One retailer’s efforts to prevent shoplifting recently kept a man in New Jersey from running down the road naked, according to the Associated Press.   [Read the article here…]

The 58-year-old man was caught with $43.00 worth of merchandise including a USB card, two spoons, a nutcracker, decorative tree, and T-shirts, a highly diverse selection of merchandise to be sure.

When asked why he stole the items, he explained that he had lost a bet and could pay the debt either by shoplifting or running naked down the street.  He remarked that he should have taken of his clothes and gone into the street because the fine for nudity was less that the penalty for shoplifting.

I personally have heard some crazy excuses given by shoplifters, but this is one that’s new.  (I have heard the “lost a bet” excuse, however.)

I’m sure the store is happy that he didn’t shoplift naked, although the thief would have had nowhere to hide his loot.

This is a case of a person who entered the store with the intention of stealing from the retailer, who obviously thought his chances of being detected were small.  He also had a chance to be very careful, since merchandise choice didn’t seem to be a decision factor. 

Retailers, in order to prevent shoplifting, set up all types of barriers to make it more difficult to get to the objects (locking displays, cables) or increase the risk of detection to such a degree that the shoplifters avoid the store (CCTV, loss prevention agents, theft detection technology.)

Checkpoint Security Systems is a viable anti shoplifting tool for many retailers that have taken a positive step to stop shoplifting.  The presence of a Checkpoint System at the entrance and the use of Checkpoint tags and Checkpoint labels on merchandise are the only deterrent needed to send most shoplifters to another store to settle their bets.  Most shoplifters recognize Checkpoint Systems, Checkpoint tags, and Checkpoint labels, and avoid those retailers who use them.  Those who decide they can beat the systems soon find themselves approached by a staff member responding to an audible alarm as the merchandise passes by the Checkpoint System.

It is less entertaining to prevent shoplifting than to have a naked guy run down the street, but it is a lot better for business.

Call 770-426-0547 to speak with a knowledgeable loss prevention agent or click here for more information.  Please be sure and visit our Online Retail Loss Prevention Store.

One of the most effective ways to prevent shoplifting in a retail setting is to train all employees on the different ways shoplifters use to steal merchandise and to make all employees, not just salespeople, aware of the effect shoplifting has on their own place of employment and the fact that they have a personal stake in it.

Any customer can potentially be a shoplifter and all retail employees at some time come into contact with and observe customer activity on the sales floor.

Why not use them as another weapon in the battle to prevent shoplifting?  Just an acknowledgement from an employee is enough to send the shoplifter down the street to another store. 

Employees will be glad to help if they are shown how.  At the very least, security and loss prevention policies should be covered during each employee’s orientation period at then at storewide meetings for a few minutes.  Even reminders in the paychecks or articles and posters on the employee bulletin board serve to remind everyone that shoplifting prevention is everyone’s responsibility.

But without reminders, most employees will revert to the old ways of ignoring customers and the signs of shoplifting.

Employees should also be instructed to report every incident of shoplifting or suspected shoplifting, such as empty packages hidden in shelves and empty hangers on display racks, to management so they will be aware of what types of merchandise are being taken, and where it is occurring.

Employees who are aware of ways to prevent shoplifting can control the enormous inventory loss to theft.

Speak with a loss prevention expert at 770-426-0547or click here for more information.  Be sure and pay a visit to our Online Retail Loss Prevention Store.

 

When most consumers think of ways to prevent shoplifting, they think of merchandise that is highly desirable and expensive.  This is not always the case, even with those classified as “professional’ shoplifters, those who steal not for their own use but to resell and convert their gains to cold hard cash.

I recently read an article [read it here…] about a couple in Portland, Washington, who are accused of shoplifting more that $5 Million dollars in merchandise over the past four or five years.

A couple of things grabbed my attention.  First of all, how could a major grocery chain with its own CCTV system and loss prevention department allow these thieves to get away with stealing form them all this time.  They were either phenomenally lucky or good at what they do. Or they were very selective about the merchandise they stole.

The second thing was the items that the couple were taking were all fairly common items: razors, shampoo, Rogaine, teeth whitener, conditioner, batteries, CD’s, and DVD’s.  No fur coats or flat screen TV’s.

These items have several things in common.  They are small and easy to conceal and they are items that are used every day. Most of them have a limited useful life before they must be replaced. 

The article stated that the police were looking for a third suspect who gave the couple a “shopping list”. 

To prevent shoplifting of these types of items, retailers have turned to Checkpoint Security Systems, along with Alpha Security products to keep merchandise safe from shoplifters from those who steal on impulse to professionals like those described in the article.

Call 770-426-0547 for more information to help prevent shoplifting or click here.  Visit our Online Retail Loss Prevention Store for more ideas!

While retailers focus on selling their merchandise, which they should, they absolutely cannot ignore retail theft prevention and make efforts to prevent shoplifting.  Retail theft takes a hefty bite out of profits, which cancels out a large amount of sales. So the retailer is forced budget time and money away from what’s most productive for him – merchandising and selling – and devote it to protecting his merchandise and his business.

All retailers are familliar with the formula that $1.00 in stolen merchandise equals the profit from $20.00 of sales at a 5% margin.  A shoplifter who gets away with a jacket valued at $100.00 means the retailer has to sell the equivalent 20 more jackets ($2000.00) just to break even.  A lot of sales effort and profit leaves along with the stolen merchandise.

But instead of letting the merchandise walk out the door what if there were retail anti theft devices that would literally blow the whistle when a stolen item was taken from the store.

Checkpoint Security Systems provides exactly such a device.  In fact, there are several models of Checkpoint systems that are applicable in any retail setting.  Checkpoint tags and Checkpoint labels are available for almost any type and style of merchandise.  The relatively small investment to prevent shoplifting as a source of inventory loss is well worth it.

Checkpoint Security Systems is a leader in the manufacture and development of retail theft prevention devices, giving retailers the peace of mind to apply themselves toward the focus of the business – selling.

Retailers can free up time and get a quick return on investment by using Checkpoint Security Systems to guard the door to prevent shoplifting and grow sales and profits.

A retail theft prevention self-assessment will show the improvement in day-to-day operations of any store that initiates a program to prevent shoplifting.

Call 770-426-0547 for more information or click here: Prevent Shoplifting.  Click here to visit our Online Retail Loss Prevention Store.

Retailers lose sleep worrying about retail theft and ways to prevent shoplifting.

Shoplifters, however, apparently plan to get plenty of rest, at least the individual in the following story from Police (Off)Beat column recently in the Atlanta Constitution:

A potential slumber party host was caught shoplifting two Sony PlayStations, a PlayStation Portable, several games, a comforter and some pajamas from a Cobb County Sears store. He’d used a pair of pliers to break into the glass case containing the goods, police said. While being booked at the jail, police found 77 Xanax pills in his socks.

This shoplifter obviously came into this major retailer’s store with shoplifting on his mind, as he had the tools to get into the case that the store had depended on to keep thieves out.  This is frequently the case with high value popular items like electronic games that are frequent targets of shoplifters because of their desirability and relatively high resale value.

Despite a Loss Prevention Department with undercover store detectives, attentive(?) sales staff, and a locked display cabinet, Mr.  Gonna Have a Party shoplifter took the risk and it didn’t pay off.

To prevent shoplifting by a hard core, determined thief requires a stronger approach than deterring the casual everyday type of booster.

Checkpoint Security Systems provides retail anti theft devices that prevent shoplifting from the standpoint of letting shoplifters and potential shoplifters know that just by its presence, the risk of being detected has gone way up.  Most any shoplifter (except the most dedicated ones of course) will avoid a store that has a Checkpoint System and frequent those stores that have less obstacles to their shoplifting plans.

Retailers that have Checkpoint Security Systems in their stores know that the systems work as a deterrent by the amount of merchandise that is ditched by shoplifters before they exit the store.  The shoplifter notices the system as he is ready to exit and decides the reward is not worth the risk and drops the merchandise before exiting.

The presence of Checkpoint Security Systems will help any retailer reduce his inventory loss and prevent shoplifting.

To discuss the impact an anti shoplifting program will have at your store, call 770-426-0547 or click here:  Stop Shoplifting.  Visit our Online Retail Loss Prevention Store.

The retailer who has to prevent shoplifting in his store to remain profitable might well exclaim;

To prevent shoplifting, remember the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  What this saying means is that it is easier to prevent a condition from occurring that it is once it has become established. 

When applied to shoplifting, a major concern for almost any retailer, this statement makes a lot of sense.

The main idea of prevention is to keep shoplifting from occurring in the first place.  To do this, the retailer should increase the risk to the shoplifter.  The other side of the equation would be to increase the shoplifter’s punishment, but that assumes the shoplifter will be caught and even then the punishment is up to a judge or jury.

So, other than posting a sign at the entrance that reads “Shoplifters Will Be Shot”, what can a retailer do to deter and prevent shoplifting at his store?

One excellent deterrent to shoplifting is the presence of a retail anti theft device at the entrance to the store.  One such device is the Checkpoint Security System.  While the system, which consists of one or more antennas depending on the size of the entrance, is certainly not “in your face” obvious, it is recognized by most shoplifters as an effective anti shoplifting solution that is difficult to defeat.

The Checkpoint Security System never gets distracted or takes a break.  It doesn’t care what a shoplifter looks like, how he is dressed, or how many bags he carries.  Blind spots in the store that are used by shoplifters to conceal merchandise are unimportant to it.

In short, all the Checkpoint Security System cares about is if the merchandise passing through it has been paid for or not.  If not, an alarm sounds to alert the staff.

Keep honest customers honest and prevent shoplifting by committing to reduce shrink and save money with Checkpoint.

Call 770-426-7526 to speak with a loss prevention agent or click here: Retail Anti Theft Device. Be sure and visit our Online Retail Loss Prevention Store.

You can prevent shoplifting from your store, but if you do, you are likely to miss incidents such as the following that were reported by the daily publication, Creative Loafing:

How much can a shoplifter stuff in his pants? A man seen on surveillance video at a convenience store in Connecticut, fled after stuffing at least 17 cans of Red Bull energy drink down his pants. And in Cairns, Australia, a 51-year-old man was caught shoplifting, witnessed by security staff putting three limes and a package of beef tongue in his pants. When cornered, the man (like clowns exiting a clown car) pulled out an additional two onions, three trays of rump steaks and a packet of lamb forequarter chops.

Okay, the thought of these two criminals actually stuffing energy drink and groceries into their trousers at first seems pretty comical.  At least in these two instances, the offenders were detected and apprehended.  Many times, shoplifters who are not quite so inept as these two get away with it, costing businesses billions of dollars annually in lost merchandise and profit, and there’s no fun in that.

Now nothing may prevent shoplifting entirely by really dedicated and daring theives like the ones described here, but there are retail anti theft devices that are manufactured to stop shoplifting by customers of a retail store.

A Checkpoint Security System at the entrance to a store announces that the management of the store is serious about controlling costs and crime by treating sholifting seriously, which in turn keeps prices low for customers.

A Checkpoint Security System is a type of electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology that detects special Checkpoint tags and Checkpoint labels that pass through its field and emits an audible alarm, alerting staff and others that merchandise is leaving that has not been through checkout.  The shoplifters soon learn that the merchadise is protected and move on to less risky environments.  The preventative benefit of the presence of a Checkpoint System has an immediate positive impact on inventory loss and profitability.

For your information, if Mr. Red Bull had been successful, the retailer would have had to sell an additional 340 cans of the drink to break even because of the profit loss from the theft.

Want to know more about ways to prevent shoplifting and keep your profits?  Call LPSI at 770-426-0547 or click here: Retail Theft Prevention.  Be sure to visit our Online Retail Loss Prevention Store.

 

If you’ve been in this business for any amount of time you realize that coordinating with management to prevent shoplifting can be a difficult task. The job of management in a retail environment is to make merchandise as accessible as possible to the customer in hopes that they will be more apt to purchase it. The loss prevention investigator knows that every customer could potentially be a thief so they’re trying to keep the merchandise from being readily accessible to these types of individuals. It’s like plaids and stripes, these 2 ideals just don’t go together.

For this reason it is vital that the loss prevention investigator have superior communication skills and be able to convey his concerns and his strategy to prevent shoplifting in a clear and concise manner. Years ago, in one of my stores, we created “the horseshoe” to combat a growing shoplifting problem with small, easily concealed merchandise. Essentially the racks were arranged to form a horseshoe or “U” shape and everyone who walked into the horseshoe was watched like a hawk. Inevitably theft went down significantly.  Recently the management staff felt that the horseshoe was limiting customer access and was to blame for the decreased sales in that department.

As a result, the horseshoe was dismantled. Sales did make a slight increase but shrink in that department went through the roof. At that point it was easy to point out to management that the small increase in sales didn’t cancel out the large increase in theft. The horseshoe was back within a month and shoplifting leveled off. You have to consider the needs of the business above all else. If you can build a strong working relationship between your loss prevention investigator and your management staff you will make it that much easier to prevent shoplifting in your store. 

For more information contact us at Prevent Shoplifting or call 1.770.426.0547

Because of the present business economy, the strategy of most retail storeowners and managers has been to cut costs in order to survive the downturn and position for a better climate.  Overall, the results have for the most part been successful so far although there has been a decrease in payroll resulting in fewer personnel to cover the sales floor and man the registers.  The decrease in man-hours available has a negative effect on the effort to prevent shoplifting – resulting in an increase in costs.

The costs increase is in cost of goods sold. Even if the price paid to the suppliers remains the same, the cost of goods sold increases because the owner has to replace the pilfered merchandise with new goods to have merchandise on hand to sell.

Many retailers look at the problem of shoplifting as a personal one, which it is.  The shoplifter is stealing merchandise that the retailer bought with money that he earned.  The alternatives that the retailer faces are increasing the prices charged to his customers or finding ways to control or stop shoplifting.  Neither of these alternatives is optimal.

Shoppers are driven by loyalty, but even more so by price.  A price increase to cover inventory loss is seen by customers only as a price increase, and in the current economic environment price is on consumers’ minds.  This is the less desirable alternative and doesn’t really address the core issue of shoplifting.

An effective way to prevent shoplifting is to make the act of shoplifting less likely to succeed and drive the shoplifter to an easier target.

No matter what the motivation of the shoplifter – wanting something for nothing, peer pressure, impulse, or thrill – a retail anti theft device such as a Checkpoint Security System will serve as a deterrent.  The presence of a Checkpoint System at the entrance of a store or boutique is enough to stop many shoplifters.  Why risk stealing from a protected store when there is an easier victim down the street?

The retailer or manager makes the decision which merchandise to protect based on theft history, price point, or any combination of factors, but can depend on the Checkpoint Security System to sound an alarm when protected merchandise leaves the premises without having been purchased.

There is virtually no type of merchandise that can’t be protected with one of the many Checkpoint tags or Checkpoint labels that are available.

A Checkpoint Security System will prevent shoplifting and control costs related to theft so that the cost of the system is quickly recovered and will continue to save the retailer money as well as reduce aggravation.

Call LPSI at 770-426-0547 or click here: Stop Shoplifting for information on controlling costs related to theft.  Visit our Online Retail Loss Prevention Store for even more ideas.