Unsurprisingly the single largest loss of money for any retail business is theft. According to recent reports retail theft has reached a ten year high and last financial year alone (2013-2014), shoplifters cost Australian retailers a staggering 600 million dollars. With this in mind, what action can your store take to make sure that it isn’t part of this growing statistic?
Communicate with your customers
One of the most effective ways of dealing with retail theft is to acknowledge all new customers as they walk in to your store. For those with less than noble intentions it sends alarm bells that they’ve already been noticed and this action alone just might deter them from attempting to shoplift. For others a simple ‘good morning’ or ‘hello’ is just good customer service.
Know your inventory
By keeping an up to date inventory of what’s in stock, what’s been sold and what’s damaged you’ll recognise pretty quickly if anything is missing. This way you can protect high theft items by not displaying them in full public view.
CCTV
If you have the budget then CCTV is the way to go. However even if you can’t afford to install the real thing, then a dummy camera with strategically placed warning signs might just be enough to deter any potential shoplifters. In addition, make people aware that you are serious about the prosecution of those that attempt to steal from your store.
Examine your floor plan
As a shop owner do you know that the way your retail space is structured might have an impact on how accessible your store is to shoplifters? For example, if you have stocked areas that are hidden from the view of staffed points such as tills and counters, it’s going to make it easy for any would be thief. Alternatively, if high value and attractive items are not on full view and all areas are easily visible then it’s going to make it that much harder for any opportunist. With this in mind it really pays to look at your floor plan and make the necessary changes.
Think about using the services of a security company
If it’s a larger, busier retail space then it becomes more difficult for you and your team to monitor With this in mind you might decide to use the services of a highly experienced security company such as MA Services Group. We have highly trained personnel who know just what to do to prevent shoplifting. What’s more, for many opportunist thieves, the mere presence of an on-site security guard is enough to deter them from pilfering from your store.
The truth is that if the need is there, a serious shoplifter is probably willing to overcome many risks to get their hands on merchandise, no matter how strong the protection. That said, by taking on board these pointers, you can at least make sure that your store isn’t part of this growing statistic.
