Hayes International recently released their retail theft survey for 2011. This report always includes some alarming stats about shoplifters, but the 2012 report should be especially concerning to small business owners of retail shops and stores.
Here are some key stats:
Over 1,000,000 shoplifters APPREHENDED… Just think about how many got away with it!
Apprehensions of dishonest employees was up over 11%
One out of every 36 employees was apprehended for employee theft.
Dishonest employees steal SIX TIMES MORE than shoplifters.
Suggestions to help curb these shoplifting losses:
Not surprisingly, good customer service tops the list. “Customers” wont steal if they know an employee is close at hand.
USE SECURITY! – CCTV cameras, Dye tags, and EAS Electronic Article Surveillance top the list.
Monitor your POS system for exceptions and out of the ordinary transactions. Shoplifters may be on your payroll!
Theft is rampant, shoplifting is pervasive and employee theft is even worse. What the article does not mention is how important it is to reward the honest employees. A digital video surveillance system from Hoosier Security can help you keep an eye on your store at all times, help identify the honest employees and the dishonest ones, and can even be integrated with your cash register or POS system to help monitor exceptions and excessive bad transactions with video evidence. We have systems tailored to every budget, and we find that with most of our retail customers their video surveillance systems pays for itself within 6 months due to decreased losses.
For the full article by Mark Doyle, President of Hayes Intl posted at Security Info Watch, Click HERE.
