Protect Your Business from Retail Theft This Holiday Season
With the holidays approaching, many retail stores are preparing for an increase in sales and traffic within their storefront. While November and December are a few of the most hectic months for store owners and managers, the holiday season also draws an increase in shoplifting and shrinkage caused by theft.
While shoplifting and shrinkage are not exactly in the spirit of the holidays, it is something that needs to be addressed before your store takes a major loss due to burglary and dishonesty. It’s critical to keep your retail environment safe for your customers and employees, as well as secure for your inventory. Whether you’re the sole proprietor of a single location or you operate multiple stores, chances are you have problems shared by every retail business owner: theft, unexplained inventory shortages, shoplifting, and employee productivity. BSG can assist you in safeguarding against these concerns.
The easiest way to combat these issues is to increase the store’s overall security.
Cameras should not only watch entryways and registers but also be directed toward high-value items and installed in the parking lot. By filming the areas where most theft occurs, it can be both a deterrent and a way to catch shoplifters in the act. By having a security system for your business, you can protect your inventory from theft and employee smuggling.
Public Display Video Monitors
A monitor showing the live views of select cameras has a potent effect on the behaviors of store visitors. They know they are being watched and this helps “deter” shrinkage. The quality and angles of your video surveillance system recordings can help “detect” bad behaviors. In retail, rarely is it possible except for high value smaller items to “deny” attempted theft as the merchandise is almost always accessible to the client.
Wireless Networks
In today’s digital age, is your store’s Internet secure? Within the last few years, more and more people are shopping online and stores are storing private information on computer database. Protect your customers and yourself with having a top-notch secure network.
While there’s no magic solution that can promise to completely prevent theft, there are lots of ways businesses can deter against theft. For many retail businesses, making your store a more challenging and less desirable target is one of the best ways to help prevent against retail crime.
We are a dedicated security and technology provider that understands the specific challenges retail establishments like yours face. Our clients rely on us to equip their stores with proven solutions to help ensure customer and employee security, improve profitability, and significantly reduce theft and inventory shrinkage.
Our team of security professionals have the experience and superior product expertise to help you address your everyday problems effectively and affordably. We know security… You know your business! We’ll listen and work with you to understand your needs, then take an integrated, multi-technology approach to design and deploy a solution that’s built just for you. No business is too small.
Place Valuable Items Strategically
Your most expensive items need to be in a location where they can always be watched by an employee. You’ll also want to place them away from the exits, in order to make it difficult for someone to steal an item and escape without being seen. However, in a crowded store, it’s tough to keep an eye on everyone and everything. This is where physical security is important. Consider placing your big ticket items behind security gates or inside locked cabinets. Inner cabinet security doors are also great for protecting valuable items.
Greet Your Customers
This can be tough to do if the crowds inside your store grow too large, but research shows that communicating with your customers reduces theft. By greeting customers when they come in to your store and asking them if they need any help when you see them walking around the store, you’re not just providing good customer service. You’re also letting them know that they’re not alone in the store and that their actions are being watched. This reduces theft because no one wants to be spotted committing a crime.
Keep an Eye on Fitting Rooms
A common tactic is for a criminal to take several items into a fitting room, remove the tags and smuggle some items out of the store by hiding them in a purse or even by wearing them out. To reduce the likelihood of these thefts, lock fitting rooms and have a store employee provide access to them. The employee should also limit the number of items that are taken into the fitting room and take note of how many items each customer brings in. The employee will also need to make sure that the number of items that come out is the same that went in.
At BSG, we offer customized solutions to meet today’s need, scalable for the demands of tomorrow.
Call (855) 697-6278 or contact us for more information on how we can partner with you to help manage risk, reduce costs and streamline operations.
