Theft Reduction in a Grocery Store Through Product Identification

Abstract

Identification of high risk items has previously been shown to reduce retail thefts for a small number of target items and for shorter time periods. This study assesses the effect of public identification on thefts of nine personal hygiene items over a 15 week period. Posting signs and publicly identifying target items was associated with near total elimination of thefts for these items. Sales of target items increased slightly during the intervention period and no negative customer or employee reactions were noted. The findings provide further support for public identification as a cost-effective theft reduction technique.