Shoplifting By Both Amateurs and Pros Is On The Increase
Posted: Wednesday, July 15, 2009
by Ron Pawlowski
The Retail Institute
Economic Pressures Increase Opportunity and Curtails Prevention
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) in the U.S. has just released their latest survey on theft and shoplifting in the general retail market. In several earlier articles, I predicted that shoplifting by amateurs we well as organized professionals and gangs would go up dramatically this year. The losses for retailers associated with theft always increases with the downturn in the economy and this effect has been witnessed many times in the past few decades. This challenging economic period is no different, however it is disturbing how the degree of shoplifting has increased across so many different retail genres this time.
-Of all the retailers surveyed, 61% reported an increase in amateur theft and not one retailer reported a decrease in shoplifting occurrences since their 2008 survey.
-Collectively, roughly half of the retailers also reported a sharp increase in retail fraud, burglary and robbery. Violent crimes against retailers is on the rise as well.
-The retail genres most affected are: Apparel, Electronics, Health and Beauty Aids, Groceries and Cosmetics. This follows the pattern typically witnessed in past economic downturns.
-Larger Urban centers such as Los Angeles and New York face more acute increases in theft than smaller suburban markets. It was also witnessed that increases in theft were not only greater but were experienced earlier in the year in larger centers as well.
-Of all retailers surveyed, 72% reported an increase in organized and gang related thefts. These thieves usually steal in larger quantities and impact stores far worse than the opportunistic amateur shoplifter. Many gangs steal and stockpile merchandise to support an ongoing stream of reselling.
Increases in amateur and professional shoplifting have been driven by economic pressures, however opportunities abound when retailers rely solely on Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) systems to protect their stores. This is what the professional shoplifter prospers from and can easily defeat poorly managed EAS systems. Furthermore, reductions in scheduling compromises floor coverage and creates the random opportunities that amateurs will take advantage of.
Take Action Today:
1) Revisit how your store uses your EAS system (if installed), and retrain staff to focus on customer service and on the floor interaction to curtail both professional and amateur shoplifters.
2) Examine opportunities for theft such as merchandise placement, schedules, employee mix etc. and eliminate situations that can accommodate easy shoplifting.
3) Keep an open line of communication with local police to learn about local trends in retail crime and report instances you have experienced to them so that they can share this information with other retailers in the community.
4) Organize or participate with your mall or community/street retail association or group to devise shrink reducing tactics. All retailers in the group should report occurrences of theft and share information. Descriptions of gangs and organized shoplifters should be broadcast to all retailers in the group so that they will be aware of who are attacking the stores in the area.
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