I have been working in retail for a LONG time now, the majority of those years being in Retail Loss Prevention. Even today as I work in the sales and customer service side of retail, I still draw on my Loss Prevention experience to prevent shoplifting. Just the other day I had an opportunity to stop someone from stealing a cell phone case. This wasn’t just an ordinary case, this has a built in charger that plugs into the mini-port on a phone so it can charge while still in the case. I began watching the suspect when he knelt down in the phone accessory aisle and began picking up phone cases. He reminded me of someone I had stopped from stealing phone cases a few weeks prior to this. As I watched the suspect for a few minutes I noticed that the guy was avoiding the cell phone cases wrapped in Alpha Spider Wrap.
The Alpha Spider Wrap is a retail anti-theft device that secures around a piece of merchandise. The device has wires that extend from a housing unit and are wrapped around an item and secured together with a clip. The units have tamper alarms that are set off if someone cuts one of the wires. the noise from the alarm is loud enough to be heard across a store, alerting employees to a possible theft in progress. The Alpha Spider Wrap also activate electonic article surveillance antennas if a piece of merchandise that is protected by a wrap is carried out of a store. The antenna alarms activate and employees are made aware a theft is taking place. Staff respond to the alarm and recover merchandise, OR in many cases, the alarm scares the thief and they drop the merchandise.
The “shopper” in my situation was looking at cell phone cases and examing them and then he started to take them out of the packages. While doing this he also looked around and appeared to be trying to make sure no one was watching him. He did finally seem to settle on a case and he removed it from the package. He put the package down then palmed the case in his hand and stood with his hand at his side next to the front pocket of his shorts. Based on experience I knew what he was going to do as he took one last glance around the store. I walked towards him and asked if the cell phone case in his hand was the one he wanted to purchase. The “shopper” was clearly startled and fumbled over his words as he tried to tell me he was making a decision about the case and if it was what his daughter needed for her phone. I engaged him in conversation as I would anyone else and at the same time picked up the empty package for the phone. He asked about the price of it and I scanned it and found it was almost $70.00. My friend was shocked, why he thought it was on clearance for about $6.00. After several minutes of conversation my customer said he might be back and met up with a woman he was with and they walked around for several minutes and left together. Because of our conversation, I believe this was the same person I stopped from shoplifting previously.
As I put the case back in the package I was surprised it was not protected with an Alpha Spider Wrap like other phone cases that were a few dollars more in price. As it turned out, the case my customer had his eye on did not fall into the price range of those that our company protects with retail anti-theft devices. Because of a few dollars difference, we almost experienced a loss due to a merchandise theft strategy that is not very flexible. It is my contention that retail anti-theft devices work, they just have to be used in order to do the job. In my opinion, setting a “price point” as a basis for protecting an item is not necessarily the best way to prevent shoplifting. Protect ALL of your products and you will see your merchandise shortage decrease significantly because of their ability to deter theft.
Invest in retail anti-theft devices such an Alpha Spider Wrap and you will prevent shoplifting. As you stop theft you will see your profit margin grow and your store in-stocks improve, allowing merchandise to be available to paying customers.
The Alpha Spider Wrap are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
From 
The holiday season is officially under way and your stress level is about to go into overload. When we’re overly stressed bad things happen to us mentally, emotionally and physically: headaches, digestive issues, eating too much, concentration problems, decreased impulse control, increased emotional sensitivity, poor planning ability and sleep disturbances.
Step back and take a hard look. Or better yet ask someone you trust to do that. A friend, another business owner…… they really do not need to have any special skills. You should look at your store from the prospective of the shoplifter. If you were going to steal, how would you do it? Do you have dark areas, high shelving, hidden spots that would make the thief comfortable? Is your store unkempt, dirty and not stocked in an organized way? Shoplifters are attracted to these environments. If you are presenting that look, then the shoplifter probably knows you are not able to keep up or simply do not care. This will also breed more shoplifting as word gets around that YOUR STORE is an easy mark.
Are they asleep at the switch? Do they care? Have you trained them how you want the shoplifting deterrence program in your store to work and what their roll in it is? This is not something you can put off. It’s like saving money in an account. You got to start. If you are one of Loss Prevention Systems Customers already, then you know this. That is why we conduct live, personalized shoplifting prevention and loss prevention training for our customers. 
As I sit here on this Halloween night, thinking about how great it was when I was a kid to pillage the neighborhoods for candy and treats, I can’t help but also think about the next 60 days. The real fright comes now for all of us in the retail game. We’ve got so little time to do so very much. We all have new receipts pouring in, plan-o-grams that need setting, bulk stacks that need stacking and bins that need filling; all with the mad hopes of grabbing every possible dollar from now until December 24. A big part of that plan, for most, is hiring temporary help to get us through. Have you ever thought about how these temporary workers can impact your LP goals? With a little training and guidance, they can be one of your greatest holiday assets.
Ever given any thought to your receiving area and your back door? How often do you open it and walk away? Do you require a manager be present when it’s open, or do you “trust” your warehouse crew with a key? Have you ever considered that an unattended back door could not only cause shrink, but also compromise the safety of your customer and employees? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you may have a problem.
It is not surprising that CVS is once again the recipient of a lawsuit.