Drilling down to the basics of ways to prevent shoplifting, here are some sure fire winners:

Anticipate.  Learn to think like a shoplifter when merchandising.  Are there hidden areas on the sales floor where you can conceal merchandise without being seen?  Are highly desirable items displayed near exits or in far corners of the store?  Do sales staff and cashiers have a clear line of sight to all areas?  Is the store adequately staffed during busy periods so that all customers are acknowledged?  Eliminating the obvious will go a long way toward reducing or eliminating shoplifting at your store; you just have to get out of the merchant’s mindset and into the shoplifter’s skin for a minute.  What do I want, how can I get it, and what’s the risk of being caught?

Be proactive.  Train and educate your staff on everything there is to know about shoplifting.  Knowledge and awareness are keys in the battle to prevent shoplifting.  Include shoplifting prevention as part of every staff meeting, even if it is just a short mention.  Shoplifter awareness and prevention should become a part of everyone’s job description, since the impact of shrinkage is so great on the profit of any retail business.  Remind staff that it is money that is displayed on the sales floor and it should be treated as such.

Checkpoint Systems.  Think of EAS by Checkpoint Systems as the employee that doesn’t need to be reminded of the importance of controlling shoplifting.  That is its one and only purpose, to stand at the store’s exit and announce when merchandise is leaving that hasn’t been paid for.  And it never calls in sick or takes a break.  True, it needs other employees to do its job, but its presence makes everyone’s job a little easier by making more time available for employees to do the other aspects of their jobs.

These ABC’s are not meant to be comprehensive in any way.  But changing attitudes, along with the introduction of anti shoplifting technology, is a great way to prevent shoplifting at your location.

Call 770-426-0547 for more ideas to prevent shoplifting or click here for information.  Be sure and visit our Online Retail Loss Prevention Store by clicking here.

It’s never too late too begin a program to prevent shoplifting.  A business owner may feel like it’s too late following a period of good sales, good control over inventory and operations budgets and he still takes a loss because of an unplanned and bloated inventory loss figure.  That and other signs like empty hangers and packaging, reported incidents of shoplifting, and the knowledge that he is ordering more merchandise to replenish than he is selling.

The dollar loss is what the owner has to look at as he decides what measures to take to stop shoplifting in his store.  High losses demand effective action.

There’s a grocery store that I pass by occasionally and I have noticed that after dark, there is a security guard stationed at the front door.  That indicates to me that management has decided that it is worth the expense to hire a guard to protect its customers, and I suspect, to keep merchandise from walking out the door for free, and that much of the mischief occurs after dark.

It’s difficult to track and prevent shoplifting, it’s such a sneaky crime and it can occur at any time there is a customer in the store.  Shoplifters don’t announce themselves and a shoplifter looks exactly like any other customer.

The merchandise has to be openly displayed and available, otherwise there would be greatly reduced sales in the store.

Ideally, there would be a way to deter potential shoplifters and detect them if they steal. 

Checkpoint Systems, Checkpoint tags, and Checkpoint labels used correctly by a store would seem to accomplish both these goals.

The presence of an EAS system by Checkpoint Systems in itself is enough to make a potential shoplifter think again about stealing from a store with the retail anti theft device installed.  This makes the potential thief think at least that store staff is aware of shoplifters and raises it above their risk tolerance level.

Those who are determined to steal will most often go to a retailer that doesn’t use the Checkpoint Systems device to reduce the threat of being detected.

Prevent shoplifting before it becomes too late with all the tools at your disposal.

For more ways to prevent shoplifting call 770-426-0257 or click here: Stop Shoplifting in Atlanta Georgia.

Are we fighting a losing battle when it comes to ways to prevent shoplifting by juveniles?

Teenagers are in a class by themselves when it comes to shoplifters.  Their motives and behaviors are very different from that of adults who commit the same crimes.

For ten years I was a volunteer facilitator for a shoplifting prevention class run by a county juvenile court system.  Teenaged shoplifters who had been caught shoplifting and were turned over to the justice system were required, along with their parents, to attend a three night seminar where the crime and impact of shoplifting was discussed and dissected.

One of the things I noticed about young shoplifters was that they rarely shoplifted alone as opposed to adults, who more often than not were by themselves.  That indicated to me that juveniles saw no shame in stealing from a store because they often had their friends as accomplices/witnesses to their acts.  Adults would never go up to one of their friends and say, “I just stole this blouse,” and smile and be proud of it.

It was very different in a classroom full of shoplifters and their parents.  During my introduction to the class on the first night, I would usually ask, “Will all the thieves in the room please raise your hands?  Very few hands went up which would lead into a discussion of exactly what shoplifting is (stealing is what thieves do, right?) and why stores want to prevent shoplifting from occurring.

When the young people were separated from their parents, many of them seemed to show little remorse.  Reasons for the act were “Everybody does it, I just got caught”, “Just wanted it”, to “I don’t know.”  They generally perceived the crime as victimless against a huge corporation who would never miss it.  After all, there are massive displays of merchandise, quite tempting to a young shoplifter, even those who would never think of stealing from an acquaintance or a stranger on the street.  That, and a relatively low chance of being caught.

So a change in perception of the crime through education would reduce the willingness of a teenager to participate in it, as would a large increase in the risk of being caught.

Retail anti theft devices such as EAS by Checkpoint Systems can have a great effect on an overall program to prevent shoplifting by throwing up a huge reminder to a potential shoplifter that the consequences of theft can be serious.

Call 770-426-0547 or click here to learn more ways to prevent shoplifting by everyone, not just juveniles.

We as human beings have the nasty habit of over-complicating the simplest tasks, even when it comes to finding ways to prevent shoplifting. For years I have instructed my minions (I call them that to their faces, so I feel it’s ok to say it here as well) to think like a shoplifter. You walk into a store with the intent to steal. You’re trying desperately to appear calm, cool and collected without drawing any attention to yourself. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Some cheerful, smiling associate jumps in your face asking, “Can I help you find something today?” Yikes! Your cover is good as blown.

What’s worse? Even after you say, “No, thank you.” in the most innocent voice you can muster they still keep an eye on you; periodically checking to see if you require assistance. It’s ridiculous! Don’t they understand that thievery normally requires a bit of privacy? Are they just trying to be nice and helpful? Is this some new approach; some new fangled way to prevent shoplifting? You can’t be sure. It’s certainly not worth the risk when Mr. /Ms. Eager-to-help is 10-feet away from you breathing down your neck. Your best option is to find another store to steal from. This one is too… too… friendly.

Think about it, normal shoppers usually don’t mind an attentive associate. As a matter of fact they tend to appreciate it. It’s a little thing we in the business like to call “good customer service”. Not only is it great for business and will probably help you secure repeat customers, it is also an excellent way to repel and prevent shoplifting.

Visit the Retail Loss Prevention Store to prevent shoplifting now!

For more information contact us at Prevent Shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547 – Atlanta Georgia