A Retailer’s Guide to Loss Prevention

National Retail Federation

Maintain Good Relations with Clients

Hire and Train Employees for Prevention

• Promote open communication. Ensure employees know they are encouraged to communicate and feel comfortable reporting suspicious behavior to a manager. Employees who feel valued and part of a team may be less likely to steal from their employer. 
• Assign areas to specific personnel. By organizing your store into departments or sections, you can assign one employee responsible for customers and keep an eye out for shoplifters in their area. 
• Review common shoplifting practices and how to spot them. Ensure each new employee is trained on the signs of potential shoplifting and aware of how to observe these signs in real life. Take time once a week or once a month for the team to rehearse what they would do if they suspect a client is shoplifting to handle it smoothly and safely.
• Establish cash handling systems. Rather than allowing many employees access to cash, work out a system for your employees to safely secure cash at the end of the day with multiple checkpoints to prevent collusion.

Organize Your Store for Comprehensive Visibility and Control

• Small items: Place smaller items near the cashier in the line of sight of employees ringing up.
• Pricier items: Put pricier retail items behind glass and require an employee to be present while potential buyers evaluate them. The employee should then return the merchandise to the glass case.
• Hidden corners: Install anti-theft mirrors so employees and managers can see all store areas.
• Shelving: Consider organizing your shelves and inventory so that the staff on duty can view the space more easily. Lower shelves allow customers to be observed at all times.

Monitor People and Inventory with Technology

Protect Your Investment with the Right Business Insurance Coverage