Online Shoplifting in Australia: 2025 Trends, Impact & Retailer Response

Online shopping exploded across Australia during the pandemic years and hasn’t slowed down since. But as the digital tills ring up record sales, another, darker trend has emerged: online shoplifting. From fake returns to digital fraud, retailers are losing billions, and consumers are feeling the ripple effects through higher prices and tighter security checks. In 2025, the problem is more complex—and the solutions more high-tech—than ever before.

What Exactly is Online Shoplifting?

Forget the old image of a shoplifter slipping a chocolate bar into a pocket. In 2025, online shoplifting takes many forms, including:

• Return fraud: Ordering items, using them, then returning for a full refund (a trend called ‘wardrobing’).
• Fake claims: Claiming an order never arrived or was faulty to secure a refund while keeping the goods.
• Digital payment chargebacks: Initiating fraudulent chargebacks after receiving products.
• Promo abuse: Using stolen vouchers or creating fake accounts for repeated first-time discounts.

Australia Post’s 2025 eCommerce Industry Report estimates that online retail fraud has jumped by 24% year-on-year, with return-related scams making up a significant chunk. The National Retail Association pegs the direct cost to Australian retailers at over $1.2 billion annually, but the real cost—including lost inventory, increased logistics, and fraud prevention—is even higher.

Why Is Online Shoplifting Surging in 2025?

Several trends are driving the rise of online shoplifting in Australia:

• Cost-of-living pressures: As everyday Aussies tighten their belts, more are tempted to bend the rules or exploit loopholes in return and refund policies.
• Global fraud networks: Organised groups are targeting Australian online stores, using bots and sophisticated techniques to automate promo abuse and fake refunds.
• Social media influence: Viral TikTok and Instagram videos sometimes glamorise ‘hacks’ that amount to online theft, normalising behaviour that once seemed taboo.
• Easy returns culture: Retailers, in the race to win customers, have relaxed return policies—sometimes with no-questions-asked refunds—making exploitation easier than ever.

In response, major retailers like Myer and JB Hi-Fi have tightened return windows, introduced stricter ID checks, and are investing in smarter fraud detection systems. The Federal Government’s 2025 eCommerce Security Framework update now requires platforms with over $100 million in annual online sales to implement advanced AI-driven fraud monitoring—raising the bar for compliance, but also for customer experience.

How Are Retailers—and Shoppers—Responding?

Fighting online shoplifting is a balancing act. Retailers want to prevent losses without alienating genuine customers. Here’s what’s changing in 2025:

• AI-powered fraud detection: Algorithms now analyse purchase and return patterns, flagging suspicious activity instantly. For example, a customer returning high-value electronics repeatedly may be subject to manual review.
• Stricter return policies: Many retailers have shortened the allowed return window from 30 days to 14, and some require original packaging and receipts, especially for electronics and fashion.
• Identity verification: Expect more ID checks at checkout or during returns—especially for high-value items. While this slows down some transactions, it’s proven to deter fraud.
• Consumer education: Leading brands are investing in customer communication, clarifying what constitutes abuse and why stricter rules are necessary.

For consumers, these changes mean more hoops to jump through—but also the reassurance that online shopping remains safe and fair. Experts warn that the cost of shoplifting is often passed on to honest shoppers via higher prices, restocking fees, and less generous promotions. As online fraud grows, some retailers are even experimenting with “blacklists” for serial abusers, restricting their access to discounts or even banning them outright.

The Road Ahead: Balancing Security and Convenience

Online shoplifting isn’t just a problem for big-box retailers. Small businesses, lacking resources for sophisticated fraud tools, are especially vulnerable. In 2025, government and industry bodies are collaborating to share threat intelligence and invest in collective security measures. New policy proposals, such as the 2025 Digital Commerce Integrity Act currently before parliament, aim to standardise fraud reporting and give consumers clearer rights and responsibilities.

But the responsibility doesn’t end with retailers and regulators. Shoppers themselves play a role—by resisting the temptation to exploit loopholes and by reporting scams when they see them. As one leading retail analyst put it, “The future of Australian eCommerce depends on trust. Lose that, and everyone pays the price.”