Theft is a major concern among retail stores. The number of shoplifting offences has increased drastically over the past few years, reaching a record high of 516,971 cases. However, many shop owners believe that this number is actually much higher, as many incidents often go unreported. This has made shoplifting security a major concern for retailers, commercial building owners and managers across the UK.
Theft can lead to great financial loss as well as increased operational costs. In addition to the immediate loss of goods, retailers may face higher insurance premiums, the cost of security measures, and the negative effect on staff morale. To deal with this, managers and business owners need a solid plan to prevent shoplifting that ensures effective security measures
If you’re a shop owner, it’s important that you take the right steps to prevent shoplifters from causing damage to your business. However, as shoplifters get more and more creative with theft, it becomes difficult to find the best possible measures to prevent it.
In this article, we will talk about a few strategies that will significantly help you with retail theft prevention and protect your business from shoplifters.
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1. Commercial Door Solutions
By investing in commercial door solutions, you can greatly reduce the risk of shoplifting in your store. Our special door solutions offer you a range of security features that can help with better protection for your commercial property.
With the help of high-security locks, shatter-resistant glass, reinforced frames and hinges and keyless entry systems, you can control who has access to your store/ commercial space. Not only will this prevent shoplifters from entering, but it will also help to catch them.
You can also opt for automatic doors to control foot traffic in your retail store and provide enhanced security to your customers and employees. With automatic locking features, authorised personnel entry and so much more, our automatic commercial doors are the way to go.
To prevent shoplifting, your doors must undergo regular servicing. If your shop is located in a high-traffic area, constant usage may reduce performance efficiency, making it easy for burglars and vandals to target your premises. At Doorway Services, our experts can help with regular maintenance and upkeep of your commercial doors. Get in touch to find out more.
2. Employee Training
Employee training is an essential part of your shoplifting security checklist. Training your employees to handle shoplifting incidents can greatly help reduce the risks of mishappenings due to panic and unpreparedness.
There are workshops and sessions available that include tips on how to deal with a shoplifter, confront a suspected robber and de-escalate a situation. When training employees, it’s important to teach them how to spot shoplifters. For instance, someone who is carrying a large shopping bag, paying close attention to CCTV, or wearing oversized, unnecessary clothing may be more suspicious.
More importantly, you need to train your employees to keep themselves safe, to prevent damage to customers and to follow procedures in emergencies. Not only will this help increase security against shoplifting, but it will also allow you to build a safe working environment for your employees.
3. Using Technology for Enhanced Security
Deterring shoplifters is made easier with a wide range of technological solutions for increased security. These measures can include CCTV cameras, alarm systems and, most importantly, EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) solutions.
Used across the world today, EAS systems efficiently help prevent shoplifting by creating an invisible barrier that triggers an alarm if an unpaid-for item passes through it. This will alert your employees every time an item is being shoplifted from your shop.
Using a security camera will help you get a visual record of shoplifters trying to steal items from your store. Together, these different technological advancements can make your shop safer and more secure.
4. Actively Monitoring High Risk Areas
All retail stores have certain areas that attract greater attention from shoplifters due to high-value items or security vulnerabilities. As a shop owner or manager, it is your duty to make sure that these areas are monitored more actively.
This can prevent you from great losses and can also discourage shoplifters from trying to target those areas. To effectively enhance security in these areas, you can install more cameras and direct your employees to pay extra attention to the high-risk areas.
5. Contact The Police
Store owners and managers can work closely with the police to prevent shoplifting. This means maintaining good relations with the local police station, reporting suspicious behaviour and taking advice from them.
Moreover, establishing procedures to get in touch with the closest police station in case of an emergency can help mitigate risks after an incident.
Finally, you can also take help from the police to train your employees in terms of dealing with potential threats and shoplifters.
6. Crime Mapping
If your shop has been targeted by a shoplifter previously, then use that setback to your advantage. Determine which is the most vulnerable location in your store and the most targeted item in your inventory. Find the date and time of past incidents.
As part of your crime mapping initiative, add more lighting to the area, allocate more personnel or even change the location completely. This will allow you to prevent shoplifting while also increasing your chances of catching the shoplifter.
7. Monitoring Changing Rooms
Fitting rooms are one of the most vulnerable areas in a clothing store, as privacy regulations usually prevent the use of CCTV inside them. To reduce the risk of shoplifting, ensure that fitting rooms are always attended by a staff member.
Position an employee at the entrance to greet customers, count the number of items they take in, and the number they bring out. This simple, consistent presence acts as both a deterrent and a quick method to spot shoplifters.
This can also be part of your customer service policy, as such employees can help customers with finding a different size of the clothing, or recommending alternatives.
Choose Doorway Services for Secure Commercial Door Solutions
With these simple tips to prevent shoplifting, you can rest assured that your store will be safe from theft and shoplifters.
What’s more, with our high-quality commercial door solutions, we can provide you with the best safety measures for your commercial property.
Whether you own a garage business, a retail store or a shared office, our door solutions are specially designed to provide you with enhanced security.
Along with our high-tech commercial door solutions, we also offer door maintenance and repair services to our customers.
To learn more about our products and services, click here or get in touch with us now!
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