By Rolf Whiteman, sales director at Harrison
The Home Secretary has labelled shop theft an ‘epidemic, reflected in recent ONS statistics, which revealed the highest figure of shoplifting in two decades at almost 440,000 between March 2023 and 2024 in England and Wales. While the government has voiced its commitment to tackling the rise in offences and fall in punishment rates, retailers must take it upon themselves to prevent further losses by implementing in-store solutions that mitigate theft, restore customer trust and safeguard employees.
As customers increasingly see, experience and are impacted by the rollout of anti-theft solutions across high-street stores, it begs the question as to what are the most effective approaches, technologies and store features to protect businesses, customers and staff alike.
Identifying and addressing weakness
As predicted losses soar to an estimated £1.8 billion a year, the detrimental impacts of theft on business revenue across the UK have undoubtedly been felt. Hence, it is more important than ever for retailers to identify and address potential areas of weakness across stores. Whilst it is advised that retailers should never take the law into their own hands, threatening both the safety of customers and staff, a strategic and proactive approach should be employed to reduce the accessibility of shoplifting in the first instance. Areas or operations vulnerable to crime may include faulty self-checkout systems, unrestricted access to high-value items, disorganised shelves and CCTV monitoring systems. In most cases, the efficacy of visible deterrents is an invaluable tool, whether that be anti-theft and security camera signage or a robust employee shopfloor presence.
As streaks of panic taint the retail sector, some retailers have taken a more drastic approach to anti-theft by removing self-service checkouts from stores. This, however, risks compromising the overall shopping experience and appeal to customers. Others have invested in expensive cybersecurity equipment, both costly to implement and upkeep, requiring additional employees to monitor various systems. While ultimately, these both prove effective in tackling crime, simple, innovative and cost-effective solutions should be considered first, complementing store design and functionality while contributing to a positive customer experience.
In-store display solutions
Retailers should look to solutions that simultaneously prevent shoplifting in stores and maintain a positive in-store experience for shoppers without compromising convenience or environment. One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to achieve this is by implementing retail loss-prevention solutions that present barriers to criminals and make theft more challenging but still allow customers easy access to products. Retailers should assess their current shelf management and consider integrating shelf and dispenser solutions that structure and divide product displays in such a way that prevents thieves from sweeping shelves.
Shelf solutions, including dual, gravity, and locking risers, all present barriers to removing multiple items from the shelf at one time without hindering employees’ access when replenishing stock or a customer’s shopping experience. Dispenser solutions used to safeguard high-value items operate in an equally simple and functional way, featuring an integrated spring-powered pusher dispensing only one item at a time, acting as a particularly effective deterrent for opportunistic thieves.
Keeping customers at heart
Whilst retailers should never take the law into their own hands, there are proven and effective ways to hamper potential criminals to make it near to impossible for shop theft to take place. Before making extreme or expensive changes in-store and risking overall customer experience, retailers should first identify shoplifting hotspots and areas more vulnerable and accessible to theft. If these include shelf sweeping or petty low-level crime, for instance, simple, tailored shelving and dispenser solutions should be considered, featuring as essential pieces of the puzzle that not only help retailers reduce crime levels within their premises but, more importantly, protect their staff, customers, products, and, ultimately, profits in a cost-effective way.
