How to prevent shoplifting?
If you are a shop owner and you are having a big problem with shoplifting. What are you going to
do? You cannot let it continue, because every month your accounting system tells you that you are losing thousands of dollars to theft. It forces you to raise your prices, and that means you have to charge more than the store next door. That can make it very hard to compete, especially if the store next door is successfully discouraging shoplifting.
Even though your lost might be insufficient or unworthy, you still don’t want to let this keep happening, because, if you don’t “take care” of them, you encourage them. And they will become your “loyal customers” and always come back to you. This is the fact. Retail stores lost $26 billion last year to shoplifting!
To run a shop, it doesn’t matter shop owners or store clerks, we all want to concentrate on serving and looking after customers, not watching people from stealing. Unfortunately, in the real world, shoplifters are drawing too much attention from you. As a result, you can not do the right thing at the right time for the right people.
Many companies use inexperienced store clerks to look after their stores. Inexperienced salesmen are easier to find and cheaper to employ. But inexperienced salesmen may not be able to do well in serving customers and preventing stock shrinking at the same time. A good salesperson can treat customers warmly and also watch people’s behavior without make them uncomfortable. But this people are so rare that they are difficult to find and to keep.
How can we keep the lifters away?
As a retailer focusing on the problem of what's known in the industry as loss prevention, you basically have three methods at your disposal to slow the shoplifters down:
(1) You can watch everyone in the store like a hawk and make sure they don't steal anything. You can do that using security guards and/or video surveillance systems;
(2) You can make things hard to remove from the store by bolting them down, attaching cables, putting things in display cases and behind the counter;
(3) You can use a system that attaches special tags onto everything so that an alarm goes off whenever a shoplifter tries to walk out with an item. In this article, we'll look at each of these options in more detail.
How Does Video Surveillance Work?
Our first option involves the use of deterrents such as security guards, observation mirrors (that allow store clerks to see throughout the store) and closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance systems. Most large stores use some combination of these techniques, which were among the earliest tools used to combat shoplifting. Smaller businesses, unable to afford security guards, were able to install video cameras -- usually in a prominent place so that shoppers knew they were being watched -- to record activity in the store. Later, the retailer could review the tapes on a VCR, observe shoppers behaving suspiciously (sometimes even stealing) and note the vulnerable
displays or areas in the store. However, in the real world most of the shop owners work long hours and do not have time to review the records after a whole day’s hard working, because this simply means double the working hours. Even the shop owners can review their records, the problem with this record-and-review system is that the shoplifters had already gone away with stealing at the time of the review. But CCTV still good as an evidence recording device. The records are valuable if something happens and also can be used to study shoplifters’ behavior.
Is Anchoring the Merchandise in Place a Good Idea?
Now for option number two: locking things up nice and tight. Cable, wire products and security bars are also familiar types of retail security devices. They certainly work to keep your merchandise in the store. But retail industry experts say this isn't the best way to move your products because cables and other locking devices make it difficult for people to examine items and try on garments. Customers have to get a clerk to come release the item so they can try it on or look at it. Since most people are in a hurry, this might motivate shoppers to move on to a store where the merchandise is more accessible.
How Do Tag and Alarm Systems Work?
Security experts say the most effective anti-shoplifting tools these days are CCTV and the tag-and-alarm systems, better known as electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems. Separately, these are good options. Used together, experts say, they're almost unbeatable. EAS is a technology used to identify articles as they pass through a gated area in a store. This identification is used to alert someone that unauthorized removal of items is being attempted. According to the Association of Automated Identification Manufacturers, over 800,000 EAS systems have been installed worldwide, primarily in the retail arena. EAS systems are useful anywhere there is an opportunity for theft of items of any size. Using an EAS system enables the retailer to display popular items on the floor, where they can be seen, rather than putting them in locked cases or behind the counter. Loss prevention expert Robert L. DiLonardo, says new EAS technologies are being produced -- not only to reduce shoplifting – but also to help increase sales, lower labor costs, speed inventory and improve stockroom logistics. The use of EAS systems does not completely eliminate shoplifting. However, experts say, theft can be reduced by 60 percent or more when a reliable system is used.
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