I have employees that watch and catch shoplifters; their job is solely to prevent shoplifting. One day they spotted an individual who concealed an electronic item between two pairs of pants, then entered the fitting room of the business.  The fitting room attendant did not handle or touch the clothing against protocol and did not notice the electronic item.  The item was then stolen while the shoplifter was inside of the fitting room.

This is a common occurrence among our employees – a simple act such as handling the items going into the fitting room could have be enough to help prevent shoplifting. Training our employees to be aware of the techniques shoplifters use can really help prevent shoplifting in your business.

Having strong loss prevention programs in place is beneficial in protecting the assets of a business.  Having the expertise of a loss prevention consultant can make this daunting task a reality for businesses that may not know where to start in creating a program.

Once there are guidelines in place, employees can be trained to effectively prevent shoplifting through their everyday work.  Some basic guidelines are to teach employees to pay attention to the shoppers in their area, and to provide good customer service.  A potential shoplifter does not want attention, so if attention is provided to every customer in your business, the shoplifter knows he or she has been noticed.  This is exactly what a shoplifter does not want.

Additional loss prevention ideas are to have controls in place in areas like your fitting room.  Fitting room attendants should handle the clothing that goes into the fitting room to make sure that merchandise is not concealed within it.  The attendant should also count and limit the number of garments going in, and then make sure that is the number that comes back out.

When you help prevent shoplifting in your business, you decrease your shrink and increase your profits – common business sense.

To purchase Retail anti theft devices Check out our website.

For more information on how you can prevent shoplifting contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.

 

I know how it sounds; it can’t be that easy to prevent shoplifting in your business, right? Believe it or not, it really can be. We all like to think that the people that still from us are these evil, hardened, mean spirited criminals. But, in reality, most people that shoplift are everyday people that find a way to justify their actions for one reason or another.

Studies have shown that this “justification” is partly achieved by people feeling secluded or detached from the store. They think of these businesses as these large, cold companies and not as a warm and welcoming store. Shoplifters like to be able to disappear into the background and become a random face, not someone who has been individually identified. If you, as a company, pride yourself on customer service and making all customers feel welcome, you will make a giant first step towards being able to prevent shoplifting.

From the moment someone walks through the door it is important to greet them, make eye contact and most of all smile. When this occurs there are a few things that go through a potential shoplifter’s mind.

First, they now know they have been seen. They are no longer just a random face passing through the store. Shoplifters want to stay anonymous. By making eye contact not only are they not anonymous but facial recognition has been made.

Second, if they feel a connection to the store or enjoy there shopping experience it makes “justifying” a petty theft, that much more difficult. Most amateur thieves aren’t people who would still from friends, heck; they aren’t even people who would steal from acquaintances.

Simply having good customer service, being welcoming, making eye contact and yes smiling can help you and your company prevent shoplifting.

For more information on how to prevent shoplifting, stay up to date with our latest blogs or feel free to contact us.

Actually, there is no one best way to prevent shoplifting.  Wherever merchandise is displayed there will be shoplifters, like flies around honey.

The best approach is to use a combination of shoplifting prevention methods that are customized for your customer base, location, and merchandise mix.  Although shoplifters will steal most anything, there are particular groups and types of merchandise that need extra attention.  These are the items that are “high theft/high value”.

Some of the more common strategies used by retailers to prevent shoplifting are:

· CCTV is good deterrent, but much more useful if there is staff available to watch the real time; otherwise they can only prove an event occurred.  Added value is to disprove slip and fall claims.

· Trained plainclothes store detectives are a great for large businesses with the budget to support them. Word gets out fast that a store is arresting and prosecuting shoplifters.

· Uniformed Police or Security Guards are also a budget buster, but necessary in some areas where shoplifting is rampant and violence is a threat.  These are more of a robbery deterrent than a way to prevent shoplifting.

· Placing merchandise in lockable display cabinets is secure, but will it reduce sales, or take too much of the staff’s time to unlock and relock?  And will they remember to do it?

· Posted signs that indicate shoplifters will be prosecuted may prevent some impulse thieves, but it may be a turn-off to legitimate shoppers.

· Arranging merchandise to keep high theft items near an occupied wrap stand, raise the cashier area for better viewing, and eliminate hidden areas are low cost avenues to prevent shoplifting.

· Training staff in shoplifting awareness policies and procedures will show them how to act or react when they see or suspect a shoplifter in the store.  This is another low cost/high value activity.

· Increase staffing when shoplifters are likely to hit.  Opening, closing, and after school are prime times for some stores.

· Every customer should be greeted soon after entering the store, so they are aware that someone knows they are there.  This is also a great customer service strategy.

· Retail anti theft devices (EAS) such as Checkpoint Security Systems. Checkpoint Security Systems electronic theft detection systems are designed to detect merchandise that has active Checkpoint Security Tags attached and emit an alarm as the shoplifter leaves the store.  Checkpoint security tags can only be removed by the cashier at the point of sale.

The retailer who wants to prevent shoplifting at his place of business should consider combining several of the methods that apply to his situation.

To see the latest in Checkpoint Security Systems and Checkpoint Security tags, visit our Online Loss Prevention Store.

Call 770-426-0547 to speak with an expert about Checkpoint Security Systems, Checkpoint Security tags, and other ways to prevent shoplifting, or click here for more information.