How to Prevent Shoplifting

Having your goods stolen sucks. Shoplifting is one of the 4 most common sources of shrinkage and dealing with theft might seem like an unavoidable cost of doing business. Still, there are some ways that can be applied easily to prevent shoplifting before it happens.

Be aware of at-risk items

Shoplifters will often go for small, easy-to-pocket but valuable products such as jewelry and cosmetics products, so you should keep such items close to the registers, in a locked cabinet. That way you and your staff can easily monitor who is accessing those big-ticket items.

Train your staff to watch for theft

Tell your staff to look out for and avoid scams. They can greet each customer entering the store, check in with customers sometimes and ask if they can help anything, and use devices to monitor what’s going on in the store. That’s how you can provide better, friendly services without bothering customers much while letting shoplifters know that they’re being watched, making it harder for them to steal.

Install cameras and mirrors

Equip your store with cameras and security mirrors to monitor what’s going on in your stores. Put up the announcements that there are cameras in stores along with the punishment for shoplifting in places that shoplifting is likely to happy, like in the dressing rooms.

Pay attention to dressing rooms

You should have at least one employee to stay near the dressing rooms to help customers in need and watch out for thieves. Each customer should be given a numbered tag for the number of items he or she is taking to the dressing rooms. Ask customers to check their bags before trying on clothes or simply put their bags in the lockers or at the counters right after they enter the stores.

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Schedule your staff appropriately

For days and times when your stores are very crowded, it’s easier for shoplifters to steal when your cashiers are busy doing something else. Sometimes, they even team up with one distracting the cashier while the other stealing. Minimize their chances to steal by planning ahead to make sure that you can have enough store associates on site to perform their daily tasks and watch out for thieves on busy days.

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