A former detective with the NYPD’s robbery squad has described the looming threat of Black Friday theft as transforming the holiday weekend into shoplifters’ equivalent of the “Super Bowl,” with retail theft evolving into a lucrative multibillion-dollar industry.

According to a 2024 study by the National Retail Federation, incidents of retail theft spiked by an astounding 93% in 2023 compared to 2019. The report also highlights a 90% surge in financial losses due to shoplifting. An estimated 186.9 million Americans are expected to partake in shopping from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.

In a conversation with Fox News Digital, former Detective Patrick Brosnan emphasized that organized retail theft has transcended the realm of “petty shoplifting.” He remarked, “this is a whole different deal.”

Brosnan noted that organized retail theft has emerged as a “very profitable business” that is expanding at a pace that outstrips the capabilities of law enforcement to keep up.

Authorities reported a smash-and-grab incident at a California jewelry store. (San Ramon Police Department via Storyful)

“Organized retail crime today in 2025, it’s no longer teenagers stealing T-shirts,” Brosnan said. “These are professional theft rings operating across state lines, reselling through sophisticated and widely networked online marketplaces. They are a sophisticated, super profitable, multibillion-dollar business.”

Law enforcement agencies across America often increase patrols on Black Friday in an effort to deter theft, including those in some of the nation’s biggest cities, like Nashville, San Francisco, Los Angeles and many more.

Brosnan compared Black Friday for shoplifters to one of the nation’s biggest sporting events as millions of Americans enter storefronts.

Three alleged shoplifters were taken into custody in Seal Beach recently – with one of them surprised about a new California law. (Seal Beach Police Department)

“Black Friday is their Super Bowl, right? Stores are crowded, you got to understand, very easy to blend in. And unlike most times, the high value goods are out. Staff is stretched and traffic, because there’s so much traffic, it camouflages the escape routes,” he said. “Law enforcement really has very significant hurdles to overcome. It’s not just a regular day.”

The former NYPD detective, who founded Brosnan Risk Consultants and has advised major retailers, said he’s urged clients to lock down “high-value” merchandise, such as electronics, fragrances and designer goods. He added that stores should also consider placing their tools in locked cases.

Video captured three alleged shoplifters taken into custody in Seal Beach recently after a multi-store crime spree.  (Seal Beach Police Department)

While Brosnan says retailers are doing “everything they can” to mitigate theft, it’s a “bad situation” that’s “only getting worse.”

“You want to do business, people got to come in. And if bad people come in with the good people, there’s only so much you could do,” he said. “I gotta tell you, [shoplifters] come in, they come like gangbusters, so coordinated, so focused, so knowledgeable as a fact where the items are that they need to get and how they are going to get them, what they have to do to obtain them.”