As a retailer you want your shop to reflect your brand’s personality. You want a welcoming environment for customers. But you also want to create a space—and a team—that deters shoplifters.
People who pilfer merchandise from shops come from all walks of life and steal for different reasons. Shoplifters may feel that the crime they’re committing is so minor that it won’t make a difference.
But stealing shop merchandise has a major impact on a retailer’s profitability. Most shop owners operate with a slim profit margin, so any theft will cost them exponentially more than an item’s price. (For example, theft of a $2 item from a store that operates on 10 percent profit margin requires $20 in sales to make up the loss.)
Fortunately, there are tactics you can use to discourage shoplifters from targeting your store. These tips can help you design your retail environment and train your staff to prevent shoplifting:
Provide attentive customer service. There is no “typical” shoplifter—they can be any age, gender, economic status or ethnic background. Train your staff to welcome everyone who walks through the door and to engage shoppers in conversation. Teach them sales techniques so they know how to offer product information and assistance. (“Can we hold that for you at the cash?” helps customers shop unencumbered by armfuls of merchandise or heavy shopping bags.) Attentive service deters shoplifters because they need to operate unnoticed.
Be observant. Watch how customers behave inside the store. Do they seem nervous or appear to be watching staff movements? Do they wander the store aimlessly or enter and leave multiple times? Pay close attention to people carrying large bags or wearing bulky clothing, where stolen items can be hidden. (Ditto baby strollers and oversize umbrellas—especially if it’s not raining!) Shoplifters sometimes work in pairs or groups to divert staff attention while they steal; watch people who seem to know each other, or who arrive together. Be extra vigilant during busy times or when staff may be away from the floor: opening and closing hours; lunch and dinner times; during shift changes.
Optimize your sightlines. Position the main cashier station close to the door so it’s easy for staff to greet people as they enter and leave the store. Configure your displays so that everything is visible from the cashier station: place short racks and tables near the register and taller displays at the perimeter. Keep merchandise tidy in the displays so it’s easier to spot something missing. Install convex mirrors to eliminate blind spots and to see around corners (i.e. into a separate fitting room area or stock room).
Advertise your vigilance. Stores with good security systems will deter shoplifters looking for an easy target. Convex mirrors (see above) are just one security tactic that customers will notice. Make others obvious, too, so shoplifters get the message. Install a door chime, motion detectors, and even dummy security cameras (they look real but don’t require monitoring or maintenance). Display small, expensive items in theft-proof cases or behind the counter. Post your shoplifting policy in a prominent location next to the cash register and the exit: “Shoplifters will be prosecuted.”
Review transaction reports carefully. Make sure your inventory matches your sales receipts at the end of each day. If it doesn’t, take measures to secure the areas where losses occur. (For example, move displays away from the exit and alternate how hangers face on racks so it’s difficult to grab a handful and run.) Vicinity provides an “unusual activity report” to member merchants once per day. The report calls out unusual activity on loyalty program transactions, based on pre-defined thresholds that the merchant sets up with their Vicinity account manager when the program is installed. It helps merchants identify cases where staff puts points on their own or their friends’ Vicinity accounts to get free stuff.