Holiday Security Concerns & Solutions

The holiday season is coming up, and that means that we’re entering a very busy time of the year for just about everyone. It also means that this is an important time to think about security. Whether you’re an individual or a business, holiday security is important. However, for retail stores, holiday security is crucial. The holiday season is one of the biggest times of the year for retail theft.

If you’re a retail business, one of the main security concerns you’ll have at this time of the year is larger crowds in your store. While larger crowds can obviously be a good thing for business, these crowds can also lead to increased crime. The more people that are in and around your store, the greater the chance that someone attempts to steal or damage some of your merchandise. Plus, larger crowds are more difficult to watch and control than smaller ones.

So what can retail businesses do to reduce crime during the holiday season? Here are a few tips for retail security:

Place Valuable Items Strategically

Your most expensive items need to be in a location where they can always be watched by an employee. You’ll also want to place them away from the exits, in order to make it difficult for someone to steal an item and escape without being seen. However, in a crowded store, it’s tough to keep an eye on everyone and everything. This is where physical security is important. Consider placing your big ticket items behind security gates or inside locked cabinets. Inner cabinet security doors are also great for protecting valuable items.

Greet Your Customers

This can be tough to do if the crowds inside your store grow too large, but research shows that communicating with your customers reduces theft. By greeting customers when they come in to your store and asking them if they need any help when you see them walking around the store, you’re not just providing good customer service. You’re also letting them know that they’re not alone in the store and that their actions are being watched. This reduces theft because no one wants to be spotted committing a crime.

Keep an Eye on Fitting Rooms

A common tactic is for a criminal to take several items into a fitting room, remove the tags and smuggle some items out of the store by hiding them in a purse or even by wearing them out. To reduce the likelihood of these thefts, lock fitting rooms and have a store employee provide access to them. The employee should also limit the number of items that are taken into the fitting room and take note of how many items each customer brings in. The employee will also need to make sure that the number of items that come out is the same that went in.

You’ll also want to secure washrooms and prevent customers from bring any non purchased items into the washroom for this same reason.

By taking a few precautions, you can reduce retail theft and have a safer and more profitable holiday season for your store.

For more tips on layering security, download our 10 Critical Points to Securing your Shop, your Employees, and your Goods eGuide.
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