Retail Problem #4

One of the biggest problems in retail is loss prevention. Despite the effort of the companies to prevent customers from stealing their merchandise, every day companies still suffer from the loss of their goods. This leads to heavy loss for the company itself and will later impact other aspects of the store. If a store continues to have a high percentage of loss, then it is clear that certain measures need to be taken in order for this to stop.

What are some of the measures? Well some stores have turned to technology, applying cameras around every corner with an extensive staff observing the footage. What exactly is loss prevention though? According to Wikipedia,

Retail loss prevention is a set of practices employed by retail companies to preserve profit. Profit preservation is any business activity specifically designed to reduce preventable losses. A preventable loss is any business cost caused by deliberate or inadvertent human actions, colloquially known as "shrinkage".

The article goes on to state that,

Since retail loss prevention is geared towards the elimination of preventable loss^[2] and the bulk of preventable loss in retail is caused by deliberate human activity, traditional approaches to retail loss prevention have been through visible security measures matched with technology such as CCTV and electronic sensor barriers. 

Based on these quotes, Wikipedia makes a good attempt to describe retail problem #4 but there is still room for improvement. For instance the second quote describes ways in which stores implement loss prevention such as through technology like cameras and sensor barriers. But there are also more effective ways of loss prevention which Wikipedia left out. Technology is not the only trick in the book used to catch thieves. Another method is using plain-clothed Loss Prevention Officers  to walk the sales floor and actually observe the thieves. I believe this is a very effective method. If the Loss Prevention Officer appears like a regular shopper, he or she is able to go undercover and catch the thief red handed. Therefore I think the quote should state,

Since retail loss prevention is geared towards the elimination of preventable loss^[2] and the bulk of preventable loss in retail is caused by deliberate human activity, traditional approaches to retail loss prevention have been through visible security measures matched with technology such as CCTV and electronic sensor barriers. Most companies take this traditional approach by either having their own in-house loss prevention team or using external security agencies. Companies have also developed newer and more efficient ways to prevent loss of their merchandise. In some cases the loss prevention officers will walk the floor dressed like a regular shopper in order to observe those who may seem suspicious. This new method gives the loss prevention team the opportunity to catch the thief red handed. it offers the element of surprise.