inside Everyday Online Shopping

That distinction is becoming increasingly important in the United States, where retail crime is no longer just an economic nuisance; it is a growing public safety and supply chain issue. Organized retail theft involves coordinated groups targeting stores in bulk, stealing high-value goods, and rapidly moving them into resale channels. Those goods often reappear online within hours, priced below market value, making them difficult to trace once they enter digital marketplaces.

The scale of the problem is not theoretical. It is measurable. Amazon reported that it identified, seized, and disposed of more than 15 million counterfeit products globally in 2025 alone. The company also said it worked with law enforcement and industry partners to disrupt more than 100 scam-related websites and participates in over 10 organized retail crime task forces across the United States. In addition, its Counterfeit Crimes Unit has pursued more than 32,000 bad actors across 14 countries since 2020 through legal action and referrals.

When Stolen Goods Become a National Supply Chain Problem

These numbers highlight a deeper reality: America’s retail crime problem has gone global and digital at the same time. A stolen product in one U.S. state can be resold through a seller account registered elsewhere, processed through online payment systems, and shipped to a customer in another region, all without ever re-entering a physical retail environment. The criminal supply chain has outpaced what traditional enforcement systems were designed to handle. The economic impact is equally significant. The OECD estimates that counterfeit and pirated goods account for as much as 2.3% of global trade, valued at roughly $467 billion. While that figure is global, the United States is one of the largest consumer markets affected, given its high demand for branded goods, electronics, apparel, and personal care products.

Inside America’s Brick-and-Mortar Retail Pressure Cooker

In American retail stores themselves, the pressure is visible. The National Retail Federation reported that retailers experienced an 18% increase in the average number of shoplifting incidents in 2024 compared with the previous year, along with a 17% rise in violence or threats during theft events. These incidents are not just about lost merchandise; they affect employee safety, insurance costs, store closures, and in some cases, the decision to reduce operating hours or lock down high-theft product categories. As physical retail becomes more pressured, online marketplaces become even more important in the lifecycle of stolen goods. The takeaway is that e-commerce platforms enter a complex role: they are both the first line of defense and, in some cases, the last stop before stolen or counterfeit goods reach consumers.

The Double Role of E-Commerce Platforms in America’s Crime Fight

Over the past few years, platforms have expanded enforcement systems to respond to this pressure. Many now use automated detection tools, identity verification systems, brand protection programs, and fraud monitoring teams. Amazon, for example, has increased seller verification requirements and invested heavily in machine-learning systems designed to detect suspicious listings before they reach customers. But ITIF warns that even strong platform enforcement has limits. The takeaway is that e-commerce companies can remove listings, suspend accounts, and flag suspicious behavior, but they cannot replace public law enforcement. They do not have the authority to execute search warrants, conduct criminal investigations across states, or dismantle organized theft rings operating across multiple jurisdictions.ns.

Washington Steps In: Policy Catches Up With Digital Retail Crime

This gap has pushed policymakers in Washington to consider new approaches. One key development is the INFORM Consumers Act, which requires online marketplaces operating in the United States to verify certain high-volume third-party sellers and provide buyers with clearer seller information. The law is designed to reduce anonymity in online commerce, a key advantage that fraudulent sellers and resale networks exploit. Recently, Congress has also moved toward stronger enforcement coordination. In 2026, the U.S. House passed the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, a bipartisan effort aimed at strengthening federal tools to investigate and prosecute organized retail theft that crosses state and international boundaries. Supporters of the legislation argue that retail crime has outgrown local enforcement capacity and now requires coordinated federal action similar to anti-racketeering frameworks used in other organized crime cases.

The Data Gap That Still Weakens America’s Response

The policy challenge facing the United States is not simply whether e-commerce platforms should do more or whether the government should step in. The reality is that both are already involved but not yet fully aligned.

On one side, platforms possess vast amounts of data: seller histories, transaction patterns, listing behavior, shipping anomalies, and account linkages that can reveal coordinated fraud. On the other side, law enforcement agencies have the legal authority to investigate, prosecute, and dismantle criminal organizations but often lack the technological tools and real-time access to digital marketplace data.

ITIF argues that this fragmentation is one of the core weaknesses in America’s current approach. Platforms do not consistently publish enforcement data in a standardized format, making it difficult to compare how effectively different marketplaces combat counterfeit goods or organized retail crime.

Why America’s Retail Crime Fight Is Now a Hybrid System

What emerges is a clear pattern: retail crime in America is no longer a purely physical or purely digital problem. It is a hybrid system that moves seamlessly between stores, warehouses, shipping networks, and online marketplaces. The crime is physical when products are stolen, digital when they are listed, financial when they are sold, and logistical when they are shipped.

That complexity demands a more coordinated response than the United States has historically applied to retail theft.

For e-commerce platforms, the path forward involves strengthening verification systems, improving real-time detection of suspicious listings, expanding cooperation with law enforcement, and increasing transparency around enforcement outcomes. For governments, it involves building stronger cross-agency coordination, improving data-sharing systems, and investing in specialized investigative units that understand both physical retail crime and digital resale ecosystems.

For consumers, the issue is more immediate than it may appear. An online discounted product is not always a harmless bargain. In some cases, it may be counterfeit, stolen, or part of a larger criminal supply chain. And while the savings may feel small at checkout, the broader cost shows up elsewhere: higher retail prices, store closures in vulnerable communities, reduced product availability, and increased pressure on honest businesses trying to compete in the same marketplace.

The Future of Retail Crime Is Already Here in America

Ultimately, retail crime in America is no longer just about loss prevention in stores. It is about how trust is maintained in a retail system that now operates across both physical and digital worlds, and how that trust is protected as crime evolves.

E-commerce did not create retail crime. But it did change its speed, scale, and structure. Now, in the United States, the fight against retail crime is happening wherever commerce exists: online, offline, and in the increasingly blurred space between the two.