Massive supermarkets seem to be getting more and more common but how do these huge establishments handle theft? What does a superstore shoplifting policy typically look like?
Superstores utilize a wide variety of different shoplifting policies, although there are often similarities between them. Many big-box supermarkets operate a no-chase policy and instead gather evidence, ban offenders, and use the legal system to recover lost funds.
Read ahead to find out more!
What Is A Superstore?
Before we go into details about what they might be doing to deter and punish shoplifters we first need to identify what separates a superstore from other grocery chains and supermarkets.
A superstore (otherwise known as a big-box store, a hyperstore, a supercenter, or a megastore) is, first and foremost, a very large retail establishment. Sometimes the companies that operate these locations are also referred to as “superstores”.
They can sell a wide variety of things, with most targeting general merchandise but others focussed on specialty goods. Some of the most well-known examples of superstores include:
- Walmart
- Target
- Kmart
- The Home Depot
- Barnes & Noble
- Best Buy
In recent years, many retailers that traditionally operated out of smaller locations have also begun to open big-box-style stores to compete with the chains that have achieved massive success with this as a core part of their business model.
Do All Superstores Have The Same Shoplifting Policy?
The internal policies of any company are difficult to determine from the outside, the specifics are only known to employees within the business. On top of this, every company that operates its own superstores will have its own policy on how they want their employees to tackle shoplifting and theft in general.
With that being said, many superstores do build relatively similar shoplifting policies.
There are standards within the industry that have generally been accepted as the most effective and risk-free ways for loss prevention to do their job, and most superstores will rely on the knowledge of experts who will often give similar advice.
Are Superstores Concerned About Shoplifting?
As with any other business decision, the company is going to try and make sure that they lose as little money as possible, and shoplifting is certainly a significant worry for large retailers.
While the statistics can differ on exactly what the cause is, retail shrink in the US (inventory losses that result in lost revenue) has reached nearly $100 billion in recent years, with superstores feeling a significant proportion of that. Many big-box retailers blame this on an increase in organized theft.
Target has even reported that they expect their shrink losses in 2023 to be as much as $1.3 billion, which is $500 million more than they experienced the year before.
Walmart has stated that they lose around $3 billion a year to inventory shrinkage, which makes up more than 1% of their sales revenue.
As a result, they’ve been putting more and more money into their loss prevention budget.
Of course, shoplifting is not the only cause of retail shrinkage. This metric can include losses caused by:
- External theft, including organized retail crime
- Employee theft
- Human errors
- Vendor fraud
- Damaged or mismarked items
- And more
All of that is to say that superstores are definitely worried about shoplifting and the amount of money that they lose because of it.
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What Shoplifting Policy Is Common At Superstores?
So, considering how much money is potentially walking out of the door with shoplifters, how are most superstores handling it?
Each company will have its own individual policy which can even differ between locations, but there are two types of shoplifting policies that are most common.
No-Chase Policy
Perhaps the most common policy that you will see nowadays is one that prevents employees from directly attempting to confront, pursue, or apprehend a shoplifter in any way. These are often referred to as “no-chase” policies.
When a store has a policy like this in place it generally means that shoplifters might be approached by staff and told to return the allegedly stolen items and wait for the police, but they will not be physically restrained or chased if they try to run. This policy leaves it up to law enforcement to apprehend the criminal.
However, that does not mean that the shoplifter will get away. When a store operates a no-chase policy, they will have other ways to issue consequences for retail theft.
They have extensive surveillance systems (including high-tech cameras, undercover staff, electronic tagging and tracking, and much more) that allow them to gather all of the evidence that they need to make sure shoplifters are punished.
Once they have enough evidence, they will almost always ban shoplifters for life from all of their stores and then press charges through the legal system.
Many superstores will even allow a shoplifter to commit multiple offenses before confronting them in any way.
That way, the dollar value of what has been stolen will pass the threshold for a felony charge in that jurisdiction rather than a misdemeanor, and the punishment will be significantly more severe.
Apprehend and Detain Policy
Other stores believe that physically detaining a shoplifter is a better deterrent than allowing them to leave and using the legal system to pursue them.
Any private citizen, including superstore employees, can apprehend an individual that they believe to have committed a crime and detain them until the police arrive. Technically, the employee is carrying out a citizen’s arrest.
All major supermarket chains have a loss prevention department and many employ loss prevention officers to patrol their stores.
They are highly trained in their right to confront and detain shoplifters and some will even have specialist certifications that will allow them to use additional means beyond those of an average member of the public.
Superstore employees, like loss prevention officers, are legally allowed to use “reasonable force” to hold a suspect and prevent them from leaving.
In some jurisdictions, this can even include using handcuffs, and some states (like Texas) allow the use of “reasonable deadly force” to stop a criminal from fleeing the scene.
Why Do Some Superstores Operate A No-Chase Policy?
Having a policy that prevents your staff from stopping shoplifters may seem slightly strange from an outside perspective. Why would you want the criminals to be able to get away?
As a business, retail stores are trying to minimize their losses as much as possible. The problem with instructing employees to try and detain or confront shoplifters is that there are a lot of risks involved, which can be even more costly than the theft was in the first place.
Firstly, a confrontation with a potential shoplifter can easily result in injuries to members of staff – or even the suspect themselves. This is particularly dangerous in instances of organized and/or armed retail crime.
The other significant risk is that the alleged shoplifter may turn around and sue the company for wrongful imprisonment or personal injury, which can result in a lengthy and expensive legal battle – even if the store’s employees ultimately did nothing wrong.
If the shoplifter is not confronted in the moment then injuries are very unlikely and the store can pursue the crime through the legal system after the fact – and often with more evidence in their favor than they would otherwise have had.
Summary
So, what kind of shoplifting policy would you expect to see at a superstore? Each company is different, but most superstores will either have a no-chase policy or an apprehend and detain policy – with a no-chase policy becoming increasingly more common.
Superstores will have large teams of employees dedicated to reducing, monitoring, pursuing, and punishing retail crime.
To reduce risks, many stores are now instructing their staff to gather evidence and go straight to law enforcement, rather than trying to detain the offender themselves.
Reference Source
https://fortune.com/2023/06/20/retailers-theft-organized-crime-coming-to-end-ubs-says/