Retail Crimes Impact on a Businesses Bottom Line

The UK is renowned for its high street with people visiting major cities to walk through the famous retail areas this country has to offer. Home to thousands of retail businesses varying in size from small to large, the aims stay primarily similar, to make a profit and to keep the building secure at all times.  You can deter and prevent retail crime in your establishment with the right choice of doorway but just how do you do it so effectively? Learn more about the effects of crime on retail businesses, and how you can protect yourself against it.

Retail crime in the UK

The UK has undergone some changes in relation to shoplifting laws in recent years. In 2014, an act was passed that stated anyone shoplifting good to a value less than £200 would no longer have to attend court. Instead, they could respond to their case in the same way that speeding motorists do. That is, they can plead guilty or not guilty by post.

What this means for retail stores is that they are being targeted even more. It is suggested that since the introduction of the act, shoplifting crimes have increased. Shoplifters are more frequently attempting to take products straight from the shelves of businesses while keeping under this £200 threshold. They realise the repercussions of shoplifting under this figure are not penalised in the same way, which makes it increasingly more appealing for individuals to shoplift goods.

Shoplifting may be on the rise even more than people think. This is because many retail businesses are no longer reporting shoplifting offences as much because they do not have the confidence that the authorities will follow up on their call, or they do not believe that they will get the stolen goods back, thus creating a waste of the businesses’ time.

How crime affects business profits

The natural consequence of shoplifting is that it directly affects your revenue and therefore your profits. The extent that shoplifting impacts your profit will depend on how prevalent it is in your store and the profit margins that you operate at. If you operate with low-profit margins – as many businesses are forced to do nowadays – shoplifting can be even more damaging to a retail business. It can take a lot more time to recuperate the money lost to these criminals.

Prevent retail crime at your entrance

Security guards, cameras and eagle-eyed staff all go a long way to help deter and prevent shoplifting from occurring on your premises. Any business should adopt these to help reduce retail crime. However, business owners may want to look to their entrance to tighten security and reduce the chances of shoplifting.

Many retail establishments have started using high-security revolving doors to deter and catch shoplifters looking for a quick exit. Revolving doors, in general, are a great way to catch shoplifters making a run for it because they slow down their exit, giving security staff more time to make up ground and catch the criminal.

So, why do businesses not always protect themselves?

On many occasions, businesses will avoid the costs of protecting themselves with the aforementioned doors and entrances. This is because they come at an initial cost that most businesses see as unnecessary, or because businesses want to put money into other aspects of their business. They look to invest elsewhere to make more money.