Louisville, KY, December 18, 2015 – Constant Force Displays (www.constantforcedisplays.com), a manufacturer of specialized retail solutions, is addressing statistics which show that a surprisingly high amount of people shoplift.
Statistics show that one in every 11 customers who enter a store end up shoplifting. Speaking with the TCPalm, criminology and retail experts affirmed that shoplifting is much more prevalent than commonly thought and will be a large problem this coming holiday season. (Source: Tyko, K. “Retail theft costs us all,” TCPalm web site, December 7, 2015; http://www.tcpalm.com/business/bargainista/retail-theft-costs-us-all-24716ec8-a0c7-2ce8-e053-0100007f5d85-351517941.html)
“Shoplifting is often thought to be a relatively rare crime, but the statistics actually show that a high percentage of retail customers are also shoplifters,” says Alan Cundiff, Director of Operations at Constant Force Displays. “There’s no way to determine which customers will be shoplifters, so retailers have to explore security measures to protect their stores.”
According to Barbara Staib, a spokesperson for the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention, the holiday season will bring more shoplifting. With the increase of customers during the holidays, there is also an increase in the number of shoplifters.
“It’s not only that there are more shoplifters coming into your store during the holidays,” notes Cundiff. “With stores that are unprepared for the extra business, it’s much easier for shoplifters to pocket items. There are a lot more opportunities for people to steal and go unnoticed when it’s busy.”
According to statistics, shoplifting has a huge negative impact on both retailers and their customers. Losses from shoplifting are often passed onto the customer in the form of higher prices on products. Shoplifting is estimated to cost Americans over $75.0 billion per year.
“There’s a cascading effect with shoplifting,” says Cundiff. “When retailers are losing a lot of money to shoplifting, they often try to make up the losses by raising prices. This can end up turning paying customers away and making the retailer less competitive. It can be a vicious cycle.”
Shoplifters are also becoming more brazen, according to the TCPalm and experts quoted in their report. Shoplifters are now often targeting larger, high-end items that would be considered hard to steal, such as TVs and other electronics.
“Retailers have to be putting security measures in place to prevent theft,” says Cundiff. “It’s the most cost-effective way to prevent shoplifting. Retailers cannot expect to offset the costs by raising prices, because that just ends up losing them business and does nothing to solve the problem. Security measures are really the only way.”
Options for retailers include hiring extra staff or security during the holiday season. However, Cundiff also notes that there are a variety of security methods that are not only more affordable to use but also more effective.
“Security tethers are one of the best ways to prevent theft,” Cundiff says. “They protect high-end items that are often targeted by shoplifters. It only takes a few seconds for a shoplifter to grab an expensive product off a shelf, and a security tether can completely eliminate that risk. It also prevents against employee theft.”
Whatever strategy retailers choose, Cundiff says that it is crucial they use a multi-pronged approach. “Every retail business should explore a variety of security options for the holiday season and shouldn’t just rely on one thing, like extra staff. They are going to be targeted, so they need to take precautionary measures if they want to avoid big losses.”
Constant Force Displays specializes in retail solutions that give you the ability to reach and sell more products and solve retail challenges. More information on how Constant Force Displays can help for retail success can be found on their web site at www.constantforcedisplays.com.
