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In store theft is a growing problem, especially amongst discount sellers like Dollar Tree, Walmart or Target. It was believed that online shopping would just replace physical store locations, but it has proven untrue, and so now retailers have to implement new measures to combat the in-store theft epidemic we are suffering. These new measures are not always popular with innocent shoppers, but the rates of crimes are truly astounding in recent years.
Despite online shopping being touted as highly convenient, it has not caught on as much as predicted when the online stores began to mirror in store experiences. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic online shopping overall never represented more than 20% of the overall sales, especially in the grocery store section of the market.
With notable exceptions like Amazon or the Chinese giants Shein and Temu, shoppers still seem to prefer in store experiences to online, with online retail sales accounting for just 14.7% of the total amount in this same period in 2023.
Even the convenience of delivery cannot beat the immediacy that instore shopping delivers on. For clothes, try-ons are important, getting a feel for the quality and fit of the item before taking it home. For groceries, while the convenience often outweighs the experience, inadequate substitutions or issues with incomplete orders are par for the course and sometimes not worth the hassle. Returns are often an issue too, with trips to an inconvenient post office or return center not high in our priority list.
However, stores like Dollar Tree or Target offer more than just groceries or clothing, and often times going can become an all-around enjoyable shopping trip that also involves browsing the décor section.
But now petty thefts are ruining the experience. Previously, it was almost always retail theft with small items that could fit on one’s person, but now we find theft rings with a coordinated plan and it is affecting stores, sometimes to the point of shut downs in some areas.
This theft, also known as “shrink” increased 0.2% from 2021 to 2022 and keeps rising. It may seem insignificant, but it amounts to losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars and it is usually concentrated in areas where some stores are the constant target.
Retailers have started implementing measures to try to combat this terrible trend using a multifaceted approach to try to deter the theft rings from operating in their stores. Some of the most common an effective countermeasure is to simply lock up the valuables.
New anti theft measures by Dollar Tree
It is not the greatest solution, as it impacts negatively the instore experience of shoppers. A sales assistant with the key needs to be permanently near the items to unlock them and replace them in the shelves, and when the assistant is called away it leaves the section unattended inconveniencing shoppers who now have to wait.
Dollar Tree has started implementing other anti-theft measures and they hinge on having an online platform. Low-cost merchandise is offered instore and more valuable items are only available online. The move is a double whammy of protection, ensuring the merchandise is safer, but also protecting employees, who are in less danger and harassed less for these valuable items if they are not found in store. It will also reduce customer wait times that might just decide that the higher price is a good tradeoff for a more seamless shopping experience elsewhere.
The drawback of the measure seems to be that not many shoppers will go to a store location, do half of the shop and then go online to find the rest of the items. Plus, it assumes a pleasant experience online, the ability to receive the items at home (especially when talking groceries) and for the customer to be in a delivery route that the stores offer. Not everyone lives in convenient locations.
Having said that, keeping some products online exclusive help stores maintain a balance between online and offline visibility and may give shoppers the option to use either channel to utilize your resources.
