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In the United Kingdom, supermarket Waitrose and sister retailer John Lewis are offering free coffees to on-duty police officers as a way to counter the rise in shoplifting.
Nicki Juniper, head of security for the two chains, told The Guardian, “Even just having a police car parked outside can make people think twice about shoplifting.”
Both stores are also employing “love bombing,” which is when staff members actively engage with customers to ward off thoughts of shoplifting. “We’ve long been known for our friendly service, but it turns out that the more attentive we are, the less likely people are to steal,” Juniper told the Grocery Gazette.
In Australia, John-Paul Drake, who runs Drakes Supermarkets, has been using sarcastic videos on Instagram to shame those who steal from his stores.
A Bronx supermarket, Chang Li Supermarket, posts photos of shoplifters caught on their surveillance cameras. Matt Jiang, store manager, told the New York Post, “When they see their pictures, they never come back again.”
Stores are also making investments in security guards and surveillance cameras amid the spike in retail theft that’s being attributed largely to organized crime. In bigger cities, large parts of stores are being locked up, risking losing customers due to the added wait time for a store clerk to come and unlock a cabinet or product. Stories have emerged of a Duane Reade in Manhattan padlocking its freezer doors, a Walmart in Florida wrapping steak in security wire, and a San Francisco Target locking up toiletries and cosmetics.
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Nordstrom, and Dollar Tree last week joined other chains, including Home Depot and Walmart, calling out margin pressure from theft on earnings calls.
"Losses from theft are at historical highs,” said Nordstrom CEO Erik Nordstrom on a call. “And I'd say we find it unacceptable and needs to be addressed.”
Ann-Marie Campbell, Home Depot’s EVP of U.S. stores and international operations, was hopeful that new laws would better police online sales of stolen merchandise but also called on “government partners to help on their end as well to help us in retail to really mitigate what we have seen out there.”