One of the biggest issues that have always affected retail has been the prevalence of shop lifting or otherwise known as petty crime. Shop lifting costs the retail industry million in lost revenue each and every year. Shop lifting is viewed by the retail industry as very very serious.
Shop security can take on many forms and it all depends on the individual needs of each shop. It also depends on whether they are a chain or an independent shop. This can also have a determining factor regarding the budget that can be spent on shop security.
Shop Security Requirements
In order to keep stock losses to an absolute minimum a number of precautions need to be implemented. These can range from basic store security that does not cost as much, to a more comprehensive full range store security solution that costs a lot more but is also a lot more effective.
The most basic of store security precautions involves shop staff keeping an eye on customers to ensure that nothing is left to chance. However this can have a number of short comings. If the store is busy there will not be enough staff to keep an eye on all customers, in fact gangs of shop lifters have been known to keep staff occupied in order to make the most of a petty theft opportunity.
The next best thing in combating shop lifting incidents is to install security scanners at the entry and exit points of the store. Depending on the nature of the store in question the method can range from plastic tags pinned to clothing items to magnetic tags hidden inside packaged cd’s and dvd’s. this can be a very easy system to maintain and only requires the store clerk to add or remove these security tags.
Stores inside malls can also benefit from general security staff that is employed by the mall itself. Some stores even offer their staff incentives and rewards for apprehending shop lifters in the act of stealing items, however this can be dangerous as some criminals can be armed with some kind of small weapon.
