To learn more about protecting your store against shoplifting see here, or view our range of security tags and security labels as part of Electronic Article Surveillance that can assist in reducing shoplifting by up to 80 per cent.

Retail theft might not be new. In fact, it’s been around as long as there have been traders selling their wares. But despite shoplifting being as old as the idea of retail itself, like all things it’s subject to trends and change.

In the past decade retailers have arguably been grappling with this change at a faster rate than ever before as the online world and technology deliver new challenges in the battle against shoplifting.

Here’s an insight into how shoplifting has changed and how loss prevention is responding to mitigate an evolving threat…

The savvy shoplifter

Undoubtedly, the internet has delivered huge convenience. It’s brought us streamed entertainment, online shopping, and access to wealth of information at our fingertips.

In the fight against shoplifting, it’s also delivered an unexpected challenge. Where once a would-be thief might need some time to learn the ticks of the trade, now the top tips on shoplifting are just a Google search away.

Those with a desire for a five-fingered discount can simply search the latest techniques to thwart sub-standard security, they can even source tools of the trade on the net, and once they have the pilfered product in their hands, they can readily sell it online.

The rise of organized retail crime

Easy online selling is just one of the factors behind the rise of Organized Retail Crime (ORC), and it’s among the greatest challenges in retail today.

Late last year a study by the National Retail Federation found ORC was at an all-time high, affecting 92 per cent of retailers and costing them $777,877 per $1 billion in sales.

Defined by the NRF as “the large-scale theft of retail merchandise with the intent to resell the merchandise for financial gain”, the survey noted ORC contributes to the growing impact of shoplifting, which US retailers state is their top source of inventory shrink.

This latest survey found ORC losses over the previous 12 months had risen seven per cent on the year prior, while shoplifting accounted for 35.7 per cent of all retail loss in total.

Return fraud

Coupled with easy online selling of stolen goods, are new and innovative ways that shoplifters can make money on their crime.

One of the emerging trends over recent years is return fraud, which sees stolen items taken back to the store and then exchanged for either money or a gift card.

In an age where the customer experience is at the heart of the retail mission, return fraud allows shoplifters to exploit lenient returns policies where a receipt or proof of purchase may not be required.

The NRF recently found:

• 3 per cent of retailers had experienced returns of shoplifted/ stolen merchandise
• 6 per cent had encountered employee return fraud and/or collusion with external sources
• 1 per cent had experienced returns of merchandise purchased on fraudulent or stolen tender
• 5 per cent had encountered returns made by ORC groups
• 3 per cent had experienced wardrobing (i.e. returns of used, non-defective merchandise)

“In all, survey respondents expect that about 11 per cent of annual sales will be returned and 8.2 per cent of those returns are fraudulent,” the survey authors explained.

The loss prevention response

Shoplifting may be evolving, but so too are the tools available to retailers to mitigate theft.

From facial recognition to improved electronic article surveillance (EAS), RFID, and CCTV, retailers now have more insight and theft prevention measures at their disposal than at any time in the past.

The key message is that, like the shoplifters that they are looking to counter, retailers need to stay abreast of the latest trends, use the best strategies available and constantly audit and improve the tools they use.

You can learn more about improving your EAS and the best practices available here.

Whether it’s at the self-checkout, a snatch and grab or simply stashing an item under their clothing, shoplifting is always a crime of opportunity.

That opportunity might be spur of the moment, or it might be maximized with pre-planning, but make no mistake, when it comes to every single element of loss prevention, eliminating opportunity is the aim of the game.

Here’s an insight into how retailers eliminate opportunity in the fight against retail theft…

Know your weakness

It’s important to note, in any retail outlet shoplifting is only part of the loss prevention picture. This year, the National Retail Federation found shoplifting accounted for 35.7 per cent of the industry’s $46.8 billion loss, while employee theft equaled 33.2 per cent, administrative and paperwork error accounted for 18.8 per cent, and vendor fraud totaled 5.8 per cent.

That means retailers should take a good hard look at their outlet to examine exactly where and when all opportunities for loss might arise.

Know your loss

Most retail outlets have an area of weakness and the analytics and reporting of retail offer an insight into where that is.

Analytics and reporting help identify trends, such as when an item is out of stock despite being listed as available in the inventory (this indicates items may be subject to theft).

It might also identify more loss occurs when specific staff members are on duty, which hints at the fact better loss prevention training is required, customer service protocols should be reviewed or in the worst case, theft is occurring at the hands of these staff.

Analytics may also reveal loss occurs at specific times, like opening, closing or holiday trading (indicating staff are distracted, perhaps more staff are required, or procedures need to be reviewed).

Analytics and reporting can also reveal that loss is occurring in the supply chain, or perhaps items are not accounted for properly due to paperwork and error.

Eliminating opportunity

Once you know your potential areas of weakness and also your actual areas of loss, reducing loss comes down to eliminating opportunity.

This often involves a multi-faceted strategy that includes the elements of:

Customer service

Research consistently reveals good customer service plays a definite role in reducing shoplifting. Good customer service sees staff meet and greet consumers and being attentive to their needs in store.

Staff training

Staff play a critical role in identifying and preventing many areas of loss. They should be trained in the suspicious behaviour of shoplifting, given clear instructions on what to do if they suspect an act is occurring, and valued for their role within the retail outlet.

Staff should also be educated on repercussions of employee theft, screened prior to employment, and encouraged to be part of the loss prevention discussion.

Store design

From lighting to layout, good store design eliminates areas where a potential theft might take place. It ensures each area of an outlet feels visible. Design also assists with both customer service and inventory by keeping an outlet neat, tidy and organized to ensure products can be found by the customer and accounted for by staff.

Product protection

Whether a product is high-value or high-volume and low-value, it should be individually protected against theft using Electronic Article Surveillance or suitably secured displays.

EAS would see security tags attached to products like apparel, accessories and electronics, while labels would be affixes to lower value items, like non perishable groceries and pharmaceuticals.

Meanwhile, high-value items such as electronic devices and their accessories might be protected using secure displays where the device is locked to a display table or bench and alarmed.

Alternatively, or additionally, some high-value stock might be secured in lockable cabinets which staff assist the interested customer in accessing.

Store protection

As a further level of security, a retail outlet might opt for overall store protection such as CCTV and loss prevention personnel.

This type of security monitors the entire outlet rather than individual products and identifies acts of theft or assists in dealing with them at the time or afterwards.

Store policy

All security measures should be backed up by store policies which can help mitigate theft.

This will include subjects like return and gift card policy, how shoplifters are dealt with, how employee theft is handled and the steps a staff member should take to report suspicious behaviour from customers or other employees.

Store policy will also outline the correct procedures for receiving goods and inventory reconciliation, assisting them to identify errors and inconsistencies in inventory that may indicate supply chain loss.

This year US retailers will lose over $50.6 billion to shoplifting, dishonest employees, fraud, and supply chain loss.

It’s an astounding figure that sees 1.38 per cent of the industry’s sales simply disappear at the hands of thieves, through error, or via staff deceit.

Critically, it’s a statistic that can be drastically reduced by employing best practice, and in today’s retail environment that involves strategies ranging from stock protection on the floor right through to accountability in the supply chain.

Products on the floor

In 2018, the National Retail Federation found shoplifting accounted for 35.7 per cent of all retail shrink, costing retailers about $17.55 billion.

For retailers that means protecting items at both a product-based level and protecting the retail outlet overall should be a priority.

When it comes to protecting stock on the floor, key strategies include:

• Staff training in attentive customer service and recognising shoplifting behaviour

• Electronic article surveillance comprising antenna, security tags, and labels to guard individual items against theft

• CCTV to deter, identify, and catch thieves in the act

• Good store lighting and design to minimise out of sight areas that might facilitate theft

• Lockable displays and cabinets that safeguard high-value products

The fitting room

Private and out of view of retail associates, the fitting room is a customer service necessity which unfortunately also facilitates theft.

The fitting room is often the place where would-be thieves use innovative strategies to either tamper with or remove security tags, and as a venue that’s private by nature, it presents a unique challenge in the war against theft.

Fortunately, new technology means retailers are now better armed than ever before in the fight against shoplifting, with systems like the Apparel Guard available to monitor security tags, identify tampering in real time and alert staff to a potential theft.

Meanwhile, in addition to technology, further fitting room protection strategies include ensuring staff meet and greet customers, while counting items in and out.

The Point of Sale

The Point of Sale is a retail area which can be affected by both customer fraud and employee theft, while the physical Point of Sale itself can also be a target for theft.

Securing the Point of Sale involves ensuring mobile components of the POS, like tablets or barcode scanners are secured to the countertop, while the POS itself is monitored via CCTV.

CCTV monitoring helps deter cash theft, fraud, and dishonest employee behaviour.

Meanwhile, analytics can also be employed to identify fraudulent transactions like gift card fraud, under-ringing, and false returns.

The storeroom

The National Retail Security Survey 2018 found dishonest employees account for 33.2 per cent of retail loss, costing retailers $15.54 billion.

In addition to dishonest behaviour occurring at the POS, it is also most likely to occur in the storeroom where staff have direct access to products.

Like most areas of theft prevention, protecting the storeroom or warehouse area requires multiple strategies.

These include

• Securing high-value stock in lockable drawers and using smart keys to track staff access

• Proper order reconciliation and stock taking

• CCTV

• Advanced tools like RFID, which track the location of items

The supply chain

Whether it’s an error, vendor fraud or theft, the supply chain also presents a challenging arena for retailers looking to stem the loss.

Identifying and protecting the supply chain involves simple strategies like order reconciliation and stock counting, while recent research has also indicated the value of technology in ensuring accuracy.

Last year Auburn University found RFID can offer near perfect supply chain accuracy (99.9 per cent) compared to traditional barcode accuracy of 31 per cent.

Also, they noted RFID-enabled systems helped retailers:

• Achieve unprecedented levels of inventory accuracy, which further assists retailers with “last item” sales opportunities, fewer markdowns, and customer loyalty (sales associates never have to say, “I don’t know if we have it.”)

• Decreased out-of-stocks and even eliminated the need for safety stocks or over-ordering of inventory to meet demand.

• Improved loss detection with increased visibility and knowing exactly what is on hand and what has been sold.

• Expedited the costly returns process by being able to trace products at the item level.