The February issue of Appliance Retailer magazine contains a feature on stock loss and theft prevention. As part of that feature, David Hunt from Rozelle Electronics World provided six tips to help retailers minimise the amount of goods that go missing:

1. Serve the customer quickly and let them know you’re there. If you leave them alone in parts of the store, anything can happen. Approach the customer and ask them if they need a bit of help, so they know that there’s actually someone around them. Personal attention can do more than any security camera can do.

2. Keep your small items away from the front door – especially if you’re not actually going to supervise that area – because people can just pick them up and walk out.

3. Look out for people who are nervous, or maybe they have large clothing on – particularly in the winter months. If you’ve got groups of younger people that come in together just idling time, maybe keep an eye on them because that’s where you get a bit of loss.

4. Fraudulent cards are part and parcel of shoplifting too so you need to be aware of that – especially in our electronics industry, a lot of sales are now being done through cards. Signs to look for are people wanting to use their credit card number over the phone, because you’re not guaranteed by the bank when you do that. If people take a lot of stuff away in the car and you’re suspicious, just quietly take down their registration number.

5. Most people think that a shoplifter comes in and just steals one item. But a professional shoplifter will come in with two or three people, they’ll pretend to be buying an item, another person will be running interference in the background, and then the third person will be ripping something else off and moving towards the door. Be aware of that approach.

6. Certain items will be riskier than others. Keep your navigators, laptops and all those products locked under glass. Make sure your cabinets are actually locked, and don’t leave the keys around. Just be aware of what you’re doing, as if it was your own stuff.

To read the full story, check out the February issue of Appliance Retailer magazine.