Black Friday Security Playbook: How Retailers Can Prevent Holiday Crime

Written By: James Hart

The holiday shopping season isn’t just the most important time of year for retailers. It’s also when their risk of theft shoots up.

In 2023, retailers saw a 93% jump in the average number of shoplifting incidents compared to pre-pandemic times. That’s according to a survey last year from the National Retail Federation and the Loss Prevention Research Council. It polled senior security and loss prevention leaders in the retail field.

And those thefts are costing retailers more, too. According to the poll, the dollar value of losses was 90% higher.

If retailers aren’t careful, shoplifting and related crimes can eat into their profits, ruining what should be some of their most profitable periods. Fortunately, stores and shopping centers can improve their security with a few straightforward tactics.

A lot of it comes down to paying closer attention to the people visiting their locations. 

“There’s definitely an increase in retail theft around the holidays, and really, it stems from an increase in foot traffic,” said Bryan Taylor, vice president at Chesley Brown, the security consulting and management firm.

“Shoplifters really want to avoid attention. During the holiday rush, it’s easier for them to blend in because there are more people, more traffic, to hide behind.”

At the same time, store employees are under more pressure because they’re busy stocking shelves and ringing up customers. They might struggle to notice when thieves are hiding shoplifted goods inside their winter coats or under their bulky sweaters.

“By the end of a 12-hour day, how closely are they paying attention?” Taylor said.

Chesley Brown serves shopping centers and related clients across North America, and it’s developed a playbook for helping them combat theft through Black Friday and beyond. Here are some of the most important steps that Taylor and his colleagues recommend.

Priority One: Set Aside Time for Training

Heading into the holiday season, retailers should hold customer service training for their employees, Taylor said. Longtime employees should receive refresher training, too.

That training should share best practices for interacting with customers, such as always acknowledging people when they come into the store.

Taylor recommends using the 20-10-5 rule. When an employee comes within 20 feet of a shopper, they should make eye contact and smile. Within 10 feet, they should say hello. Within 5 feet, they should ask the customer if they need help.

“In a lot of retail settings, there’s a lack of customer service training, and that directly correlates to security,” Taylor said. “We train people that going the extra mile with customer service is a form of security, too.”

For example, store employees might approach a shopper carrying a large number of items – maybe they’re even stuffing them into a tote bag or putting them in their pockets. Employees should ask that shopper if they need help.

If the shopper really needs help, they’ll appreciate the offer. It’s good customer service.

But if the shopper is actually a shoplifter? That light intervention might put them on notice, letting them know they’re being watched. They might decide not to steal anything.

A similar dynamic applies to parking areas. Security officers should approach people who seem like they’re wandering around the lot. Those individuals might need helping finding their cars. Or they could be looking for vehicles to break into.

Attention – even if it’s positive, helpful attention – is the last thing that thieves want.

“They want to operate in anonymity, right?” Taylor said. “They don’t want people watching them, they don’t want that attention.”

He also recommends that retailers provide de-escalation training. Employees should be shown how to prevent and manage disagreements with customers. Doing so might help prevent an argument from blowing up into something worse. 

“How you talk to people is important,” Taylor said.

A big part of de-escalation training involves communicating more effectively with customers and understanding their problems, so employees can better help them. It’s good for security and customer service.

Other Best Practices for Holiday Theft Prevention

In addition to customer service training, retailers and shopping centers can put other security strategies to work.

Ensure staffing levels are adequate

It can be tough to find retail workers, especially during the holidays, but having a well-staffed store can have a big impact on shoplifting prevention. More employees means there are more eyes available to look out for theft.

Retailers and shopping centers should also make sure there’s adequate security scheduled. It’s important to have security officers who can do courtesy walkthroughs of stores, escort customers and employees to their vehicles, and provide other services.

“I think the biggest thing is just having the right security in place for the season,” Taylor said. “Especially security that is visible. If you’re operating a 1 million square foot mall, and you have one security officer walking the interior, and you have one officer on the exterior in a patrol vehicle, you don’t have enough coverage.”

Use working security cameras to deter thieves

This is a go-to for most stores and shopping centers, and for good reason. If potential shoplifters know they might end up on camera, it might make them think twice before stealing merchandise.

It’s critical to make sure those cameras are set up to provide complete coverage, and they need to actually work. Believe it or not, some retailers have cameras that don’t actually record anything. They’re basically there for show. 

That’s a mistake because cameras can help retailers see exactly who is committing crimes in their stores, so that employees can shadow those people if or when they come back into the building.

Adjust store layouts to make theft more difficult

Even small changes can make life harder for shoplifters.

Many retailers display their most popular products at the front of their stores as a way to draw in shoppers. Unfortunately, that makes it easier for thieves to swipe those items and get away quickly.

“Those things should be kept further back or some place where people have to walk into the store, and you can have people in the store available to watch them,” Taylor said.

More retailers are letting customers pick up online orders at their brick-and-mortar locations – a practice that’s known as BOPIS, or buy online, pickup in store. They’re also a common way that fraudsters use to steal goods.

Taylor suggested setting up those pickup counters in areas away from the crowded parts of the store. That way, employees won’t feel pressured to hurry through the checkout process, and they’ll take the time to closely check the IDs of people picking up orders. A rushed process only makes it easier for these crooks to get away with their scams.

Control access to sensitive parts of the property

Many retailers use access control technology to secure their backrooms and inventory. Employees have to swipe their badges to get into those areas.

But stores shouldn’t overlook low-tech fixes, too, like training employees not to prop up the back door and emergency exits. It’s an easy way for thieves to sneak into your property – and sneak out with stolen goods.

Report shoplifters to law enforcement

Busy retailers might wonder if it makes sense to report shoplifting and related crimes to the authorities. In some jurisdictions, those cases aren’t really prosecuted.

According to the survey from the National Retail Federation and the Loss Prevention Research Council, a majority of the respondents (65%) said they reported less than half of shoplifting incidents.

“But you still gotta call,” Taylor said. “If you just ignore it, it’s not gonna go away.”

When retailers share video of shoplifters and other information, it gives law enforcement the information they need to target persistent shoplifters or even large-scale organized retail theft.

These theft rings can steal thousands in merchandise from retailers, and when the losses grow to that size, it can be easier for prosecutors to go after the criminals involved.

And communicating more with police can be helpful, too. Letting local departments know about higher levels of crime might convince them to increase their patrols in a certain area. Likewise, police can warn retailers about theft rings or new types of scams that are going around.

Putting It All Together

There’s no single perfect solution for preventing theft and other crimes in stores during the holiday. Instead, retailers should implement multiple tactics to deter and detect bad actors so that, if one defense fails, others can pick up the slack.

If your shopping center or retail business needs help addressing shoplifting, organized retail crime and other threats, Chesley Brown provides proven expertise honed over decades.

The firm can provide detailed security assessments that pick out hidden dangers while recommending solutions. Their experts can also lead training sessions for store employees and manage entire teams of security officers.

To learn how Chesley Brown can benefit your organization, contact us to schedule a consultation today.