Most amateur criminals, thieves included, are not verysophisticated. They are mostly driven by addiction or other factors leading to desperation,stealing as needed with little forethought or consideration. However, this isnot the case with professional thieves. Professional shoplifters are typicallypart of an intricate, complicated criminal network often referred to as OrganizedRetail Crime (ORC).
Professional shoplifters are typically smarter than amateurthieves and choose their targets carefully. This type of thief specifically looksfor a couple of main characteristics when considering which retailers to stealfrom. First, they seek out retailers who sell products that are high in demandbecause this type of merchandise can quickly be resold for cash. Additionally, theylook for retailers who appear to provide the easiest ways of escape withoutdetection. For these reasons, Home Improvement retailers tend to be prime targetsfor Organized Retail Crime.
To better understand why the Home Improvement industry hasbeen so heavily impacted by ORC, consider the following:
- HighValue Goods – Power Drills, Saws, Generators, and Power Washers are alwaysin high demand
- Easy Resale – New tools are easy to liquidate online, in-person, and across an unscrupulous pawn shop networks
- Easy Entry and Egress – Large Home Improvement and Hardware Stores typically provide multiple
Although Home Improvement retailers such as Home Depot,Lowe’s and Menard’s have strong Loss Prevention and Asset Protection strategiesin place to combat shoplifting, professional thieves quickly adapt to suchstrategies and continue to inflict great harm to this industry’s financialbottom line.
The High Cost ofTheft
A basic online search of news stories involving shopliftingfrom Home Improvement/Hardware stores reveals scores of thefts each valued at aminimum of $150, with an average of $1000 per theft incident. Most of theseincidents involve Pushout Theft – a term used to describe a shoplifting methodin which a thief loads up a shopping cart with merchandise and simply pushes thestolen goods out the door. This statistic is concerning, as this is roughly $200more per incident than the average loss per pushout theft incident was in 2017.While the average of a $1,000 per theft is shocking, some individual storiesshow the risk to often be 2 to 3 times this average.
Standout Stories
- $3,000 – stolenfrom multiple Home Depots in Newcastle, DE
- $2,819 – stolenfrom Home Depot in Wyncote, PA
- $2,100 – stolenfrom Lowe’s in Rome, GA
- $1,400 – stolenfrom Lowe’s in D’Iberville, MS
- $1,000 – stolenfrom Home Depot in Sandy Springs, GA
- $1,346 – stolenfrom Home Depot in Philadelphia, PA
- $2,000 – stolenfrom Home Depot in LaGrange, GA
- $2,000 – stolenfrom Lowe’s in Oakland Park, FL
- $1,198 – stolenfrom Lowe’s in Athens, GA
- $2,000 – stolenfrom Home Depot in Union, GA
- $15,000 – stolenfrom Home Depot in Marrero, LA
The Role ofTheft-Preventing Technology
Gatekeeper Systems understands the issues facing LossPrevention today – non-confrontation policies, greater shoplifter violence, andincreasingly expensive thefts encouraged by decriminalization. Thieves areaware of these issues and have begun to abuse them with targeted theft amounts,disregard for security, and brandishing weapons against employees who try toapprehend them.
Traditional methods for addressing this problem have increasinglybecome inadequate. To address these issues effectively, retailers need to look fora technological solution. Only technology will provide the ability to recovermerchandise without confrontations or risk to employees and customers.
Gatekeeper Systems’ Purchek® system is the premiertechnological solution to address this epidemic. Purchek® offers a singlesolution to the multiple problems facing Loss Prevention, including theprotection of customers and employees, as well as the protection of valuablemerchandise from theft (making it available for customers), all without interferingwith positive customer experiences.
About Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper Systems’ expanded product suite of intelligentcart solutions offers solutions for EVERY retailer’s needs to minimize merchandiseloss and reduce asset and labor expenditures.
Gatekeeper’s loss prevention, retail analytics, and cartcontainment solutions utilize patented locking wheel technology to put an endto cart-based shoplifting, shopping cart loss, and uninformed decision-making.Cart management solutions increase safety and reduce labor costs by maximizingproductivity while simultaneously resulting in a positive store image.
Intelligent pushout theft prevention solutions stop thievesand their cart full of unpaid merchandise from leaving the store. Customizablewheel technology allows retailers to defend their entire store or just a highloss department based on the store’s unique layout.
NEW Retail Analytics solutions provide increased visibilityfor informed decision making. Increase efficiency, optimize fleet size, andperfect the entire customer shopping experience with store and enterprise-levelanalytics.
Find out why 19 of the top 20 retailers that use shopping carts rely on Gatekeeper solutions.
To learn more or toschedule a free consultation, click here.
