THEFT PREVENTION STRATEGIES

Kandice Duffey, manager of Balboa Surf and Style, Newport Beach, California, recalls once when a group of high school boys came in. “I saw one boy rolling up shirts and stuffing them in his clothes, so I approached him and said, 'Do you want to give me what you have now or should I call the police?’” As his buddies snickered, he surrendered the shirts.

While this story is amusing, retail theft is no joke to a seaside retailer with an alreadynarrow profit margin. A large corporate chain can easily absorb losses due to petty pilferage, but a small retailer feels the pain much more acutely. Seaside stores employ many strategies to deter would-be thieves. Many stores along the shore use anti-theft devices on easy-to-conceal items, while others use signage that tugs at the conscience or rely on the eyes of staff and cameras. Here are some examples of successful theft-prevention tactics.

“KILL THEM WITH KINDNESS”

Merely saying a cheery “Hello, welcome to our store!” may be the best theft deterrent of all.

“The last thing a thief wants is to be recognized,” says retail consultant and educator Cathy Donovan Wagner, founder of Chicago-based RETAILMavens.

Maria Martinez, manager of The Beach Nut, Virginia Beach, Virginia, knows this firsthand. “The biggest theft-prevention thing we do is make sure we’re walking the floor and welcoming our customers,” she says. “We’re a small store, but we have a lot of things that are just kind of laying around, display-wise. And as we’re welcoming people, we’re also subtly letting them know ‘we see you, we see what’s in our store’ — not just doing our own thing, ignoring them..”

Jared Gaburo owns two stores next door to each other in Sea Isle City, New Jersey — the Seaside Shade Shack, which specializes in sunglasses, and Tortuga, a store with higher-end beach apparel for men. “I’m pretty good about being on the floor and walking around,” says Gaburo, “especially when young kids are in the stores because they tend to be the ones that steal the most. It’s typically teenage girls who are the biggest offenders, trying to get their hands on the bracelets and anklets.”

If a greeting doesn’t chase away a potential thief, try engaging them in conversation. “When these girls came in, I had a gut feeling they were going to steal,” says Duffey, “so I told an employee to be nice to them — 'kill them with kindness.’ As soon as we did that, they left.”

Candid Cameras

Besides acting as a deterrent, security cameras are invaluable for gathering information for the police to follow up on.

Did you know? According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, shoplifting costs the retail industry around $50 billion a year.

The Beach Nut is inside a restaurant, Waterman’s Seaside Grill, that has cameras trained on the parking lot and valet stand. “If it’s someone who drove to the restaurant, we can easily pull the footage of the license plates to send to the police,” says Martinez. “We can also get names off the dinner checks from the restaurant’s point-of-sale system.”

Inside the store, there are more cameras angled at every corner. “If we need to watch someone more closely, we can do it from the monitor at the register or from my phone,” Martinez says.

Warning Signs

In-store security cameras can do more than simply record thefts, they can deter them as well — as long as you let potential thieves know that they’re there. “You don’t actually have to have the cameras,” says Wagner. “Merely announcing that you have cameras will make a lot of potential thieves think twice.”

You can even add a dash of humor, as Duffey has. “As soon as you walk into our store, you’ll see a sign on the window saying, “Just to let you know, this place is covered in cameras. So please don’t steal, because if you do, I will call the police, and they’ll call your Mom,’ with a little sad-face emoji.”

Behind Closed Doors

Some seaside retailers choose to keep high-dollar merchandise in protective custody inside locked showcases. “All of our premium, luxury-brand sunglasses are inside locked cases,” says Gaburo. Valuable jewelry is kept at the register. There are anti-theft systems like

When employees steal

magnetic security tags, but those might be too pricey for a small retailer.

If you’ve ever been to an Apple store, you’ve probably noticed the steel cables anchoring the phones and computers.

A seaside retailer can do a lot to prevent theft committed by people coming into the store. Unfortunately, there are others who might also be tempted to steal from you — your own workers. “Most theft, sadly, will be committed by your own team members,” says retail consultant and educator Cathy Donovan Wagner, founder of RETAILMavens.

Your employees are in the store when you’re not. “Our employees have access to the back stockroom, the cash drawer and the safe,” says Kandice Duffey, manager of Balboa Surf and Style, Newport Beach, California.

In fact, sales associates have a double temptation, as they are able to steal not just your merchandise but your cash as well. Cameras, so useful for deterring and catching shoplifters, can also be deployed against internal theft. Simply knowing there’s a camera trained on the till will do a lot to discourage a sticky-fingered employee.

At the store Duffey manages, a camera records the transactions at the register from multiple angles. “Not all of the angles are displayed on the monitor,” says Duffey. “We have others that the employees don’t know about.”

Duffy came up with a budget version of this. “We had these keychains that were getting stolen all the time, so I tied fishing line to them. It’s not like people can't yank the line and just take them, but it’d be a bit more noticeable.”

Keeping Count

Shoplifters often take advantage of the privacy afforded by a dressing room curtain or door.

“We count the items when people go in and when they come out,” says Duffey. “I do it with them — ‘okay, you’ve got one, two, three, four items,’ — verbalizing that ‘I know you have four items, so you’d better come out with four items.’” Duffey and her co-workers also clear away clothing left hanging so there’s no confusion later.

But keeping count can be a challenge, admits Duffey. “When we’re busy, things can fall through the cracks, like people using the dressing room without asking.”

Martinez uses the counting technique too. “With the items that don’t sell as often we all keep mental counts in our head of how many there are. If we see an empty space, we’re really good about asking each other, ‘Did you sell that? It’s gone.’”

What To Do And Not To Do

Emotions can run high when you see someone stealing, as the following story illustrates. “A guy came in here and walked around with one of our skateboards for a while, then set it down by the door and left,” remembers Duffey. “Before I got a chance to put it back, he returned, reached inside the door, grabbed the skateboard and left.”

What happened next Duffey admits shouldn’t have. “I hurtled over the counter and me and my co-worker just took off after him,” she says. They caught him and recovered the skateboard.

What should a shop owner or employee do when they observe someone shoplifting? Wagner asked a theft-prevention officer this question. “He said, ‘The first rule is, don’t confront them.’ The person committing the crime could be trying to get money to buy drugs and may not be in their right mind. They may get violent. It’s just too dangerous.’” No item of merchandise, no matter how valuable, is worth someone getting injured or even killed.

What should you do instead? “Make a mental note of what they’re wearing,” says Wagner, “anything that could identify the person. Get a license plate if possible. Then call the police.”

You don’t have to sit back and be a victim while unscrupulous individuals cut into your hard-earned profits. By taking a few precautions, you can make your store more appealing to shoppers and less appealing to shoplifters.

How to handle a potential (or actual) shoplifter

Retail consultant and educator Cathy Donovan Wagner shares what a theft prevention officer told her about what a seaside store owner or employee should do when they suspect that a shopper is really a shoplifter. Here are the following tips:

1 Thieves don’t want to be recognized. Greet them. If a friendly greeting doesn’t scare them, engage them in conversation. Make it obvious you’re watching them.

2 Does someone have a very large tote, handbag or shopping bag? If you suspect someone is loading their personal bag with items with the intent to steal them, ask if you may hold their bag(s) at the counter for them so they may have an easier time shopping.

3

Discourage shoplifters with signage. “Smile! You’re on camera!” is a good example.

4

Use a code phrase to alert your team that there is a suspected shoplifter or group of shoplifters in the store, i.e., “Have you seen the new Jane Doe collection?”

5 Finally, never confront a shoplifter. That could be dangerous. Call the police.

Aseaside or beach getaway is always a welcome escape for busy families on a quest to unwind and detox from their hectic lives. And once they embark on a journey to your seaside location, the experience becomes so memorable that they want to find a memento that commemorates the trip and brings back fresh reminders of those good times.

But what makes a good souvenir for one person may not be the same thing someone else likes. Some people like to collect the same type of item from different locations, while others are constantly seeking something unique and individual to them and the specific coastal destination they are visiting. As a seaside retailer, you have to please them all and stay true to your location and brand.

“Souvenirs are always great physical keepsakes of good memories,” shares Nilina Mason-Campbell, owner and operator of Portland, Oregon-based Made by Nilina, maker of illustrated souvenirs and gift items. “When people go to a beach or coastal location, they’re most definitely conjuring a new experience and building a memory. The coast is something different [than a city trip.] Even if you manage to have a loaded schedule in a coastal town, there’s an element to it that always feels like an escape — a break. Souvenirs are very much connected to nostalgia and memory — no matter the locale.”

1. Beacon Designs: Custom name-drop blue heron ornament, www.beacondesign.com

2. Impulse Souvenirs: Custom digital print T-shirt, www.impulsesouvenirs.com

3. Fin Pin Shop: Hammerhead shark pin, www.finpinshop.com

4. Cape Shore: Sea turtle mug, www.cape-shore.com

5. Steamboat Sticker: Custom beach sticker, www.steamboatsticker.com

6. Ocean World Imports: Colorful parrot welcome sign, www.oceanworldimports.com

7. PCF Souvenirs: Anchors away keychain/bottle opener, www.pcfsouvenirs.com

8. Brass Reminders: Set of four small decals, www.brassreminders.com

9. SJT Enterprises: It’s 5 o’clock somewhere bottle opener, www.sjtent.com

10. Daisy Mae Designs: Custom map coasters, daisymaedesigns.faire.com

11. Tangico: Custom location mini stickers, www.tangicousa.com

12. Pennybandz: Pressed penny holder, www.pennybandz.com

13. Town Pride: Mug with custom location design, www.townpride.com

14. Caloosa WaterWear: Sea turtle ornament, www.shopcaloosa.com

15. XPlorer Maps: Travel drinkware, www.xplorermaps.com

16. Lipco: Your town dolphin water bottle, www.lipco.biz

17. My Word!: Beach House pine-framed sign, www.mywordsigns.com

18. Joseph K & Co.: Custom holiday souvenir ornament, www.josephk.com

19. Stickers by Sandstone: Whale tail sticker, www.stickersbysandstone.com

20. Cottonseed Marketplace: Wooden magnet, www.cottonseedmarketplace.com

21. Squire Boone Village: Beach-themed temporary tattoos, www.squireboone.com

22. Sincere Surroundings: Custom beach sign, www.sinceresurroundings.com

And the market certainly reflects people’s desires to find that perfect beachside trinket. Gift, novelty and souvenir store revenue in the U.S. is expected to grow to $16.6 billion by 2024, according to market researcher Statista.

Seaside retailers can inspire greater purchasing on souvenir items by sourcing custom items that reflect their unique locations, as well as by using some often-overlooked tactics to help their souvenirs stand out from the noisy nearby competition.

Custom Creations Sell

Selecting the right souvenirs for a seaside retail location can surely be challenging. The goal is to “find the balance between staying true to your store’s theme and staying on trend,” explains Mark Carle, president of Seminole, Florida-based CJ Bella Co., a lifestyle company that makes decorated tabletop coasters, car coasters, 100% cotton flour sack towels and pillows. “If you wander too far outside of those parameters, I think it becomes confusing to the customer.”

Souvenir offerings have certainly become wider in range, making the job of stocking the right options harder. “Where you might have once only found hats, shirts or stickers, now you will find towels, pillows and other products,” Carle points out.

The goal is to provide items that showcase your specific area.

“Keep in mind what sets your region apart from others,” advises Donna Hays, national sales manager of the Lipco Group, a souvenir and gift manufacturer based in Kirbyville, Missouri. The company specializes in customized keychains, magnets, mugs, figurines, plush animals and T-shirts. “What plants or geological features define your area? What about your most prevalent or beloved wildlife? Souvenirs with a dolphin theme will sell great in coastal regions with dolphins, but they won’t sell as well in a region without dolphins. Make sure the souvenirs you stock in your store are good representations of your area.”

So, while you can carry some of Lipco’s best-selling items like magnets and mugs, by customizing them to your location with a unique design or logo, this merchandise has a greater chance of selling and stands out from the competition, Hays says.

Sue Kinch, owner of Pontiac, Michigan-based Tangico, maker of custom wine stoppers, coasters, ornaments and magnets, agrees. “Start with best-selling apparel images and adapt them to create other custom products. Tourists want things they don’t see in multiple stores.”

She says what resonates are images on your souvenir pieces. For instance, “an anchor will be a solid image in all coastal territories, but the more specific you can make that anchor with a name drop, the better it will retail.”

When Caloosa WaterWear, a coastal lifestyle brand, decided to become one of the featured artisans at the new Delray Beach Kollective, it was obvious to company president Rebecca Fordham that local sells. “Since I’ve opened my space within the Delray Beach Kollective, I’ve noticed a lot of people who are visiting Delray Beach coming in to the store looking to support local small businesses and local artists. They come in knowing that the store is a collective of artists and are specifically looking for something made locally to take home with them.”

Her Christmas ornaments featuring Delray Beach along with imagery that captures the area have gotten a great response. “I’ve found in general people like to collect Christmas ornaments on their travels so that they can revisit the great memories made on their trips each year when they decorate the tree,” she says. Be as specific as possible to the sights of a seaside location, since this will go further than generic coastal items with a name attached, Mason-Campbell points out. “They carry more significance since they come closest to replicating someone’s experience of the area,” she says, adding that anything from types of boats to crustaceans to native fish and seabirds can all be customized to a region. “Is there a way to feature your area’s actual lighthouse rather than a stand-in? Is the boat on the item the same kind seen in your area? The more representational the item, the better

— it’s more personal and closer to distilling an actual experience into the physical realm.”

“As cannabis becomes more mainstream, our line is becoming more and more popular,” he says.

Then when a seaside retailer displays these items, they can partner “the same design on multiple products to give customers an eye-pleasing collection of matching merchandise to choose from,” Hays suggests.

Stay Current On Local Fads

What separates a good retailer from a great retailer are unique, niche souvenir products.

Fashioncraft’s cannabis novelty mugs certainly fall into this category. These fully functional mugs can be used for morning coffee and smoking herbs, says Executive Vice President Mark Wells.

To bring relevant items to your seaside retail location, Hays recommends you pay attention to the latest pop culture crazes that your customers might be interested in when they visit your store.

“Was a popular movie or TV show set or filmed in your area? What memes, sayings or modern vocabulary can you capitalize on?” she asks. “Souvenir trends don’t exist in a vacuum and will always be affected by what is trending in the surrounding world and popular culture at large.”

To bring fresh souvenir options to your customers, “look for items with low minimum purchase quantities,”