Kiwi retail businesses are expected to witness the same level – or even more – crime this festive season compared with last year.

Global software company Auror said that reported threatening behaviour such as verbal abuse or aggression from November 1 to December 10 this year account for 74 per cent of the figure seen in the full festive period last year.

Moreover, serious behaviour, such as physical abuse, accounted for 73 per cent of the incidents reported in the year-ago timeframe.

“Many of the people committing these crimes are not opportunistic shoplifters; they are operating in organised networks, and stolen product ends up on the black market as a means of exchange linked to more nefarious crime,” said Nick Mcdonnell, Auror senior director of trust and safety.

Kiwi businesses witnessed higher retail crimes last year, leading to the holiday season.

Auror reported that retail staff were subjected to 15 per cent more threatening behaviour – such as verbal abuse or aggression – between November 1 and December 24 last year, compared to the same period in 2022.

More serious incidents, such as physical abuse, increased 18 per cent.