Organized Retail Crime Can Be Subdued With Sensormatic Safers

Here are a few items that can be protected against shoplifting if a store uses Sensormatic Safers to protect them:

• Razors

• Deodorant

• Teeth Whitening Strips

What makes these items so special? They are among the top items targeted by Organized Retail Crime groups according to the National Retail Federation 2018 Organized Retail Crime Survey (pg. 6). This is significant and should be a concern to every retail owner. The report states that, “ORC costs retailers $777,877 per $1 billion in sales – an all-time survey high” (pg. 3). Now for those who are not familiar with Organized Retail Crime (ORC) groups I will tell you that these are not your opportunist or amateur shoplifters. These are professional organizations that steal merchandise in order to resell it through any number of sources. The merchandise may be sold through the internet, out of a warehouse or through a legitimate appearing corner retail store. There are also times when merchandise is returned to a store and a gift card is given for the refund. Those gift cards are then sold for cash, some to pawn shops and others online. The activity of these groups makes it extremely important that stores are using Sensormatic Safers to prevent shoplifting.

So, besides the reselling of the merchandise and the dollar amounts being taken you might be wondering why these shoplifters are any more destructive to stores than any other shoplifter. If a regular shoplifter is caught you have eliminated that player from preying on your store especially if you ask for a trespass notice. The ORC groups work much differently. They often have tiers or levels from the lowest workers sometimes called mules to an organization leader. The leader may even have several assistants who hire the mules or workers who do the actual work or stealing. Catching one of these mules does not necessarily eliminate the problem because the ORC does not rely on one person to do their stealing. Mules may not even know who it is who hired them. These people may be hired with the promise of drugs or some cash (usually somewhere around 25 cents on the dollar) to steal merchandise. The person recruiting the shoplifter will frequently remain anonymous to their mule. The recruiter is going to follow through on their agreed payment so he can use them again in the future. The shoplifter is willing to take the risk for instant gratification, be it drugs or cash. You can see where it is in the interest of the thief to avoid merchandise protected with devices that prevent shoplifting. The recruiter doesn’t care where the merchandise is taken from as long as they get what is on their “shopping list”. Should a mule be caught, even if they have the shopping list they won’t have much information to give to the police about who they are working for. The recruiter loses one worker for a while but they have other people lined up ready to work for them. Multiple recruiters mean multiple workers and so it takes a lot more effort to cut the head off of the organization.

The folks at Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) know how these theft rings work. They know the most popular items ORC groups will steal and LPSI has the training and tools that can keep clients safe from these predators. Do you need to protect razors and razor blades? LPSI has Sensormatic Safers. DO you need to protect fragrances? They have flexible Safers? How about designer jeans, they are very popular with Organized Retail Crime gangs. LPSI has Sensormatic hard tags to prevent shoplifting. If you don’t have an electronic article surveillance system or maybe you need an upgrade to keep up with the latest criminal innovations, LPSI has Sensormatic towers for you. Criminal groups are always trying to get one-step ahead of retailers but LPSI offers solutions that can thwart their efforts.

Organized Retail Crime groups are out for razors, deodorant, whitening strips and other merchandise that could easily be protected with the use of Sensormatic Safers and electronic article surveillance towers. Because they are professional shoplifters they offer special challenges to retailers but LPSI offers the solutions store owners need to defeat them. Don’t risk becoming a victim to ORC shoplifting rings, contact LPSI today to find out how to get started today.

For more information about Sensormatic Safers contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.