From Miraz Securitas
As a retail shop owner, it is never easy to simply throw money at issues such as shoplifting or loss prevention. Having a finite budget, several smaller retailers cannot take advantage of all the technology that big-brand stores might have at their fingertips. Be it is high-tech security camera systems, door scanners, facial-recognition software, at times their big-ticket expenses simply don’t fit with your small business security budget.
But shoplifting could have a crippling impact on retailers says Mr. Mahajan, after all, inventory shrinkage costs several amounts each year. So, while you might have a restricted budget, it is important to identify shoplifting as a concern and have a loss prevention strategy in place.
So, what has a retailer to do? Here, Mr. Atul Mahajan, Director of Miraz Securitas Pvt Ltd India’s Top Security Services providers for retail shops and shopping malls shares some of the fast, cost-effective, and low-tech ploys that you can begin implementing properly straight away.
Keep Your Store Organized and Items Well-Positioned
How simple would it be to identify whether a certain thing has gone “missing” from your store? Empty space on your shelves will be enough of a visual clue to signal something has gone wrong.
However, if the store is messy, disorganized, or has a maze to get through, it will be difficult to notice that you have been gotten until it becomes too late.
Security expert and director of Miraz Securitas Mr. Mahajan recommends the following, you have to keep all your merchandise ‘faced,’ which means pulling your products to the edge of the shelf to form a solid wall of product. If someone sweeps the shelf, then it is simpler to tell.
Recognize Common Shoplifting Ways and Traits
Though there is a specific profile for shoplifters (thieves or burglars come in all forms, ages, and races), retailers could curb shoplifting by identifying a few common behaviors.
Shoplifters mostly work in pairs or larger groups so that there could be at least one individual distracting the sales staff while the other proceeds to steal. The most common shoplifting way is hiding merchandise from sight. And here are some of the most common areas where products are mostly quickly concealed:
· Clothing
· Strollers
· Handbags
· Umbrellas
· Purchased Merchandise
At times, you may get a bold shoplifter who rapidly grabs an item and disappears out, but other things to have an eye on are price label switching and false returns.
Switching prices is precisely what it seems like, a shoplifter will exchange an item’s price label with a less expensive product. While they might still be paying some portion of the item’s price, this is still a kind of theft. False returns are another way of customer deception. Mostly a customer will buy a product, use it, then return it under false pretext. And while returns and exchanges do not have to equate with a loss, it is a common thing that retailers should watch out for.
You will also need to look for and keep these common shoplifter’s traits in mind when deciding whether you need to exercise caution or suspicion. Some of the specific shoplifter traits consists:
· Spending more time looking at cashier or sales clerk than actually shopping
· Taking many items into the trial room but only leaving with one
· Acts nervous and picks up random products without any interest
Depending on how long you have been in business, you will begin forming your own sixth sense for when to raise the alarm and when to keep your calm when it comes to loss prevention.
Leverage Coordinated Customer Service to Your Benefit
Excellent customer service isn’t simply a manner to enhance the customer experience it is also a great tactic to curb shoplifting.
It is essential to take good store and staff management tactics and use them as a theft or loss prevention tool. Here are certain customer service techniques to minimize chances to steal:
· Greet each customer who walks through your door, it lets them know that you are aware of their presence
· Depending on the size of your retail store, you will want to make certain you have an adequate number of floor staff at any given time of the day
· Make and implement a policy around bags brought in by customers (i.e. leaving large bags, tote bags, and backpacks at a secured token-based counter)
· Train your cashiers to watch price tags and have them be on the watch out for price switching
· Have a code that lets you staff alert each other of suspicious acts
Having these kinds of policies and training staff on shoplifting scenarios ahead of time could save you from unwanted headaches that may happen due to a more reactionary or ad-hoc approach.
Enhance Your Store’s Design and Structure for Theft Prevention
Do you know that how your store design can prevent opportunities for shoplifters to steal? Here’s what you ought to keep in mind:
· Keep your checkout so that customers should pass it while exiting. Given that most buyers turn right upon entering, place your checkout prominent on the left-hand side. Also, make certain to never leave the register unlocked or unattended
· To prevent blind spots in corners that shoplifters may use for hiding, make certain you install mirrors while making certain there’s proper lighting in all areas.
· Keep the fixtures and displays low for enhanced visibility
· Keep small or expensive products in locked cabinets
· Keep dressing or trial rooms locked and restrict the number of products taken in by each customer
You can also cross-check notes with nearby retailers and ask for suggestions based on their experience.
Signage
Signs can be a great impact and cost-effective means of thwarting off potential shoplifters. Not just do they stay put 24/7/365 while buyers and staff move in and out of your sightline, but anti-theft signs are able to dissuade potential shoplifters pretty much as a security system sign at a home will dissuade a burglar.
The aim of retail theft-prevention signs is to scare the thieves, not to intimidate legitimate customers. Your signs must be a reflection of who you are and what you are selling.
Here are certain tips to maximize the effect of loss prevention signage in your store:
· Put a sign at or near your front door as it’s mostly the first place shoppers look
· Rather than wasting all important shelf or floor space with your signs, keep them up high where shoplifters are most possibly to check for surveillance cameras
· The language on the signs must reflect your business’ brand and consider your target clientele
· Consider signs displaying eyes, which research has proven to double the possibilities of compliance
Curbing shoplifting might feel like an overwhelming task initially, but the above tips could help you make incremental alterations. Even basic ploys such as anti-theft signage, scheduling enough floor staff each shift, and changing your store layout could go a long way towards the prevention of any loss.
If you are looking for the highest quality of security services for your retail stores and shopping malls contact Miraz Securitas today as Miraz Securitas is the premier choice for providing security solutions for several shopping malls and retail brands in India
Under the successful leadership of Mr. Mahajan, Miraz Securitas Pvt Ltd today has achieved an over 100% growth rate within half a decade time. His vision for upgrading private security service has helped Miraz Securitas established a footprint PAN India. Today Miraz ,a trusted name has clients , across all market segments such as top universities, private & international schools, prestigious institutions of government of India, retail establishment, & more.
In the year 2017, Miraz Securitas won the prestigious ‘MSE 4’ ratings by global rating & research organization – CRISIL & India’s Public Sector unit NSIC for accomplishing high-performance capability & above-average creditworthiness among other Indian companies.
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