Local stores take precautions to prevent holiday shoplifting
These preventative measures ensure that downtown businesses lose as little as possible during the highest shoplifting time of the year.
Shoplifters get away with more than $10 billion in merchandise each year, according to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention. This amounts to about $25 million per day
“We have a person who floats around, straightens and watches people,” said Terri Faunce, owner of The Casbah, 803 Massachusetts St.
The setup of Faunce’s store calls for sharp eyes. The boutique has an upper level and a lower level filled with small, swappable items such as rings, necklaces and bracelets. Faunce puts nickels in place of purchased rings to help keep track of how many are on display at a time.
She schedules at least two employees at all times to monitor both levels of the store. A handmade sign near the stairs prohibits customers from taking jewelry upstairs while they shop.
“It’s hard because of trust,” Faunce said. “I don’t want to make everyone feel like they are a criminal. I do have faith in my customers and respect for them.”
In her store, shoplifting takes away about 5 percent of her profits each year, Faunce said.
“It shows up when we do inventory each year. You definitely feel it,” she said.
Some downtown businesses don’t feel the tug of shoplifting as much as others do. At Arensberg’s Shoes, 825 Massachusetts St., shoplifting is not as common a problem because the store displays only one shoe of each style. Employees must go to the stockroom to retrieve shoes.
The store does maintain a policy that states any returned shoes must be unworn, in the original box and accompanied by a receipt before the store will issue a refund or exchange. This policy helps the business keep track of what comes back to the store and helps ward off fraudulent returns, owner Tim Arensberg said.
“We had a guy walk into the store through the back entrance, go to the stockroom and grab a box of shoes and then try to return them,” Arensberg said. “In a larger store, he may have gotten away with this, but here, you have to have a receipt.”
Security sensors, cameras and mirrors also play a big role in keeping shoplifting low. Sarah Workman, manager of Kieu’s, Inc., 738 Massachusetts St., said that attaching sensors to merchandise was an effective way of keeping track of what goes out of her store.
Though her store hasn’t had a big problem with shoplifting, she said it’s better to have the sensors and the cameras to ease suspicions. She also requires customers to leave large purses and shopping bags outside of the dressing rooms or at the register.
“Some customers find it to be an inconvenience, but most understand why we have to do it,” Workman said.
When stores do have a problem with shoplifting, employees usually know who and what to watch for. Certain mannerisms, such as speech and walking speed around a store, clue workers in on how suspicious they should be of customers.
Abby Blackwell, manager of Britches, 843 Massachusetts St., trains her staff to be energetic, interactive and overly friendly to all customers who come into the store.
“We stay with the customer and interact with everyone. They’re not going to get left alone,” Blackwell said.
Blackwell recalls an incident where a customer behaved strangely in the store. She said the customer took clothes off the hangers before she took them into the dressing room and was grabbing shirts and pants without checking the sizes.
Blackwell helped the person into the dressing room and noted what style of jeans and tops she took in so she could ask the person how each individual item fit. She did this so the person would know that Blackwell knew exactly what was in the dressing room.
“I sat on the steps near the dressing room and watched her legs the whole time,” Blackwell said.
This type of customer service, coupled with security devices, help local businesses keep their losses low and their sales steady.
Jeremy Furce, owner of Britches, said that though his store's shoplifting problem isn’t as high as the national average, measures to keep shoplifting to a low were important to the success of his store.
“We have excellent customer service, and when we throw the sensors in with that, it really helps us keep track of things,” Furce said.