A new report reveals that 228 million packages were stolen in the U.S. last year.
Package theft in the United States has grown far beyond a neighborhood nuisance. According to a new report from email marketing platform Omnisend, Americans lost roughly $12.8 billion to stolen deliveries last year, with approximately 228 million parcels swiped from porches, doorsteps, and apartment lobbies across the country.
The findings, which combine Omnisend’s original research with FBI crime data, paint a picture of a crisis that has quietly embedded itself into the economics of online retail one that giants like Amazon, Walmart, and Target are struggling to address without frustrating the very customers they are trying to serve.
Retailers are absorbing most of the damage
When a package disappears, it is rarely the customer who ends up paying for it. About 62% of theft victims received a refund or a free replacement from the retailer, according to the report, amounting to an estimated $7.9 billion in absorbed losses in 2025 alone. An additional 16% of victims were offered store credit or a discount.
That generosity comes at a steep cost. Amazon already delivers more packages in the U.S. than UPS, according to data cited by Omnisend from Investopedia, while Walmart’s Spark Driver and Target’s Shipt services continue expanding their reach into neighborhoods nationwide. As these companies scale their own logistics networks, they are also taking on a larger share of the liability when things go wrong at the door.
The U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General warned in a 2025 white paper that the issue has become systemic, noting that at least 58 million packages were stolen in 2024 and that the problem creates substantial financial burdens and operational disruptions across the entire delivery and ecommerce ecosystem. The report also cautioned that ongoing theft could erode consumer trust in merchants and delivery providers alike.
Not every retailer is playing by the same rules
While many retailers have chosen to cover customer losses, 24% refused to accept responsibility at all, leaving those shoppers with nothing. Industry observers say that approach is likely to backfire. Brands that make resolution difficult risk losing customers to competitors with more flexible policies, particularly as refund expectations have become a key factor in where many shoppers choose to place their next order.
The consequences are already visible in consumer behavior. After experiencing package theft, 23% of victims said they order online less often, 18% said they now stick to retailers with easy refund policies, and 12% have switched to using lockers or in store pickup. Still, 48% reported no change in their habits, suggesting that for nearly half of Americans, porch piracy has become an accepted part of shopping online.
Why solving this is harder than it looks
The core tension is straightforward: the delivery speed and convenience that shoppers demand makes packages more vulnerable, not less. Requiring signatures or redirecting parcels to secure pickup locations would reduce theft, but it would also add friction that most consumers have made clear they do not want and that delivery networks are not built to efficiently support at scale.
Some industry experts believe the path forward lies in smarter, more targeted policies rather than blanket solutions. Tracking theft incidents, factoring in a customer’s purchase history and order value, and adjusting delivery requirements based on risk are all approaches being floated. The idea is that a customer who has already received one theft replacement might be required to use a more secure delivery option on the next order.
Other potential solutions include locked porch boxes, garage delivery services, and stronger legal consequences for thieves. Some retailers are also exploring how the way they handle a stolen package not just whether they replace it can become a genuine point of differentiation and a way to build longer term customer loyalty.
The cost of doing nothing is rising
What is clear is that porch piracy is no longer a peripheral concern for retailers. With $7.9 billion in losses absorbed in a single year and consumer expectations continuing to rise, the financial pressure is only likely to grow. For Amazon, Walmart, and Target, finding workable solutions is becoming less of a customer service priority and more of a business imperative.