Porch Piracy Rises as Consumers Return to Offices

Porch Piracy Rises as Consumers Return to Offices

More porch piracy could happen this month than ever before.

As the volume of online sales rises — especially leading up to the holidays — the opportunity for thieves to steal delivered goods from residential porches increases too, CNBC reported Sunday (Dec. 18).

“Anecdotally, police and sheriff’s departments in communities across the country have reported that porch pirates have been a huge problem the last several weeks,” Public Interest Research Group Consumer Watchdog Teresa Murray said in the report. “This could be in part because many folks have returned to offices at least part time this year, compared with the last two years.”

In addition to recipients being away from home when the package arrives, the report attributed this growth in package theft to online sales volume that remains higher than it was before the pandemic, the surge in home delivery volume that happens in the weeks before the holidays, and the ease of stealing items from a front porch.

Home security company SafeWise reported in November that porch piracy had increased by 23% over the previous 12 months, according to a Nov. 9 press release.

That added up to 260 million packages stolen, $19 billion worth of products taken and three in four Americans having had a delivery stolen from their porch, SafeWise said in the release.

The total of 260 million packages stolen was 50 million higher than the figure for the year before, according to SafeWise’s full report on package theft.

“Package theft is a crime of opportunity and porch pirates are getting bolder every year,” SafeWise Lead Safety Reporter Rebecca Edwards said in the release. “If a package can be seen on your front porch, then you’re at risk.”

Parcel theft and the other costs of “free” delivery have driven interest in having goods delivered to claim centers for pickup, rather than doorsteps, Via.Delivery Founder and CEO Mitchell Nikitin told PYMNTS in an interview posted in January.

As much as 70% of package volume in Nikitin’s native Russia and Europe is delivered this way, but this method was under-utilized and overly complex in the United States. But simplifying the process creates benefits for both consumers and merchants, Nikitin said at the time.

“The fact that commercial delivery — which is what we are trying to develop in the U.S. — is generally 20% to 30% less expensive than traditional residential enables D2C brands to absorb these shipping costs in order to still provide a free shipping option,” Nikitin said.

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