Over the coming weeks, US liquor sales will spike to their highest level of the year, with alcoholic beverages tipped to be an essential purchase on many people’s holiday shopping list.

But with that spike in sales comes an inevitable uptick in theft, making now the time that retailers should be looking to secure their liquor against shoplifting.

Here’s a guide to combatting liquor theft during a season when alcohol sales are set to be merry indeed.

Holiday season alcohol demand

Each year statistics indicate a marked rise in alcohol sales throughout December, with figures indicating they are at least a third higher than the lowest point of the year. And the market is only increasing.

In December 2017 for example, Statista noted liquor sales peaked at $6.284 billion, compared to their lowest point in January when sales were just $3.74 billion.

It was a similar story in 2018 and 2019.

• In 2018, beer, wine and spirit sales topped $6.442 billion, compared to $3.991 billion in January

• In 2019, beer, wine and spirit sales topped $6.63 billion, compared to $4.134 billion in January

This year, December sales could even be higher, with Covid-19 seeing a rise in liquor demand and sales reaching $6.421 billion by July.

Demand sees spike in liquor theft

As legitimate sales of liquor increase so too does liquor theft, with December renowned as a peak season for shoplifting.

In fact, liquor ranks among the top 10 stolen items across the US over the holiday season as foot traffic increases and sales associates cope with increased demand.

So how can retailers protect their liquor over the busy period ahead?

Liquor theft prevention

Shoplifters target liquor for a variety of reasons. In some cases, it’s simple opportune pilfering. This category of opportune thieves often includes teens who steal alcohol almost as a rite of passage and people who may already be under the influence and harness their decreased inhibitions to have a further drink ‘on the house’.

These types of thieves usually go after lower value items that are easy to access.

Other thieves are more strategic in their product selection, targeting high-value liquor that can be resold at a greater price. This sees liquor amongst the prime targets for organized retail crime (ORC).

But regardless of the reason or strategy behind it, alcohol theft costs retailers a significant sum, contributing to $61.7 billion in retail shrink across all retail verticals in 2019 alone.

Liquor security tags

Designed specifically to protect wines and spirits, liquor security tags are amongst the latest innovations in Electronic Article Surveillance.

The caps are designed to fit over the bottle top, can only be removed at the Point of Sale, and ensure an alarm sounds if a thief tries to steal wine or spirits.

They also prevent alcohol from being consumed in the store, are available to suit both RF and AM EAS systems, and offer a universal fit to suit varying bottle neck shapes and sizes.

As an added benefit, the caps are available in bulk, are reusable and easy for store assistants to remove and attach. They also offer an affordable way to protect products while still allowing the consumer to access, touch, feel and examine them.

Locked cabinets

When it comes to top-shelf liquor many retailers opt to secure their products behind glass.

Glass cabinets allow the consumer to see the product but not touch it. It enables the staff to keep the items under their control but can cost time when it comes to access. Meanwhile, the locks need to be impervious to picking.

That’s where innovations like smart locks and smart keys come in. They allow retail staff to quickly access all relevant cabinets using a single programmed key.

These keys can also track which staff member has accessed what cabinet, allowing retailers to also mitigate employee theft.

Security labels

For high-volume, low-value liquor, beer and wine, security labels are a popular alternative. Labels come in a range of sizes, are available for both RF and AM EAS systems and can even have the barcode printed on them to save time at the Point of Sale.

CCTV

CCTV and video surveillance are excellent loss prevention strategies for monitoring an entire store and can be a tool that deters thieves from committing an act of theft

However, CCTV often detects a crime and identifies a criminal after the incidence has occurred, leaving the matter in the hands of police rather than avoiding a theft.

You can learn more about liquor bottle security tags here or browse our range of security labels here.

Security tags come in a range of sizes and shapes, with some designed to accommodate specific purposes and products. One such security tag is the bottle cap tag.

Designed to guard against the shoplifting and theft of liquor, bottle cap tags are available in a series of sizes to accommodate both RF and AM electronic article surveillance systems.

Here’s how they work and the benefits they offer.

Some facts about liquor theft

According to the most recent Global Retail Theft Barometer, wines and spirits rank as the most commonly stolen items in the US food and beverage vertical.

And in many ways the reason for their pilfering popularity is obvious. Not only are wines and spirits sought after for personal consumption, but high-end brands also command a high resale value.

That makes liquor a target for casual shoplifters stealing out of addiction, opportunistic juvenile thieves stealing for the thrill and also organized retail crime, who steal to re-sell the items.

The Global Retail Theft Barometer also explains spirits and wines are relatively easy to conceal, making them a natural target for shoplifting and theft.

In North America, that’s resulted in a spike in liquor thefts in recent years, especially in Canada where liquor theft has been labelled an epidemic in areas like Winnipeg and Alberta.

CBC news recently reported robberies at liquor stores in Winnipeg had been spiking for more than a year, “with thieves boldly swarming the aisles and filling backpacks and other bags with armloads of bottles before walking past staff, who have been warned not to intervene out of fear of attacks”.

“At times, staff have been threatened with weapons, including knives and pepper spray. In other cases, thieves have picked up bottles and used them as weapons, too”.

And it’s not just north of the Canadian border where an increase in thefts is occurring.

On March 2, sheriffs in Baton Rouge, Louisiana put out a call for public assistance after a couple went on a shoplifting spree, stealing liquor from multiple retailers throughout the capital area.

And that’s where targeted loss prevention strategies like bottle cap tags come into their own.

What is a bottle cap tag?

Suited to a range of bottle sizes, bottle cap tags fit over the cap of the liquor or wine bottle and lock into position. They can only be removed with a specialist magnetic detacher.

Each tag is also fitted with a receiver that will alarm when in the proximity of the store’s electronic article surveillance (EAS) during an attempted theft.

Together, these two strategies ensure the bottle cannot be opened for the contents to be consumed instore, while any attempted theft of the bottle will cause an alarm to sound.

Bottlecap tags are available to suit both AM (acousto magnetic) and RF (radio frequency) EAS systems, making them compatible with existing EAS systems that are likely to be on the premises.

They are available in both small and large sizes to suit wine and spirits including top-shelf liquors, champagnes and standard wine bottle openings.

Advantages

Easy to fit and reusable, bottle cap tags offer a host of benefits, including:

• Eliminating alcohol consumption instore
• Activating an alarm during a theft
• Easy to apply
• Reusable
• Available for RF or AM EAS systems
• Available in a range of sizes
• Easy to remove at the Point of Sale
• Act as a deterrent to liquor theft
• Available in bulk
• Cost effective to implement

You can order the Bottle Cap tag here.