Stop Product Kidnapping!

Imagine this: You’re a sales associate minding your own business. You’ve got customers in the fitting rooms, your area is clean, your goals are met for the day, and you’re tidying up the store in your final hour, thinking about your plans for the night. And then you see it. As you’re in mid-step to the back of the store a man is shoving clothes directly from the hangers on a rounder fixture into a mammoth-size plastic garbage bag. You’re stunned and can’t move. You blink a few times. But this is really happening. You and the man lock eyes. He hobbles (yes, for some reason that detail is etched) out of the store with the bag now swung over his shoulder, as if all was normal. And now, there’s a huge gap on the fixture where the poor little products used to be. This tragic, true story was set in 1998.

Fast forward to 2015. I realize there is little a sales associate fears more than the awkward encounter of a robbery or theft. Ultimately, there will always be shoppers who feel justified with a 100-percent discount, but for those on the fence – what else can be done? Can good VM deter the above scenario and save products everywhere from the same fate?

Let these five visual strategies come to the rescue:

1. Beyond sensors, communicate creatively that you have an eye on every item: A small sign with the item that says, “Best seller, but only five (or a handful) left!” might do the trick.

2. Friendly lighting: Just as a porch light can deter burglars, a well-lit store can, too. Let’s spotlight those dark “hidey holes”!

3. Display placement is crucial: If you set a fixture in a dead corner, it will appear that you don’t have a high value on those items.

4. Banish clutter: Try to streamline displays so that you know exactly what’s on them.

5. A “don’t touch” sign makes you want to touch: If you feel the need to place a sign up that highlights that fact that you will prosecute, do it in a clever way. A simple “Please, please, please please please don’t forget to pay” in the fitting rooms should suffice.

Not one of our precious products that we spend time selecting, purchasing, merchandising or styling should have to be treated like it has no value. Try these strategies so that your displays stay full and beautiful. Here’s to a lot less lifting and a lot more shopping!

Faith Bartrug of FBD Studios (Columbus, Ohio) has more than a decade of experience in transforming national brands. Her background includes brand strategy, environmental design and visual merchandising, and she has been able to practice what she preaches with leading design firms and clients such as Neiman Marcus, JCPenney and Mark Pi’s.