Ex-Lowe’s Worker Issues Warning to Shoppers About Anti-Theft Measures
Retailers are doing every part they’ll to maintain shoplifters away. Over the previous few years, almost each main chain has carried out some type of safety improve to guard its shops from thieves—whether or not that is by locking up extra gadgets and even pulling merchandise off of cabinets fully. Now, a former Lowe’s employee is warning customers about particular anti-theft measures they will need to pay attention to. Learn on to learn the way the house enchancment retailer is stopping shoplifting.
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Retail theft has grow to be a rising downside within the U.S. In line with a 2022 report from the Nationwide Retail Federation (NRF), greater than 72 % of shops say they’ve seen a rise within the threat of shoplifting since earlier than the pandemic.
The NRF additionally discovered that organized retail crime (ORC) price shops a median of over $700,000 per $1 billion in gross sales in 2020—rising the danger of loss from theft by greater than 50 % in simply 5 years.
The difficulty has affected main retailers like Walmart, CVS, and Lowe’s. “Throughout the retail business, brazen theft inside shops has been rising,” Josh Shabtai, Lowe’s Innovation Labs senior director of ecosystem, confirmed to Digital Commerce 360 in January.
Which means not solely are extra individuals shoplifting from Lowe’s shops, however they’re additionally not afraid to get in confrontations with workers earlier than strolling off with merchandise.
A former Lowe’s worker posted a TikTok on how the retailer handles shoplifting. Within the now-viral video from Jan. 27, @jessicas_journal4 defined that she used to work in Lowe’s ProServices division, which is situated proper subsequent to the retailer’s loss prevention (LP) workplace.
“Should you ever go to Lowe’s and also you see this like grey field room, that is what it’s,” she stated. “That is the place the LP particular person sits and watches the displays and stalks individuals.”
Jessica goes on to clarify that she turned “good mates” with the man who labored because the LP at her retailer—so good, the truth is, that she stated she would generally sit in there and watch the displays with him.
“I realized quite a bit about what occurs on that finish of it,” she stated.
Greatest Life reached out to Lowe’s concerning the TikTok, and we are going to replace this story with their response.
Not a lot occurs with out Lowe’s understanding about it.
“They watch you on the displays,” Jessica warned. “So it isn’t that you simply simply get away with it, like they know you do it. They will see you.”
By means of these displays, Lowe’s loss prevention staff are in a position to compile proof towards the thieves that come to its shops.
“If they don’t seem to be in a position to bodily exit and catch you, then they may watch you on the displays, they may create like a file for you and put it on a CD,” the previous worker defined. “You do not simply steal and go away and also you’re good … They create a profile for you.”
As Jessica defined in her video, her Lowe’s location had an officer from town that was assigned to that particular retailer.
“Daily or each couple of days, he would are available in and he would seize the CD or the DVD with all of the proof of the particular person stealing on it, and he would take it to the police station,” she revealed. “And they might monitor them down, they’d put a warrant out for his or her arrest.”
In line with the previous worker, solely the LP staff can really cease shoplifters within the retailer—so the retailer makes use of this anti-theft measure as a failsafe with the intention to catch thieves after they’ve left.
“Should you’re ever at a Lowe’s and also you see somebody stroll out and you are like why are no workers doing something about it? It is due to that,” Jessica stated. “Trigger there’s already somebody doing one thing about it.”