Loss prevention · Retail

How do I reduce retail shrinkage?

Shrinkage is the gap between what the books say you have and what is on the shelf. Small-shop owners often call the whole gap theft. A lot of it is the shift’s process: a delivery not checked, damage not written down, a markdown that never hit the system, a count done from memory. Coach that before you buy more gear or name a thief.

Short answer

For a stretch of trading, write down where variance might have come from: receiving, damage, markdowns, and the till. Check deliveries against the docket. Record damage and markdowns the same day. Cycle-count the stock you actually worry about. Review voids, refunds, and no-sales with the person on that shift. Use a camera to confirm an exception, not as a substitute for the count.

Coach the gap in pieces

• Receiving. Someone owns the delivery. Unchecked cartons become “shrink” a month later.
• Damage and price changes. If it is not written down, the book still thinks you can sell it.
• The till. Refunds and voids are a different pile from shelf loss. Do not mix them in one accusation. See prevent employee theft in a retail store, and if a till pattern survives the routine, how to catch employee theft fairly.
• Customer theft is a third pile: presence on the floor, not a staff sting. Keep it separate from how you coach your own team. Floor habits for that pile: how to prevent shoplifting in a retail store.

Cameras after the count, not instead of it

Point them at the door, the till, and the stock that leaves. Play back when a count disagrees with a delivery or a refund. Coverage, without a fake ranking: security cameras for a retail store. Register versus picture: cameras vs POS.

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