Unfortunately, there is no typical profile of a shoplifter. Thieves come in all ages, races and from various backgrounds. However, there are some signs that should signal a red flag for retailers. While the following characteristics don\u2019t necessarily mean guilt, retailers should keep a close eye on shoppers who exhibit the following:<\/p>\n
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- Spends more time watching the cashier, sales clerk, or cameras, than actually shopping.<\/li>\n
- Wears bulky or heavy clothing during warm weather, or baggy coats when unnecessary.<\/li>\n
- Walks with short or unnatural steps, which may indicate that they are concealing heavy or clumsy lifted items in their clothing.<\/li>\n
- Takes several items into dressing room and only leaves with one item or none at all.<\/li>\n
- Seems nervous and possibly picks up random items with no interest.<\/li>\n
- Often shoplifters are on drugs or alcohol, and have jerky, fast, paranoid, or odd movements.<\/li>\n
- Frequently enters store, and never makes a purchase.<\/li>\n
- Large groups entering the store at one time, especially juveniles. A member of the group causes a disturbance to distract sales staff.<\/li>\n
- Large groups of say 5 customers come in, and spread out in separate directions. \u00a0The problem begins when you have just 2 or 3 available employees to follow them. \u00a02 or 3 members of the group will not be watched, and can fill their pockets and jackets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Employee Phony Shoppers<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n
One way to defend against shoplifters is to place individuals throughout the store who act as regular customers \u2014 but are actually there to keep an eye on other shoppers. Shoplifters will be more wary of store employees, but usually don\u2019t pay much attention to people acting as if they\u2019re also there to shop. The \u201cphony\u201d shoppers should appear as customers, not looking around too much as this is cause for suspicion. They should use dressing rooms, collect items throughout the store, and be good enough actors to portray a traditional shopper, while still keeping an eye out for potential shoplifting behavior.<\/p>\n
Use Uniform Security Guards<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n
Not only can uniform security guards prevent a shoplifter from stealing goods from the store and making it to their vehicle, but just having security guards visibly in or near the store may deter thief\u2019s from entering your retail store. People are much less likely to attempt shoplifting when they see that is more likely they will not get away with it. The uniform security guards should be trained in what to look for when identifying shoplifters, as some states have laws against stopping an individual before they actually leave the store with the goods.<\/p>\n
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<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\nPost Signs<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n
Another way to deter shoplifters is to place signs throughout your store that state exactly what the penalty are for shoplifting. You should place these signs on the front entrance door, in dressing rooms, and various other places throughout your store. It is a great low priced defense against shoplifting.<\/p>\n
Perform Exit Inspection<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n
If you have had a problem with shoplifters, you can prevent future occurrences by performing exit inspection. While you can\u2019t look through someone\u2019s personal belongings, you can require them to show a receipt for what is in their shopping bag. This prevents shoplifting by individuals that put in more items in their bag than what they purchased. \u00a0It also helps to design a floor plan to have 1 way in, and 1 way out of a store department. \u00a0Like a security funnel.<\/p>\n
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<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\nUse Surveillance Technology<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n
Having surveillance technology will help you to prevent shoplifting from occurring and decrease your loss astronomically. Place video surveillance equipment throughout your store so that most if not all of your store is covered by the cameras. Don\u2019t hide them, because knowing they are being watched can also deter shoplifting from stealing from your store. Train security personnel to view the cameras and look for suspicious behavior.<\/p>\n
As a store owner, small business retail loss prevention is an important part of doing business. When individuals steal goods or money from your store, it has a large impact on your business finances and cause tremendous burden on your business overall. You should also purchase adequate business insurance for the cases when preventing shoplifting was not possible.<\/p>\n
Greet all customers on their way into the store, and let them know someone will be near them at all times in case they need help. \u00a0Approach any suspicious person and ask if he\/she is finding everything okay. Make the shoplifters feel watched.<\/p>\n
Code 3: If you notice suspicious activities, alert other employees immediately. Many stores have a security code to alert staff of possible shoplifters. \u00a0Come up with your own special word for the store speaker system like \u201cCode 3\u201d, or \u201cPeanut\u201d. \u00a0Customers will have no idea what these words mean, but all the employees and security will know.<\/p>\n
Many stores designate specific areas of the store with numbers so other employees know where to go. \u00a0Like the parts dept of a motorcycle store can be area 1. \u00a0Sales floor can be area 2. \u00a0Riding gear dept can be area 3 and so on. \u00a0 So\u2026. If it was announced over the store speakers\u2026. \u00a0\u201cPeanut in area 1\u201d. \u00a0 Only your employees would know there is a shoplifter or thief in the parts dept.<\/p>\n
Caught Thieves:<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n
In each country, or state, laws vary on what to do with thieves when caught. \u00a0In some countries it is not allowed to put your hands on them, even though they are clearly criminals. \u00a0In some countries you may be able to Pepper Spray, or beat the criminals, and then tie them up for the police. You need to check with your local law enforcement to find out your local laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shoplifting is a huge problem in the USA, and around the world. \u00a0In the USA the cost is estimated at $25,000,000 per day!!! \u00a0That\u2019s huge. \u00a0How can you prevent this from happening in your store? \u00a0Below, we discuss many ways to look for the behavior of thief\u2019s, and what to do when found out. First-Spot…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[193,192],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5637"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5637"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5641,"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5637\/revisions\/5641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalautosources.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}