Porch Piracy: Everything You Need to Know in 2024

Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) in 2024 is set to be a whirlwind of online shopping excitement, with countless packages soon journeying to eager customers worldwide. But alongside the buzz and bustle of the peak shopping season, there's also an increased risk of porch piracy — a threat that can cut into your revenue and ruin your customers' post-purchase experience. Not only does this impact your bottom line, but it upsets customers — they may even blame you for it.

As eCommerce merchants gear up for this peak shopping season, ensuring that deliveries arrive safely is paramount.

Thankfully, there are steps that retailers can take to ensure that each parcel reaches your customer. In this post, we’ll delve into the heightened dangers of porch piracy during BFCM and explore how AfterShip Protection and other forms of package protection can empower you to safeguard your packages, keeping your customers happy and your business thriving.

What is Porch Piracy?

Porch pirating is the act of stealing packages from someone’s doorstep. This can happen when a package is delivered and the recipient is not home, or it can occur even if the recipient is home but the package is left unsecured.

There are a number of reasons why someone might resort to package theft. In some cases, it may simply be because they are opportunistic and see an easy target. In other cases, it may be because the individual is specifically targeting a business or type of product. Whatever the reason, porch piracy can be a serious problem for businesses that rely on shipping to customers. Not only does it result in lost revenue, but it can also damage your reputation if customers feel that their orders are not safe from theft.

During BFCM, the surge in online shopping activity is clearly unparalleled, with millions of consumers eager to snag the best deals and offers. Unfortunately, this spike in purchases also means a significantly higher volume of packages being shipped, making it an ideal time for porch pirates to strike.

During Thanksgiving and Christmas, people may be visiting friends and family and are less likely to be at home. The increased number of deliveries left unattended on doorsteps presents ample opportunities for theft, potentially affecting countless customers and eCommerce businesses.

How Big of a Problem is Package Theft?

Porch piracy is a growing problem in the United States. The New York Times reports that over 1.7 million shipments — about $25 million worth of consumer products — go missing every single day. This problem is compounded by the fact that eCommerce sales are also on the rise. In 2020, eCommerce sales in the United States saw a 31.8% year-over-year growth. Since the pandemic, growth has cooled but not stopped.

As online sales spike during the November and December holiday season, porch piracy becomes an even bigger problem for merchants and their customers: in fact, 3 in 5 package thefts occur during the holiday season.

Unfortunately, porch pirates are also becoming increasingly sophisticated. They often treat package theft as a full-time job, tailing delivery vehicles and striking shortly after packages are delivered. Some even disguise themselves as delivery drivers or use creative disguises, like dressing as a trash bag, to avoid detection.

They also often work in pairs, with one entering the neighborhood on foot while the other waits in a getaway car. This tag-team approach allows them to cover more ground and target multiple homes without drawing attention, making it harder for victims to identify the perpetrators.

How Does Package Theft Impact Businesses?

While consumers can protect themselves from porch piracy through various means — from security systems and hidden delivery boxes to only picking up expensive parcels — merchants often have to pay the price when something goes missing. Package theft can seriously impact businesses, causing lost revenue and damage to reputation. It can also lead to increased shipping costs as businesses try to find ways to protect their packages.

Let's walk through a few of the negatives associated with unmitigated porch piracy:

Unhappy Customers

Sure, porch pirates are the real villains here. But in some cases, customers may not even realize that their package has been stolen until they try to track it and see that it was delivered but never received. Even then, they may assume something else happened. This can obviously be a frustrating experience, and it may cause the customer to question the safety of their personal information (such as their shipping address) if it was included in the package.

When customers are at home when a package is stolen, it can be especially infuriating if they have taken time off work or made other arrangements to be there for the delivery. In either case, an unhappy customer is unlikely to do business with you again.

Damage to Reputation

More broadly, package theft can also damage your brand’s reputation, especially if it becomes a repeated problem. If customers feel that their orders are not safe from theft, they are likely to shop elsewhere or choose brick-and-mortar services over eCommerce. In addition, negative reviews and word-of-mouth can also lead to lost revenue as potential customers choose to shop with your competitor instead.

Busy Customer Service

Porch piracy can also lead to an increase in WISMO (“Where Is My Order”) inquiries, as customers try to track down their stolen packages or obtain refunds. This can be time-consuming and costly for businesses, particularly if they do not have a system in place to deal with these inquiries.

Lost Revenue

eCommerce merchants are in a difficult situation when it comes to revenue lost to porch piracy.

If a business has a shipment stolen from a customer’s porch, they not only lose the revenue from that particular product, but they also might miss out on the opportunity to sell to that customer in the future. If your packages aren't insured, then you might mitigate the disappointment by offering to replace the stolen product — but obviously, this cuts into your profits. Unfortunately, if the customer finds your response to the lost package unsatisfactory, you could well lose them for life.

Amplified eCommerce Impact During BFCM

During BFCM, the increased shopping activity amplifies the impact of package theft on businesses. The higher volume of orders means greater potential revenue loss, increased customer dissatisfaction, and significant reputational damage if packages are stolen. Implementing protective measures, like AfterShip Protection, is crucial to mitigate these risks and maintain customer trust during this busy shopping period.

Keep in mind, too, that BFCM shoppers are FOMO-driven buyers and are often acquiring gifts for loved ones (as well as themselves). The heightened emotions around these purchases can compound any negative feelings during the crucial post-purchase evaluation period.

All of these potential consequences can seriously harm your business, so it's important to take steps to prevent package theft from happening in the first place.

A Note on the Porch Pirates Act

In the United States, legislation has recently been reintroduced (in 2024) that seeks to apply the same federal penalties that apply to package theft from the United States Postal Service (USPS) to major private carriers, including FedEx, UPS, and Amazon. The bill also seeks to impose harsher penalties on organized package theft, which has become an increasing problem as porch pirates have become more organized.

If the act passes, it may reduce porch piracy as penalties for getting caught will become much stricter. However, merchants can't count on it. Despite broad support from both the public and both sides of US Congress, the bill will need to pass through committee reviews in both the House and Senate, and potentially face amendments or negotiations before it can be signed into law.

How to Reduce the Impact of Porch Piracy Theft

There are a few steps you can take to help reduce the impacts of porch piracy on your business and your customers.

Encourage Customers to Ship to A Secure Location

If you have customers already concerned about package theft, encourage them to ship their orders to a secure location, such as a locker or carrier-approved pickup location. This way, they can pick up their packages at their convenience, and you can be more confident that they will receive them safely.

Require a Signature

As a business, you can require a signature upon delivery of your packages. This will help ensure that the item is received by the intended recipient and deter thieves from attempting to steal it. Obviously, this comes with an added annoyance for the customer (i.e., they have to be present when it arrives), and missed deliveries can lead to delays or even returns.

We generally recommend requiring a signature for high-end items and items that won't do well outside in inclement weather, but during BFCM, you can double down on protecting packages by requiring signatures.

Use Discrete Packaging

Avoiding flashy or easily recognizable packaging can lower the chances of deliveries being targeted. This is especially true for highly valuable, highly recognizable brands, where experienced porch pirates might be actively looking out for signs that the parcel contains a particularly desirable prize.

Encourage Pick Up During BFCM

Encouraging customers to choose secure pick-up locations, requiring delivery signatures, and offering insured shipping solutions become even more critical during BFCM. Implementing these measures not only safeguards your business interests but also enhances customer satisfaction by providing peace of mind during the peak shopping season. If you have retail locations, you can also offer BOPIS ("buy online pick up in-store") at checkout to make this process easier.

Offer an Insured Shipping Solution

Protecting packages through a provider that offers porch-piracy coverage can also help protect your business and customers from the consequences of porch-piracy theft. However, few providers offer porch piracy protection. Thankfully, protecting packages against porch piracy, damage, and loss during shipping is easy with InsureShield™ shipping insurance services, available through AfterShip Protection.

Using AfterShip Protection to Stop Porch Pirates

When you ship with AfterShip Protection powered by InsureShield™ shipping insurance from UPS Capital Insurance Agency, Inc., packages can be protected against porch piracy, loss, and damage. If a customer experiences porch piracy, approved claims are reimbursed up to the invoice value of the contents, plus shipping charges.

Your customers deserve the absolute best experience, even when things are out of your hands. Now you can give them an extra level of assurance with AfterShip® Protection.

By using AfterShip® Protection powered by InsureShield shipping insurance, you:

Gain the confidence to quickly reship to customers—claims are paid in days, rather than weeks.
Empower your customers: At checkout, customers can choose to protect their packages with AfterShip Protection.
Eliminate the pain of managing claims: With AfterShip’s easy-to-use platform, your customers can file a claim in less than 5 minutes and have 24/7 access and visibility to the resolution status.
Give customers peace of mind: Notifying customers of their claim status can help instill trust and display good customer service.

Don’t lose potential lifelong customers to a bad shipping experience! Are you ready to give your customers some peace of mind? Learn more about AfterShip® Protection powered by InsureShield™ shipping insurance today.