A large-scale test of the biorhythm-shoplifting connection hypothesis

The impact of shoplifting on retailers and on the public in general is significant. Stores lose revenue, local governments lose tax monies, and the public pays higher prices at the checkout counter, all because of the actions of individuals who shoplift. Because a large percentage of shoplifting is due to the actions of retail employees, an effort that would reduce losses due to employee theft could have a significant impact on the problem. Biorhythmic charting was hypothesized as providing a potential avenue through which the problem could be addressed. This study provides a large-scale test of the relationship between biorhythm criticality and shoplifting. A managerially useful relationship was not discerned.