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    Fighting Shoplifting in Your C-Store

    According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, more than $35 million worth of items is stolen from retailers across the U.S. every day.  This amount covers theft of all kinds of products from electronics to clothing, and even groceries.  This statistic should be scary for any owner of a business and should be enough reason to make sure you are protecting your business from theft as best as possible.  In order to do that you have to know how to spot shoplifting and the steps you can take to minimize it as best as possible.  We can help you with both in this one blog article.

    What to look for:

    • Customers in large clothing or layers (when the weather doesn’t require it).
      • This can be a way that shoplifters hide items on their person to take out of the store.
    • Large groups of customers (not families).
      • It’s not common that people visit convenience stores in large groups.
    • Customers who seem to be browsing for a long time or are unsure of what they want.
      • The convenience customer is not typically unsure of what they want or need, a person who is doing a lot of browsing may be trying to distract c-store staff.
    • Customers who are hiding from cameras or staff eyesight.
      • These people may be trying to hide items that they intend to shoplift.
    • Items that have been moved from their proper place in the store.
      • Sometimes shoplifters will move items around to make it easier to steal and harder to notice when something was taken.

    How to minimize shoplifting in your convenience or grocery store:

    • Get to know your customers
      • When customers feel respected and appreciated, they are less likely to steal.
    • Keep your store very clean and fully stocked
      • It’s easier to notice when something is missing when your store is kept in order.
    • Install mirrors and/or cameras
      • This way, you can keep an eye on areas of the store that may be hard to see from the counter.
    • Add more employees to your team
      • More eyes on the store will keep shoplifters away.
    • Take shoplifting seriously
      • Add signs throughout your store that let customers know that you are watching the store closely and will contact authorities if you need to.

    Now that you have some tools to keep your store safe, there’s no better time to start fighting shoplifting than right now.  If you don’t take the proper steps to combat theft in your convenience or grocery store, your business can easily become a repeat target for criminals.  Often, robberies are committed by people who have found a store easy to steal from because they are sure that security is not being taken seriously.  Don’t become a victim.  Protect your profits and your store’s reputation.