Is it wrong to wear a piece of clothing once and return it for a refund? Some people would say, “No” to the question. Looking at various web sites there are some who mildly discourage the practice such as I found in a Market Watch column. The columnist, Quentin Fottrell responds in part to a query asking a similar question, “If you bought a dress that cost a lot of money, wore it to a party and realized you hated it and you would never wear it again, and it was still in pristine condition, then perhaps returning it would be understandable (though you might want to tell the sales staff that you did wear it once, to be 100% honest)”. He does go on to add, “But doing this regularly begins to cross a line”. If you are a clothing retailer, what is the impact of this practice, known as wardrobing on your business? Obviously the first thing to consider is can you sell the returned merchandise for full price? If you don’t sell it for full price, how much of a loss do you take on profit margin? One thing the writer pointed out that must be considered by retailers whose employees work on commission, is the negative impact on the sales person who sold the item being returned. How much of a game is played at their expense? Wardrobing isn’t harmless and retailers should make every effort to prevent it. One way to do so is by attaching Alpha Shark Tags to clothing.
Alpha Shark Tags prevent wardrobing because the retailers that use them can establish return policies that do not permit the return of clothing that has had Alpha Shark Tags removed. This works because the tag is a one-time use only device that clips onto articles of clothing, as well as shoes, purses, wallets, etc. The device is not to be removed by store employees at the time of the sale, as is the case with retail-anti theft devices. The Shark Tag has to be cut off by the purchaser after he or she leaves the store. A return can be denied when the tag has been removed, so long as the return policy is clearly stipulated. The tags are not going to interfere with the ability to try on merchandise, so clothing can be gifted and returned with a gift receipt and intact tag.
How big is the problem of wardrobing in the United States? According to The Retail Equation 2015 Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry Annual Return Survey, which incorporated the results of the National Retail Federation 2015 Return Fraud Survey Results, approximately 6.1% of returns in the U.S. were classified as Return Fraud and Abuse as a percent of total returns. The estimated amount of return fraud and abuse was 15.9 billion dollars. According to the loss prevention senior executives in the 62 retailer companies who were surveyed, 72.6% said their stores had experienced this type of fraud in the past year. One other key point from the report, “Fewer than half of retailers rated their return policies as effective” in deterring fraud.
Are the return policies in your store effective at preventing fraud? Do you even know if your store is experiencing return fraud? If 72.6% of Loss Prevention executives believe their stores have been impacted by wardrobing, then there is a strong likelihood it is taking place in your store(s) as well. By investing in Alpha Shark Tags and applying them to ALL of your clothing items and accessories, you can prevent being a victim of this activity. Keep you profits higher by reducing your exposure to fraud and having an “effective” return policy.
Return Fraud is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Anti-shoplifting-3 WC Blog 139
retail theft prevention-3
Retail Theft Prevention Efforts Spoil An Ice Cream Party
Retail theft prevention comes in all kinds of forms when you work in Assets Protection, sometimes the job is to stop shoplifting, on occasion it’s to prevent theft of time, in some situations the effort is to stop the theft of cash or company property. Every once in a while you see theft that is just odd and it makes you scratch your head wondering what in the world that person was thinking. I had just such a case when I worked as an Assets Protection Manager for a big box retail store.
One of the responsibilities of my position was to work an overnight shift once a month. Whether we had an active investigation or not, the idea was that we could monitor our overnight cleaning crew, our logistics team if we had an overnight or early morning unload or we could watch for opening and closing procedure compliance. Sometimes we would use the time to update retail theft prevention tactics such as moving cameras or inspecting anti-shoplifting devices and equipment such as Checkpoint deactivation pads and antennas. If you were having a good night you could potentially uncover a theft case and initiate a new investigation.
On one particular night I was able to sneak into the building prior to closing and get situated in the security office. The night began with an observation of the arrival of the cleaning crew and then the closing procedures of the store Leader On Duty and the team members. The employees finished recovering the store from a busy shopping day, closed out registers and then exited and secured the building, following the company best practices. In the meantime the cleaning crew began their preparations for vacuuming, sweeping floors, running the floor scrubber and emptying trash making the store ready for the next day.
My experience with cleaning crew cases was that after the store employees would leave for the night, the theft activity would begin. The key to catching theft during an observation was to try to focus on the person with opportunity to steal, watch areas that were known “hot spots” or to watch for behaviors that were indicative of someone intending to steal. Frequently food was a typical “hot spot” for cleaning crew theft. Check lane candy and snacks, soda coolers and in the case of our store, a food court area with a fast food type menu. This particular night I watched one of the cleaning crew members as he began sweeping and cleaning in our food service area. In anti-shoplifting efforts there are certain behaviors Loss Prevention personnel are trained to look for and this guy was displaying them.
The worker swept the floor and began collecting trash in the food court and after some time decided it was time for a break. Our food service sold ice cream by the scoop or in cones, so there was a freezer unit with tubs of ice cream in this area. Our hard working cleaning employee decided that he needed to re-energize with some sustenance and so, he opened the freezer, reached in and scooped out a refreshing ice cream desert. Did I mention a scoop? No, there was no scoop and this was my head scratching moment. The employee reached into the ice cream bin with his hand scooped out a handful of ice cream and ate it, not just once, but TWICE! YUCK! No anti-shoplifting device was going to stop THIS activity. After several more surveillances I did end up catching the employee stealing other small items and closed the case. And just in case anyone was curious, no, I did not leave the ice cream bin in place. I removed it and we took the loss on it, but I did stay away from the ice cream for quite some time afterwards.
Yes, retail theft prevention measures were possible in this situation. Keys for the ice cream display case were available but never used. I don’t think any of us ever thought someone would steal ice cream, let alone scoop it out like this character did. After the case was closed, displays were properly locked at the end of a shift.
Need more information on retail theft prevention? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Retail theft prevention comes in all kinds of forms when you work in Assets Protection, sometimes the job is to stop shoplifting, on occasion it’s to prevent theft of time, in some situations the effort is to stop the theft of cash or company property. Every once in a while you see theft that is just odd and it makes you scratch your head wondering what in the world that person was thinking. I had just such a case when I worked as an Assets Protection Manager for a big box retail store.
One of the responsibilities of my position was to work an overnight shift once a month. Whether we had an active investigation or not, the idea was that we could monitor our overnight cleaning crew, our logistics team if we had an overnight or early morning unload or we could watch for opening and closing procedure compliance. Sometimes we would use the time to update retail theft prevention tactics such as moving cameras or inspecting anti-shoplifting devices and equipment such as Checkpoint deactivation pads and antennas. If you were having a good night you could potentially uncover a theft case and initiate a new investigation.
On one particular night I was able to sneak into the building prior to closing and get situated in the security office. The night began with an observation of the arrival of the cleaning crew and then the closing procedures of the store Leader On Duty and the team members. The employees finished recovering the store from a busy shopping day, closed out registers and then exited and secured the building, following the company best practices. In the meantime the cleaning crew began their preparations for vacuuming, sweeping floors, running the floor scrubber and emptying trash making the store ready for the next day.
My experience with cleaning crew cases was that after the store employees would leave for the night, the theft activity would begin. The key to catching theft during an observation was to try to focus on the person with opportunity to steal, watch areas that were known “hot spots” or to watch for behaviors that were indicative of someone intending to steal. Frequently food was a typical “hot spot” for cleaning crew theft. Check lane candy and snacks, soda coolers and in the case of our store, a food court area with a fast food type menu. This particular night I watched one of the cleaning crew members as he began sweeping and cleaning in our food service area. In anti-shoplifting efforts there are certain behaviors Loss Prevention personnel are trained to look for and this guy was displaying them.
The worker swept the floor and began collecting trash in the food court and after some time decided it was time for a break. Our food service sold ice cream by the scoop or in cones, so there was a freezer unit with tubs of ice cream in this area. Our hard working cleaning employee decided that he needed to re-energize with some sustenance and so, he opened the freezer, reached in and scooped out a refreshing ice cream desert. Did I mention a scoop? No, there was no scoop and this was my head scratching moment. The employee reached into the ice cream bin with his hand scooped out a handful of ice cream and ate it, not just once, but TWICE! YUCK! No anti-shoplifting device was going to stop THIS activity. After several more surveillances I did end up catching the employee stealing other small items and closed the case. And just in case anyone was curious, no, I did not leave the ice cream bin in place. I removed it and we took the loss on it, but I did stay away from the ice cream for quite some time afterwards.
Yes, retail theft prevention measures were possible in this situation. Keys for the ice cream display case were available but never used. I don’t think any of us ever thought someone would steal ice cream, let alone scoop it out like this character did. After the case was closed, displays were properly locked at the end of a shift.
Need more information on retail theft prevention? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
USING RETAIL ANTI-SHOPLIFTING DEVICES TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
Do you ever walk around your store and wonder just how much of your product winds up in the hands of a criminal? Maybe you were researching an item for a customer and your computer said you had 5 of this particular item, but you couldn’t find a single one. Or, perhaps you may have walked down a secluded aisle and noticed several empty packages of merchandise tucked away behind a shelf or display. If this sounds like you, then chances are you have a shoplifting problem. Whether it be a loss of $10 or $10,000, every penny you lose to dishonesty is a penny less that’s going towards your bottom line. Thankfully, over the past several years, technology has kept pace with this growing issue and thus given the retail industry several tools that we can use to prevent shoplifting.
There is nothing that is safe in your store, trust me. Unless of course you display your entire stock behind a glass case that is! Over the last decade, I’ve worked as an area LP manager for a large big box retailer. I’ve seen everything there is to see in regards to shoplifters and the lengths they will go through in order to steal. Thankfully, my company invests heavily into retail anti-shoplifting devices. From the large cable wraps on game stations to delicately placed sensor tags on some of the most commonly stolen items, our program ultimately keeps our shrink in line to what’s expected. What’s best is that these simple methods aren’t just for the big box stores; but can be tailored to any size retail establishment and any budget.
The first thing I had to learn coming into this career is that I wasn’t going to prevent shoplifting completely. What I had to do was develop programs that would ultimately limit our store’s exposure to the risk of loss. When I first started, we had a very small LP department and we weren’t utilizing resources to our advantage. One of the very first things that I accomplished was using the store’s negative shrink data to determine what items were most commonly stolen. From there, we ultimately applied retail anti-theft devices that were tailored specifically for that item. Over time, we began to see a shift from what was once the most commonly stolen items (which the thieves could no longer easily target), to other items within the store that were an easier target. See, thieves are like water; they will follow the path of least resistance.
As the months and years pressed on, we continued to rely on shrink data to identify “hot” items, those that continued to post losses week after week. If a new style of shirt would come in and we’d immediately see shrink, we’d flag the item at the DC to be tagged with a retail anti-theft device that made sense for the purpose of shrink mitigation as well as customer service (customers usually don’t want to shop for an item that is locked up with a cable).
Even though I work for a large company with hundreds of stores, this principle can be applied to companies that may only have one store. As store managers, or business owners, you are uniquely positioned to know what is driving your sales, as well as your shrink. By knowing where your losses are coming from, you can react to those losses and use technology to better assist you in your efforts to prevent shoplifting.
For more information about Retail Anti-Theft Devices contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Do you ever walk around your store and wonder just how much of your product winds up in the hands of a criminal? Maybe you were researching an item for a customer and your computer said you had 5 of this particular item, but you couldn’t find a single one. Or, perhaps you may have walked down a secluded aisle and noticed several empty packages of merchandise tucked away behind a shelf or display. If this sounds like you, then chances are you have a shoplifting problem. Whether it be a loss of $10 or $10,000, every penny you lose to dishonesty is a penny less that’s going towards your bottom line. Thankfully, over the past several years, technology has kept pace with this growing issue and thus given the retail industry several tools that we can use to prevent shoplifting.
There is nothing that is safe in your store, trust me. Unless of course you display your entire stock behind a glass case that is! Over the last decade, I’ve worked as an area LP manager for a large big box retailer. I’ve seen everything there is to see in regards to shoplifters and the lengths they will go through in order to steal. Thankfully, my company invests heavily into retail anti-shoplifting devices. From the large cable wraps on game stations to delicately placed sensor tags on some of the most commonly stolen items, our program ultimately keeps our shrink in line to what’s expected. What’s best is that these simple methods aren’t just for the big box stores; but can be tailored to any size retail establishment and any budget.
The first thing I had to learn coming into this career is that I wasn’t going to prevent shoplifting completely. What I had to do was develop programs that would ultimately limit our store’s exposure to the risk of loss. When I first started, we had a very small LP department and we weren’t utilizing resources to our advantage. One of the very first things that I accomplished was using the store’s negative shrink data to determine what items were most commonly stolen. From there, we ultimately applied retail anti-theft devices that were tailored specifically for that item. Over time, we began to see a shift from what was once the most commonly stolen items (which the thieves could no longer easily target), to other items within the store that were an easier target. See, thieves are like water; they will follow the path of least resistance.
As the months and years pressed on, we continued to rely on shrink data to identify “hot” items, those that continued to post losses week after week. If a new style of shirt would come in and we’d immediately see shrink, we’d flag the item at the DC to be tagged with a retail anti-theft device that made sense for the purpose of shrink mitigation as well as customer service (customers usually don’t want to shop for an item that is locked up with a cable).
Even though I work for a large company with hundreds of stores, this principle can be applied to companies that may only have one store. As store managers, or business owners, you are uniquely positioned to know what is driving your sales, as well as your shrink. By knowing where your losses are coming from, you can react to those losses and use technology to better assist you in your efforts to prevent shoplifting.
For more information about Retail Anti-Theft Devices contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
