Shops across the UK lose millions to theft throughout the Christmas period. In this post, we will discuss how you can protect your shop against theft over the busy Christmas season.
Be sure to read our full guide to stopping shoplifters and preventing retail theft.
Is Shoplifting More Common Over Christmas?
Figures emerged in December 2024 revealing that more than 650 shoplifting offences a day had gone unsolved over the previous 12 months. This represented a 38% increase in the total number of unsolved shopping offences in the same period five years previously.
Why is Shoplifting More Common at Christmas?
Shoplifting offences may be more common over the festive period for a number of reasons:
- Increased footfall – During the busy Christmas shopping season, shops may experience higher footfall than they do at any other time of year. This chaos can provide a lot of cover for opportunistic shoplifters.
- Staffing issues – Existing staff may be more tired and stressed than usual. Temporary and seasonal staff may not have the training or the experience to identify and respond to shoplifting. And managerial staff may be too overstretched to provide any effective oversight.
- Stock issues – Shops tend to increase their stocks over Christmas, and it is common to see large quantities of valuable products left in locations where it might be easy for shoplifters to steal them without being noticed.
How To Protect Your Shop Against Theft Over Christmas
To begin with, conduct a thorough security audit to ensure there are no vulnerabilities that shoplifters might exploit:
- CCTV – Do you have full CCTV coverage of your entire shop floor? How often do you review your CCTV footage?
- Visibility – Can staff see the entire shop floor from the checkout? If there are any blindspots, could you use mirrors or rearrange shelves to improve line of sight and help staff keep tabs on customers?
- Signage – Could you increase the signage in the store to notify customers of your security procedures? A simple sign reading “CCTV in operation” could be enough to deter some thieves.
- Keeping products secure – Do you have secure locations for securing and displaying high value items? If you will be increasing your stock over Christmas, will you have the facilities to securely accommodate a greater volume of valuable products?
Staff Briefing and Scheduling
Inform Your Staff of the Risks
Make sure that every member of staff fully understands the increased risks of shoplifting over the festive period. This should extend to everyone, whether they are permanent or temporary, and whether they work on the shop floor or in the stockroom.
Increase Staff Numbers
When it comes to staff rotas, if possible, you should ensure that no member of staff ever works a shift by themselves. A single member of staff will not be able to monitor the entire shop floor. Plus, shoplifters often work in pairs, where one will distract your staff while the other lifts items out of sight. The more staff there are on duty, the harder shoplifters will find it to work unobserved.
Extra Security Staff
Many shops employ temporary staff over the Christmas period to cope with the increased footfall. To prevent shoplifting, you should consider adding additional security personnel to your workforce during the festive period. Identify in advance the days that are likely to be the busiest, and ensure that you have the greatest security presence on duty at peak times.
Consider Your Store Layout
If you will be decorating your shop for Christmas, make sure your decorations do not create any new blindspots that shoplifters could exploit.
Take care when displaying products on the shop floor. If you currently keep any high value items in locked cabinets, for example, you should continue to do so over Christmas. If you want to display greater quantities of high value items on the shop floor, you could display empty boxes which staff could exchange for the real thing at the point of sale.
Introduce New Policies Where Necessary
If you familiarise yourself with some common shoplifting techniques, it could help you to outline new policies to help you mitigate the risks.
Increased Self-Service Staff
For example, in stores with self-service checkouts, one technique is for shoplifters to scan a barcode of one item in order to pay a lower price for a considerably more expensive product. You could deter this behaviour with an increased staff presence at the self-service tills, along with mandatory bag and receipt checks before customers leave the store.
Large Bag Policies
Also, it is common for shoplifters to carry big bags, or to push large prams, into which they can easily drop items without notice. You could introduce a policy limiting, or even outright preventing, customers from bringing large bags or oversized prams into the store.
Communication and Enforcement of Policies
Whatever new policies you introduce, make sure you communicate them as clearly and early as possible to all customers, while making it clear just why you are enforcing such restrictions. Signage can help, as well as well-briefed security staff who could calmly and politely explain to customers why they are not allowed in the shop with larger bags.
Review Your Retail Business Insurance
Finally, as you approach the festive period it might be a good idea to review your retail business insurance, to ensure it will cover you for the increased risk of theft over Christmas. For example, if you intend to increase your stock levels over Christmas, you may have to raise your cover limits accordingly.
James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of experienced insurance professionals who care about protecting your shop, over the Christmas period and beyond. We can help you get specialist retail shop insurance, which can help your business bounce back from any significant losses.