Shrinkage losses are caused mainly by people stealing goods or money from the company (by customers, employees) and also by a range of small or large process errors, accounting lapses and pricing mistakes that produce apparent inventory losses. According to a recent global research conducted by Centre for Retail Research, UK and sponsored by Checkpoint Systems Inc, shrinkage cost the world's retailers $98.6 billion, representing an annual "tax" on honest consumers everywhere of $287.70 per household. The Global Retail Theft Barometer Survey Information Report deals with all retail sectors and vertical markets in India, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand. The survey information was provided from 103 large retail businesses of these countries. They operated 16,230 retail stores with combined retail sales of $65,418 million, equivalent to 6% of retail sales in these five countries. The highest shrinkage rate was found in India, 2.90 per cent, a reduction of 9.4% over last year's 3.20%.