Australians stole more than $1.7 billion worth of goods from retailers last financial year, and honest shoppers are footing the bill.

Shoplifters stole around $1.09 billion from Australian retailers during 2012/13, retail staff stole around $650 million from their employers, and supplier fraud and administrative errors cost retailers another $676 million.

Among the most frequently stolen goods were fashion accessories, footwear, lingerie and electronics like Apple products.

The numbers come from research commissioned by a maker of anti-theft products, Checkpoint Systems Australia.

It shows Australian consumers had been hit with an “honesty tax” of $290 per household, through having to pay higher prices to cover the costs of theft.

That placed Australians just behind US consumers, who had to pay around $296 per household to compensate for thefts, but ahead of the other 14 countries where research was conducted.