Omnisend Study: Porch Pirates Hit Nearly 1 in 3 U.S. Homes, Driving $12.8B in Losses

New research from Omnisend combining FBI crime data with a nationally representative consumer survey, found that Americans lost an estimated $12.8 billion from approximately 228 million stolen packages in 2025. Nearly 1 in 3 U.S. households (30%) reported having a package stolen in the past year. 

While most losses were absorbed by ecommerce businesses. About 62% of victims received a refund or a free replacement, costing retailers an estimated $7.9 billion in 2025. A further 16% were offered a discount or store credit.

“When you have 228 million stolen packages with retailers quietly absorbing $7.9 billion of that loss, it stops being a consumer inconvenience and starts being an industry-wide cost of doing business,” says Marty Bauer, ecommerce expert at Omnisend. “The retailers who will win long-term will be those who are building delivery and returns infrastructure around the reality that roughly a third of their customers will face this at some point.” 

A Quarter of Porch Pirate Victims Got Nothing Back from Retailers

While many retailers did reimburse consumers for losses, 24% of retailers refused responsibility entirely, leaving those customers to absorb the loss.

“The brands that come out ahead are the ones that make resolution easy. Clear refund policies and flexible delivery options are not just a nice-to-have. For a growing share of consumers, they determine where the next order goes,” says Bauer.

The experience changes how people shop. After being hit:

• 23% of victims order online less often. 
• 18% limit purchases to retailers with easy refund policies.
• 12% shift to lockers or in-store pickup. 

Still, 48% report no change to their habits at all, a sign that for many Americans, package theft has become an accepted cost of online shopping.

Package Theft Hits 1 in 2 Maryland Homes — But Arizona Families Are Losing $298 a Year, Almost Triple the U.S. Average

The research also showed that package theft is not evenly distributed across the country. By total dollar losses, California, New York, and Texas together account for approximately 28% of all money lost to theft nationwide. 

Maryland (50%) and Colorado (41%) top the charts for the share of households affected, while Illinois (9%) and Mississippi (9%) are relative cold spots.

The frequency of repeat theft varies just as sharply. Nationwide, households averaged 1.8 stolen packages over the year — but in Arizona that figure climbs to 3.7, and in Kentucky to 2.9. Oklahoma (0.1) and Minnesota (0.4) sit at the other extreme. 

That frequency gap drives the per-household dollar losses: Arizona families lost an average of $298 over the year, Tennessee households $175, against a national average of $101.

“Package theft risk is genuinely local. In states like Maryland or Arizona, it’s practically a routine hazard of ordering online. In others, it barely registers. For millions of households, it’s a recurring cost of ecommerce,” says Bauer.

Nearly Half of All Package Thefts Happen in December and November – And Thieves Aren’t Picky About What They Take

Theft also clusters seasonally with nearly half of all incidents occurring in November and December..December is the peak month, with 27% of victims hit during the holiday rush and November (21%) close behind. 

Stolen packages aren’t dominated by expensive items; thieves take whatever is left at the door. Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry tops the list of stolen categories at 37% — more than double the next. Electronics (18%), Home & Kitchen (17%), and Toys & Games (17%) follow. 

“The data makes it clear that thieves are taking anything that arrives. A jacket, a toy, a kitchen gadget. That’s what makes the holiday season so dangerous: more packages, more doors, more opportunity,” says Bauer.