(SW Blog 05

Keywords: Prevent Shoplifting-4, Alpha Keepers-5)

Keep Your Small Expensive Items in Your Store with Alpha Keepers

I often talk about my experience working in retail stores and share some of the crazy items I’ve caught shoplifters trying to take or items that would come up missing. Nothing that I’ve experienced in my career prepared me for this colder winter day. For me it’s another day in the store. I’ve done my rounds, talked with staff, checked shelves for any security breaches, and kept an eye on the CCTV cameras. Another day and nothing seemed more unusual than any other day. I was ready to prevent shoplifting and do my job like I did every day. What I didn’t know was that I was about to be hit for a large amount of merchandise that neither I nor the store was prepared for. 

One aisle I would pay particular attention to was in our cosmetics section. This was our men’s and women’s razor display. I paid more attention to this as the packages were smaller and the price tags were higher. One pack of name brand razors cartridges cost anywhere between $35 and $55 dollars. And the small package size made these a nice target for a thief. Occasionally I would find open packages with all the razors taken and other times we were just missing the whole package. In our store we had tried protecting these with many devices and security ideas to prevent shoplifting of these expensive items.  At one time we tried completely locking up all razors. You can probably guess the problem. There were actually two main issues with this idea. First, customers could no longer access these items to look at and ultimately buy. This meant lost sales of these high priced items and upset customers. Second, in order to open the case for a customer to buy an employee would have to leave what they were doing and go open it. This of course created another problem as employees would be helping another customer or be on break meaning there was a delay. Customers don’t like to wait which meant they were leaving to buy this product from another store. 

Alpha Keepers are a clear box that hold your items. This makes the items still accessible to the customer but protects the store and prevents shoplifting. The Alpha Keepers allow a customer to remove the item from the shelf, but if they try to leave the store your Checkpoint alarm will sound stopping the thief in their tracks. Alpha Keepers are not just for razors but for anything that is odd sized. In fact they come in hundreds of sizes. They are available for CD’s, Blu-Rays, gaming, and ink cartridges just to name a few. This unique security device can help you protect all of your odd shaped expensive items while allowing the customer to still access them. 

As mentioned, we had tried multiple ideas and security devices. We tried attaching peg locks however, thieves would just rip through the cardboard box defeating the lock. We tried attaching security labels to the boxes however, this didn’t prevent them from taking the contents inside. While trying to figure out a solution we had a couple shoplifters that had entered the store and emptied most of the razors and replacement cartridges. They took almost all of it! This cost the store thousands of dollars. If only we had protected those items with Alpha Keepers we would have saved a lot of money and embarrassment!

Don’t let shoplifters get the upper hand! Keep those expensive pegged items in the store and not in a thief’s pocket.  You can now protect your items and prevent shoplifting without restricting access to your customers.

For more information on Alpha Keepers contact us at 1-770-426-0547

So far you’ve learned how to use clever merchandising tricks to prevent shoplifting incidents from ever occurring. You’ve also gained some insight into how a strict fitting room program can keep customers honest and keep merchandise in your store. So far, you’ve probably learned that clothing security doesn’t have to mean securing that leather jacket with the newest checkpoint tag, but simply merchandising it in a way that makes it difficult for a shoplifter to get their hands on. Well, and I hate to say this out loud, but every now and then you will be the victim of a theft, no matter what programs you have in place. 

By using those methods that you’ve learned so far, and using checkpoint tags on those high end products, you will most likely reduce about 80% of your losses from theft. Somewhere in that remaining 20% will be organized retail theft. The best clothing security device and the strongest checkpoint tags won’t stop these thieves. This is their full time job and they will stop at nothing to rob you of product and profits. Is there anything you can do? Well of course there is. 

Grab and run shoplifting incidents are one of the most common methods for these groups. They stroll into a store, grab a handful or two of those expensive garments and make a mad dash for the doors. They’ll worry about removing those checkpoint tags later, in the comfort of their own homes. The only clothing security measure that will stop them is to lock everything up behind a glass case. We all know that isn’t going to float over well. What you can do however, is be aware of your customers. I preach customer service all day, every day. No matter if I’m talking to hourly associates, or a group of company executives. The best loss prevention strategy is to provide outstanding levels of customer service. A thief simply doesn’t want to be noticed. If they are greeted and assisted by your employees from the minute they walk through the doors, you will shrink the size of the target on your store. 

Often times these groups will rely on several individuals to distract store employees. Train your teams that if they feel they are being distracted by a group, to immediately call for assistance. To you and your team, you’re coming to prevent theft. To the honest customers, you’re calling in reinforcements to help them with their shopping trip. You can use checkpoint tags from the floor to ceiling, and they won’t be as effective as a well-trained employee. I’ve seen this happen in a few of my stores and it has sent these groups down the road. Your employees have to care and you have to train/teach them to. Bottom line. If they don’t care about your profits, or your managers “can’t find the time to train”, then it’s time to find a new employees and managers. 

 Have you experienced any incidents of organized retail theft? How have you handled them? I’d love to hear about them, so feel free to drop us a message in the contact us area. I hope you’ll come back for our final installment as we discuss some frequently overlooked ways that you can use in order to battle shoplifting loss. 

For more information, contact us: Clothing Security, or call 1.770.426.0547

PREVENT RETURN FRAUD WITH ALPHA SHARK TAGS

If you own, or work for a company with multiple store locations, chances are, you’ve been the victim of return fraud. This type of theft comes in various different forms, but the most common for my business is the most simplistic version. It involves a thief stealing an item from one store, returning it to another for store credit, then buying what they are really after, all while giving the appearance of a legitimate shopper. Not only does this cost the company in the form of the initial theft, but you then give a thief store credit and basically allow them to buy whatever they want, all on your dime. 

My company has a no problem/no hassle return policy, with only a few small exceptions. It seems that at least once per week, I’m investigating another case of return fraud. The basic method is easy to track once you spot a suspected fraudster. I simply review CCTV footage of the next closest store prior to the refund. About 70% of the time, I can find them stealing the product at the other store location prior to returning it to the second. This video, coupled with the ID information we obtain makes it very easy to make cases and prosecute these individuals. Well, what about other forms of return fraud that may not be so easily noticeable, or traceable? Have you ever considered that some people purchase clothing to wear for one occasion and then return it? It happens all the time. The practice is known as wardrobing and it can be easily prevented. 

It’s been 10 years since high school graduation and it’s time for that reunion. You want a killer dress to wear, but you can’t justify spending $300 for something you’ll just wear once, then throw to back of the closet for years to come. As you’re shopping, you notice the return policy in the store states that all clothing can be returned within 7 days as long as it is unworn is accompanied by a receipt. Well, who will know if it’s been worn or not? Those tags can easily be put back into place and no one will ever notice. If you’re not using an Alpha Shark Tags, you surely are the victim of this scheme. 

The Alpha Shark Tags is a small tag that is placed on a very visible portion of a piece of clothing. Usually, you would place the tag in a position where it would be quite visible if someone were wearing the clothing, like on the neck line, or on the sleeves front and center. The Alpha Shark Tags is then easily removed at home by the customer, after the purchase. With a return policy that states that clothing must have the tag still attached in order to be returned, you can easily cut down on return fraud completely. 

If you take that example above and conservatively estimate that happens to you at least twice per week, that’s easily over $30k in potential loss that can be added back to your bottom line. How could your business benefit from that extra cash flow? So if you’re tired of customer’s renting your clothes, take a bite out of this fraud scheme today!

 

For more information, contact us: Alpha Shark Tags, or call 1.770.426.0547

Prevent shoplifting – 3

Alpha Spider wraps – 4

Fighting Organized Retail Crime

Organized retail crime (ORC) has been a major problem for retailers for decades.  The FBI estimates that ORC causes retailers to lose 30 billion dollars every year. A booster is a thief who steals at the store level and usually has a specific list of items to steal. Popular items are razor blades, baby formula, DVDs, Tide detergent, health and beauty items and many other products. Once the booster has stolen the merchandise, it is taken “up the chain” to the crime ring leader. These crime rings will move from city to city and are usually well organized. This merchandise is resold at flea markets, gas stations, on Facebook and many other ways. While this may sound grim, there is a way to stop prevent shoplifting and protect your merchandise.

Alpha spider wraps come in different sizes and are a great way to help prevent shoplifting. They can go on just about any merchandise and can be tightened to ensure a secure fit that keeps them from being taken off without a key. They are very difficult to remove and have an alarm that will go off if they are taken through the entrance or exit of a store. 

I put Alpha spider wraps to the test when I had several of my stores that were being targeted by boosters. DVDs, razor blades and electric toothbrushes were disappearing at an alarming frequency. We suspected it was the work of the same ORC group because similar items were stolen from 3 stores in the area. After coming in one morning for work and finding that all of the electric toothbrushes and many of the razors had been taken the night before, I immediately ordered small, medium and large Alpha spider wraps.  I also started reviewing and documenting the thefts from the CCTV cameras and making copies to turn over to law enforcement. I was able to get a good picture of the three individuals involved in the thefts and showed the pictures to all of my store managers. 

Several days later, my order of Alpha Spider Wraps arrived and I started putting them on my merchandise. I called a meeting for all of store management and explained the problem about the boosters in the area. I showed them how to remove the wraps at checkout and how they would alarm at the door if not removed at a check stand.  According to the CCTV footage, the boosters were coming in first thing in the morning between 6 and 7 am, before most of the store’s employees arrived for their shifts. I decided to come each day around 5 am and wait. On my third morning, I hit the jackpot. The boosters arrived with their backpacks and walked right over to the electric toothbrushes.  I immediately called the police and notified the store manager who, thankfully, had just arrived. One of the boosters started using a pocketknife to try and remove the wraps but was unable to cut through the steel cable. They went over to different aisles looking for the items on their list to steal but were dismayed to find the merchandise protected with spider wraps or Alpha keepers. Thankfully, they were in the store long enough for the police to arrive and were arrested after being identified as the thieves from earlier CCTV recordings.  

One of the best ways to prevent shoplifting is to protect your merchandise.  Thieves are less likely to steal things that are harder to gain access to and will move on to easier targets.  Whatever the merchandise is in your store, there is a way to protect it. 

“For more information contact us or call 1.770.426.0547”

(Keywords: Checkpoint Hard Tags-5, Checkpoint (Tags-1

Prevent Cart Staging And Theft With Checkpoint Hard Tags

Cart staging also known as staging a cart is a common yet crafty way for a thief to steal from you. If you provide your customers shopping carts then this is for you. Cart staging (just one common phrase) is when a thief creates a barrier in the shopping cart in order to make it easier to steal items from you without detection. This can now be prevented and leave shoplifters very discouraged with Checkpoint Hard Tags.

Working in a big box store for many years I would come across these carts frequently. But this is not just a problem for big box stores. If you provide shopping carts to your customers, shoplifters will use these carts to assist them in taking your merchandise. This is done by the shoplifter blocking out all sides of the cart usually with clothes draped over the sides to prevent anyone from seeing through all sides of the cart. This creates a very large area for the thief to place items inside the cart, now concealed from all sides. While it may look like they are just placing merchandise inside the cart they are actually ripping tags or trying to disable security tags. With the Checkpoint Hard Tags, this stops thieves in their tracks.

While working in a big box store shoplifters would create these carts while walking around the store. The problem was the store used inferior security tags on their merchandise. With social media now it’s like a tutorial for shoplifters on how to disable these tags. This made my job much harder as the only way to stop these thieves was to catch them in the act. This created a problem as there was always more customers than there was of me or any of my colleagues. Plus I don’t work 7 days a week and many times the store had no loss prevention. This is when the store really needs to depend on the security systems we had in place. With inferior security tags used on the merchandise, unless I caught them in the act we were losing many items with only a shopping cart left with several broken tags inside.

Staging carts or any other type of shoplifting is a crime of opportunity. Thieves don’t want to attract a bunch of attention or spend much time trying to defeat your security tags. Many of these devices used in retailers are frankly inferior. The Checkpoint Hard Tags have undergone extensive testing. They’ve taken hammers to them and even taken tools to try and pry them open to no avail. The fact is, the time and the amount of tools it would take to defeat the Checkpoint Hard Tags is not worth their time. Remember, shoplifting is a crime of opportunity. If a shoplifter has to bring multiple tools and then spend a lot of time and effort to defeat the security device they will simply move on. 

While staging carts and other types of deception used by shoplifters will still occur, we can now prevent and discourage shoplifters in your store. Pay attention to a shopper that has concealed their cart. Become a customer service expert! Give them all the attention they could have ever hoped for. But in the end by using Checkpoint Tags on your merchandise, you can at least rest easy knowing that those tags will still be in place with your merchandise still in the store. You may have to put all that merchandise in the cart back on the racks at the end of the day, but at least it will remain in your store!

For more information on Checkpoint Hard Tags contact us at 1-770-426-0547