Ways To Avoid Retail Theft

The thing about theft is that you never really catch up.

If a $100 item is stolen from you, and you operate on a 25% margin, you need to sell $400 more just to make up for that one theft.   

So where’s your profit on that additional $400 sale?

But really, theft prevention provides an even greater financial benefit than it seems. Theft reduction adds directly to your profit. Stolen merchandise comes directly out of your bottom line.

Plus, it’s just plain frustrating to be robbed.

Don’t think that just because you have a small store, or your customers are “from the neighborhood” you are safe from shoplifters. Many shopkeepers tell stories of “regulars they thought they knew” stealing from them.

Don’t think that because your store is small, you can keep an eye on everything.  Check out YouTube, or your local police report. You’ll find plenty of examples of theft from small shops.  Are you cutting back on staff? What’s going on when you’re in the stockroom?  What’s going on when you are helping another customer?  Are you fully watching the store as you answer the phone or check a customer out?  The fact is that you can’t be watching everything all the time.

So what’s a small shopkeeper to do?

Here are a few tips that you can implement immediately.   

1. Provide Good Service.  Nothing is effective as having people around.  When you make it inconvenient for people to steal from you, they usually don’t. They are interested in your product, not getting caught. Welcome every customer as they enter your store.
2. Know Your Product and Pricing.  One common technique of thieves is to change price tags. If you don’t know every price by heart, at least have a sense of what pricing should be. When an item comes to the register that doesn’t seem right, double check.
3. Keep Your Store Orderly and Stocked.  This will help you notice missing items.
4. Have Appropriate Suspicion.  It’s not about ethnicity, age, hairstyle or economic condition. There are ample examples of upper class shoplifters. Watch how people are dressed. For example, an inappropriately heavy or baggy coat out of season may be a vehicle to hide items. Are they carrying a large bag? Watch where people go in your store. Do they tend to move from one hidden area to another?  How do they react when you talk to them?
5. Verify Returns.  One technique of thieves is to legitimately purchase an item, and then return an empty (or weighted) box. Verify all returns. Check receipts (you can use gift receipts). Make sure returned products are complete. If you use electronic security, re-tag returned merchandise.
6. Work With Your Colleagues.  When suspicious, be sure to alert your co-workers.
7. React Appropriately.  When you do suspect shoplifting, respond and react politely. Don’t accuse. Approach the customer to offer service. Politely talk to the person; offer customer assistance, ask to check their bag and “double check” your receipt.
8. Train Your Employees to provide good customer service and to identify suspicious customer activity. Theft prevention is not just a management responsibility. There are training videos available to help.
9. Know Your Police Department. Talk with local public safety and security professionals about general rules of thumb regarding the best way to react. Don’t risk personal safety or legal problems by reacting inappropriately.

As you can see, these tips focus on customer service. Understand the balance between good customer service and customer harassment. These techniques will provide you with happier customers, lower theft and higher profits. 

 Contributed by Alan Herbach, who is President of American Theft Prevention Products, Inc. (www.AmericanTheftPrevention.com) which provides retailers with tools to effectively combat shoplifting. Alan can be reached by email at aherbach@AmTheft.com and can be followed on Twitter under the name AmTheft.