Loss Prevention Strategies for the Holidays

To best protect your store during the holidays, your retail security strategy must differ slightly from the rest of the year. As a busy, sometimes challenging period for business owners and store managers, the last thing you want is to experience shrinkage on top of the usual stress of the season. That’s why a strong loss prevention strategy is so important for protecting your inventory, your employees, and your bottom line.

At Blackbird Security, we’ve supported retailers across Canada during the holidays for over 10 years. From our experience, we’ve seen what works and what doesn’t when protecting stores during busy periods and today, we’re sharing our insights with you.

Key Takeaways:

• Increasing the visibility of staff and retail security guards is a proactive way to deter theft. 

• Improving your store layout can reduce blind spots.

• Training staff to recognize theft behaviours and the proper response protocol is essential. 

• Protecting high-value merchandise through strategic placement and barriers can reduce shoplifting.

• Consider additional security support during peak periods. 

Does Retail Theft Increase During the Holidays?

Yes. According to a 2024 StatCan report, shoplifting has been on the rise over the past four years. We’ve seen firsthand how shoplifting tends to rise with crowds of customers and store chaos, which attracts opportunistic shoplifters. Combined with staff being preoccupied with helping customers, the holiday season creates a perfect storm that shoplifters take advantage of. 

For retailers, this means that theft prevention must be proactive, consistent, and at the forefront of planning throughout the season.

Next, we’ll cover the strategies we recommend to store owners in the lead-up to the holidays.

1. Review Last Year’s Data

Preparation is essential, and the most successful stores use real data from the previous year. Review any past incident reports to identify high-risk areas of the store, trends in behaviour, and your store’s most commonly shoplifted items. 

Every store faces a unique set of challenges, and blanket recommendations don’t always work. Gathering information specific to your store will help you and your staff develop the most effective strategies to prevent and deter retail theft.

2. Have a Front-of-Store Presence

One of the most effective deterrents against shoplifting is a visible presence at the front of your store. Shoplifters are far less likely to steal from stores that are visibly protected with personnel monitoring crowds at the entrance. You may want to consider security guards in uniform or undercover LPOs, who can identify the signs of shoplifting, or store greeters.

3. Improve Store Layout for Better Visibility

Small layout adjustments can have a significant impact on reducing theft by eliminating blind spots and therefore opportunities for shoplifters. Keep aisles clear, minimize clutter, and station staff near high-value or high-risk items. Expensive goods should be kept in areas with broad lines of sight, such as with low-height shelving.

4. Train Staff to Spot Signs of Theft

Staff training is critical during the holidays. Train your team to recognize behaviours commonly associated with theft, such as avoiding eye contact with staff, glancing repeatedly at CCTV cameras, and concealing items in bags or clothing. 

Equally important is knowing how to respond. Staff should never directly confront shoplifters. Instead, they should alert a store security guard immediately. Establish a procedure for staff to follow when alerting security to shoplifters, such as communicating over the radio and monitoring the individual from a distance. 

5. Protect High-Value Merchandise

Valuables like fragrances, electronics, and cosmetics carry a higher theft risk. These items should be kept within direct sightlines, placed closer to staffed areas or behind checkout counters, or stored in locked displays where appropriate. Consider limiting the quantities of high-risk items on the floor in case of an organized retail crime (ORC) incident.

How Retail Security and Loss Prevention Benefit Stores

Professional LPOs and retail security guards offer expertise for situations beyond what retail staff can realistically handle during the holiday rush. Trained LPOs and guards are the most effective method of theft prevention in retail environments. They have the skills to both properly identify theft and respond to shoplifting incidents safely and professionally, with de-escalation training to keep staff and customers safe.

Retail security personnel create incident reports that can be used by police and prosecutors in cases of serious shoplifting or repeat incidents committed by the same individual. Accurate reporting is essential to understanding and preventing long-term theft at your store.

Additionally, retail security guards provide an additional layer of safety during the busy holiday season. The best security companies train their guards in fire safety and thorough emergency response procedures, providing additional support to staff beyond standard loss prevention duties.

The Blackbird Difference: Premium Retail Security Training

We’re proud to offer training to each Blackbird Security guard through Blackbird Academy, our industry-leading training program. Through the program, guards learn retail skills like customer service, peaceful de-escalation, and report writing. Our retail security guards also learn fire safety protocols, emergency response procedures, and standard first-aid procedures, allowing them to provide essential support to customers and staff alike.

Partner With Blackbird Security for Holiday Loss Prevention

At a time when shoplifting poses a major risk to retailers, don’t let your loss prevention become an afterthought this holiday season. Partner with a premium retail security company that delivers real results for its clients. We’re proud to support retailers like Canadian Tire, MEC, and Sephora across Canada, during the holidays and beyond.

Contact us to learn how our team can protect your business, explore our full suite of retail security solutions, or read our guide to retail security and loss prevention.