How do you say Anti Shoplifting– Physical Security!!

Over the years of working in both large and small retailers it was always interesting to me to break down the actual shrink losses past just the dollars and overall percentages. Frequently retailers spend so much time attending to internal theft that they forget that retail theft prevention should be applied to all forms of loss. Smaller business locations seem to be the victims of this tendency. External theft, shoplifting, can be perpetrated a variety of different ways. Regardless of the shoplifting method a business with a Checkpoint security system always has a deterrence effect upon potential shoplifters.

From various post theft interviews I have conducted over the years with shoplifters I have learned that the vast majority of thieves look for the easiest target. They avoid stores with Checkpoint systems. When the potential thief sees the pedestals at the front of the store and the checkpoint security tags attached securely to product they avoid the location like a car thief avoids a car with an alarm and or the “club”. As one suspect stated “Why waste the time when I can go down the street and steal the same product from a company without any means of retail theft prevention?”. I have to admit in all of the companies that I worked for who properly utilized the Checkpoint systems; their shrink percentage breakdown of product categories that were tagged consistently and properly with Checkpoint security tags were always lower than other companies who sold the same product and did not use any anti shoplifting tools.

Small businesses tend to believe that they either can’t afford the Checkpoint security system or that the Checkpoint system will not be cost effective. Many believe that they can handle retail theft prevention “in house” stating that their business is just to small to be on the radar of thieves. This tends to be a costly mistake. Once an inventory count has been conducted; a business owner is left with shrink loss that is compounded by the loss of the sale of the stolen product. By no means is any anti shoplifting tool guaranteed to eliminate external theft. When you buy and employ a Checkpoint system it is important that everyone on the sales team from part timers to management are trained to properly use the checkpoint security tags on specified product, audit all product categories that have been tagged, report and investigate any defeated tags and react correctly when the Checkpoint system alarm has been activated.  Physical security using an anti shoplifting tool such as the Checkpoint security system is a must if a business is to prevent external losses via shoplifting.

Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase retail anti theft devices from Checkpoint Systems.

For more information on Anti Shoplifting , Checkpoint Security System or Checkpoint Security Tags contact us at Retail theft prevention or call 1.770.426.0547