‘Porch Pirates Beware!’ Report

‘Porch Pirates Beware!’ Report

Canary’s Porch Pirates Beware! Report exposes heightened concerns this holiday season around the growing issue of package thefts as more and more people shop online. The data shows that porch pirates hold incredible potential to ruin the 2019 holiday season as the thefts interfere with a core tradition at the heart of year-end celebrations–gift giving.

Americans want to preserve the tradition of showing love and appreciation for one another with hand selected gifts yet concerns are surging, and they want organizations at every level to prioritize initiatives that keep packages safe. To combat piracy consumers are even willing to take matters into their own hands in some surprising ways. We found that almost 1 in 5 (19%) would leave a trap, like a dummy package, in front of their home to capture a porch pirate in the act. Others prefer to stick with a more practical security system.

At Canary we’re passionate about giving the gift of peace of mind and this extends to protecting not only our loved ones and homes, but our core holiday traditions – so this holiday season, let the porch pirate beware!

Americans are incredibly concerned about porch pirate thefts this holiday season. Not only do the thefts damper jolly spirits, they also lose consumers money, add hassle, and potentially prevent us from giving our hand-selected gifts to friends and family during the holidays on-time. 

18%

Nearly 1 in 5 Americans were a victim, or know someone who was a victim, of porch pirate thefts during the 2018 holiday season

49%

 Nearly 1 in 2 are concerned they will be victims of porch pirate thefts this holiday season 

47%

 Nearly 1 in 2 Americans believe these thefts ruin the holiday season 

35%

 35% of Americans go as far as saying it’s an unreasonably cruel crime 

The holidays are stressful enough, yet Americans would inconvenience themselves by taking the following actions to prevent potential porch pirate thefts:

 More than 1 in 5 (22%) would work from home on days they were expecting a package 

Nearly one third of Americans (32%) would significantly limit their online shopping if there were porch pirate thefts in their neighborhood 

 Over a quarter (27%) would shop in-store on busy holiday shopping days like Black Friday 

Nearly 4 in 10 (38%) would opt for a less convenient delivery option that means they have to receive the package outside of their home (e.g. delivery to their workplace, pick up at the post office, signing up for a PO box, etc.) 

Almost 1 in 5 (19%) would leave a trap, like a dummy package, in front of their home to catch a porch pirate in the act 

To remedy these inconveniences, Americans are taking security into their own hands by installing both DIY and professional systems:

Consumers also want heightened preventative initiatives from law enforcement and delivery services:
 
Q: What do we want done to combat the porch pirate epidemic?
The holidays are riddled with frustrating experiences, but it turns out people would rather suffer through these holiday pratfalls instead of falling victim to porch piracy:

19%

Nearly 1 in 5 would rather wait in a 1-hour long checkout line to make holiday purchases

16%

 Nearly 1 in 6 would rather have their flight delayed by 1 hour or more while traveling 

16%

 Nearly 1 in 6 would rather have the children/young adults in their family find their presents before the holiday and ruin the surprise 

12%

 More than 1 in 10 would rather get coal for Christmas 

10%

 1 in 10 would rather spend the holidays with their in-laws or a significant other’s family who they don’t get along with 

Canary empowers people to live fearless lives, providing actionable, video-based intelligence about the home and activity within it. The company seamlessly integrates state-of-the-art products with sophisticated software to deliver an unparalleled experience that unites true security, effortless intelligence, and beautiful design. By harnessing powerful computer vision and machine learning algorithms to interpret an extensive array of sensor data, Canary identifies meaningful information about what happens in an environment — creating a richer and more immediate connection to the people and places that matter most. To learn more about Canary, visit www.canary.is.

Methodology

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,238 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 24th – 25th October 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).