Your store looks fabulous. It’s sure to attract maximum attention and sales from holiday shoppers. But this is the time of year when your store is most attractive to thieves, too. Vigilant holiday loss prevention is the only way to ensure you will ring up maximum profits this season. 

Shrinkage in all its various forms costs retailers dearly each year. Whether your operation includes a specialized loss prevention team or you’re a small store owner with minimal resources, these tips and reminders will bring you happier holidays:

1. “Shop” your store from a thief’s point of view to see if you’re making shoplifting easy. Eliminate dark or hard-to-monitor areas. Put small, higher-ticket items where they are highly visible to sales floor staff, or use locking display cases to protect them.
   
   
2. Thoroughly train your personnel, both regular and temporary associates. They’ll have to gracefully serve more customers while also keeping an eye on the store. Since new people are more likely to make mistakes which can result in significant losses, test them on procedural details.
   
   
3. Remind everyone how to identify counterfeit cash, and make sure they take the time to check popular denominations. The same goes for double-checking credit card ID and checking card numbers against printed receipts. Never allow cashiers to enter credit card numbers by hand.
   
   
4. Keep cash on hand to a minimum, with frequent pick-ups or a drop-safe.
   
   
5. Scan each item separately, to avoid losses that come from SKU-switching. One popular scam is to load up the shopping cart with multiple identical items, change the SKU on one to a lower-priced SKU, then hand that one to the cashier in the hope she will simply scan that item multiple times.
   
   
6. If you have loss prevention specialists, make them visible to deter potential thieves.
   
   
7. If you have a self-checkout area, don’t leave it unattended.
   
   
8. Make sure employees know what store coupons or special discounts you’re offering and what the redemption coupons look like. If you accept third-party coupons, teach employees how to spot fraudulent ones – often those with especially high value or the word “free.”
   
   
9. Install electronic surveillance equipment, aimed at both merchandise areas and employee areas, especially your checkout counter. Sadly, employees are often the cause of shrinkage, through theft of items as well as cash. Shoppers and employees who know they’re being watched are far less likely to prey on you.
   
   
10. Make sure everyone understands and follows your returns policy. This is another way in which holiday losses can really add up.  
    
    
11. Finally, have you done everything else you need to do to ensure exceptional sales this holiday season?

Loss prevention is a year-round battle for retailers, all the more important during this busy, crowded shopping season. The better you prepare your store and staff, the more your holiday hard work will pay off.

Palmer Retail Solutions strives to offer our clients the absolute best combination of innovation, quality, service, and value for our diversified custom store fixtures and merchandising displays. For more information about our designs, retail fixtures, cash wraps, kiosks, or point of purchase displays, visit our website at: http://www.palmerretailsolutions.com.