How Staff Training Combats Recurrent Retail Theft

Recurrent shoplifting is a major challenge for retailers. In 2024, losses due to shoplifting will amount to around $45 billion a year in the USA, a considerable figure that will affect the margins of retail businesses (source: Capital One Shopping). A large proportion of these thefts are committed by repeat offenders, making it all the more difficult to detect and prevent them. However, staff training can play a crucial role in detecting such behaviour early and preventing losses before they occur.

Why Staff Training Is Crucial in the Fight Against Repeat Theft

1. Early Detection of Suspicious Behavior

Traditional video surveillance systems often aren't enough to catch repeat offenders. These individuals use specific, subtle gestures to conceal items, and these behaviors can easily go unnoticed without careful monitoring. Well-trained staff, however, are far more adept at spotting these suspicious gestures than any security camera.

Verified source: A study by Securitas Technology, losses from shoplifting account for 1.5% of the retail sector's total turnover. Improving your team's ability to spot these issues early can significantly reduce those losses.

2. Rapid Response to Prevent Losses

When it comes to theft, reaction time is everything. If a theft goes undetected for too long, recovering the stolen goods or identifying those responsible can become impossible. By training your staff to react proactively the moment they observe something suspicious, you can dramatically reduce losses. In fact, reacting quickly - ideally within 30 to 60 minutes of an incident—significantly increases the chances of recovering stolen items and preventing future occurrences.

Verified source: A Blueprint study showed that faster reaction times reduce losses by up to 50% in retail shops.

3. Increased Long-Term Vigilance

Repeat offenders are often keenly aware of security vulnerabilities. Staff who are trained to be consistently vigilant are much less likely to let incidents slip through the cracks. This sustained level of awareness helps maintain enhanced security, even during peak hours when it can be challenging to keep constant surveillance.

Tips for Effectively Training Your Staff to Manage Recurrent Theft

1. Training on Suspicious Behavior

Practical, scenario-based training is crucial. Your staff should be exposed to real-life examples of recurrent theft, like concealing items in bags or under clothing. Ongoing training sessions that include role-playing exercises can help your teams better recognize these specific gestures and intervene more quickly.

Tip: Organize monthly training sessions. Use videos illustrating suspicious behavior detected by AI to show your team how to react effectively to potential theft incidents.

2. Establish Clear Intervention Procedures

Every employee needs to be thoroughly trained on the specific steps to take when they observe suspicious activity. This includes knowing who to call, how to discreetly investigate the incident, and when to enact emergency protocols.

Tip: Provide both written and visual protocols to ensure a consistent and rapid response to any suspicious activity.

3. Use Technological Tools to Reinforce Training

Beyond traditional training, integrating tools like Veesion can significantly boost your staff's effectiveness. Giving your team access to an interactive dashboard allows them to better understand alerts and suspicious behaviors in real time.

Tip: Incorporate interactive training sessions where employees can directly engage with the dashboard, learning how to identify suspicious behavior through real-time alerts.

How Veesion Can Help Your Staff Better Manage Recurring Theft

While staff training is essential, its effectiveness can be greatly enhanced by tools like Veesion. Our behavioral AI solution analyzes suspicious actions in real time and sends immediate alerts to your team, empowering you to react before a theft occurs.

Here's how Veesion helps your staff:

• Real-time alerts: Veesion immediately alerts your team to suspicious gestures, enabling them to react quickly and effectively.
• Easy-to-use dashboard: Managers can easily track alerts and monitor team performance through an intuitive interface.
• Guaranteed confidentiality: Our solution focuses on suspicious actions, ensuring the privacy of your customers and employees is always respected.

In short, a well-trained team, well-equipped with tools like Veesion, is your strongest defense against recurrent theft and the key to improving security across your stores. With Veesion, you benefit not only from human responsiveness but also from the power of AI to detect suspicious behavior and prevent losses before they even happen.

Ongoing staff training combined with the adoption of smart technologies like Veesion are powerful levers in the fight against recurrent theft. Make sure your team is well-trained, well-equipped, and ready to act quickly with accessible, intelligent solutions.

👉 Download our ebook and find out how Veesion's AI can boost the security of your multi-unit retail business.