SMALL BUSINESSES & SECURITY GUARDS: RETAIL SECURITY
- August 23, 2018
- By secureguard
SMALL BUSINESSES & SECURITY GUARDS: RETAIL SECURITY
So you’ve managed to transform your retail dreams into a reality. Whether you’re in the clothing, hardware, jewelry or any other business, you can’t afford property losses. Every theft, no matter how seemingly minor, affects your bottom line. And when you’re a small business owner, you understand the major impact that every little loss carries hence the importance of retail security.
Even though you might be on-site every day, or at the very least have a trusted manager who is present, you can’t always prevent theft – and the losses that result. This is where a security guard comes into the picture. Hiring a guard for your small business may seem like an added expense that you can’t support. But, in reality, it’s more likely that you can’t afford to not hire a professional guard.
While you might not have a multi-million dollar inventory for your mom-and-pop shop, that doesn’t mean your business doesn’t deserve protection. Why do retail stores need security guards? Take a look at some of the most common reasons why small business owners use this vital service.
SHOPLIFTING AND LOSS
The most obvious reason for hiring a security guard is to protect yourself, and your business, from financial losses due to theft. Shoplifting costs you money. But it isn’t always easy to control. In 2016 alone, shoplifting packed a more than $48 billion punch to U.S. retail stores as a whole, according to the National Retail Federation.
The external shrink rate (losses due to shoplifting and other outside factors) is climbing, reaching 36.5% in 2017 and beyond that in 2018. Hiring a security guard for your small business helps to cut these losses and reduce the shrink rate in a few different ways. Understanding the benefits of a guard can cut your losses, increasing your profits and giving you back the money that’s rightfully yours.
THE GUARD’S TALENTS
You’re a business owner, not a security guard. That means you have a set of talents and experience that you bring to your retail store. If your skill-set doesn’t include spotting and stopping loss prevention, you need retail security services. A trained guard has the expertise to identify a shoplifter before you, or one of your employees, might. This provides a layer of safety and protection that you might not be able to offer your business on your own.
Not only can a security guard spot a shoplifter before the average person could, but they also know what to do next. Ask yourself if you’re comfortable confronting a shoplifter in your store. If the answer is either “No” or, “I’m not sure what I would do,” you need a security guard.
