Palmer Retail Solutions Blog

9 Loss Prevention Tips for Jewelry Stores

Posted by Kathy Heil on Mar 12, 2015 12:22:57 PM

loss prevention tips

You’ve designed the perfect jewelry store layout. Your displays are irresistible. But how do you protect the jewelry showcase in your store from theft and other losses? 

Surprisingly, some jewelry store owners do little to protect their inventory, or they take the wrong actions based on inaccurate assumptions. Don’t let that be you. Losses from theft include:

  • Value of inventory taken.
  • Cost of replacing that inventory.
  • Repairing or replacing damaged windows, doors, jewelry showcase units, and other fixtures.
  • Lost sales while you’re retooling.

You can also suffer intangible losses — a lessened sense of security or even a damaged reputation. Instead, be proactive. If your store is small, you may have fewer resources to work with, but there are still things you can do to protect yourself.

Understand the Biggest Threat

A significant majority of jewelry store burglaries in the U.S. are simple smash-and-grab actions, often called “three-minute burglaries.” Thieves break a window or door lock, zip inside, and grab what they want — then they’re on their way before police or your security company can even get there. Jewelers lose millions of dollars in inventory to these burglaries each year. So, how can you prevent this?

9 Loss Prevention Tips for Jewelry Stores

  1. Take everything out of your displays overnight, even your lower-priced items. When items are visible, they're tempting to burglars. Yes, it takes time to reset your displays every day, and you may worry that all the extra handling could scratch or otherwise damage fine pieces. But you can circumvent those issues. Use merchandise display trays, moving them to your safe or vault at night without disturbing individual pieces. Some jewelers use a bakery cart (a roll-around unit with many shelves) to move all their display trays at once.
  2. Invest in specialized jewelry showcase units that rotate merchandise out of sight and locked away at night.
  3. Never cover your display cases during after-hours. This may seem like strange advice, but covering your displays actually draws attention to them, suggesting there’s something especially good underneath.
  4. Leave interior and exterior lights on at night.
  5. Secure windows, doors, exterior locks, and jewelry showcase units so they are not easy to break into.
  6. Install a surveillance system and run it 24/7, so it’s always on the job.
  7. Switch to security glass in windows and cases. Shatter-proof glass has been around for years, and now, it's keeping burglars from running off with your valuable products. Watch this video of mall burglars failing to break into a jewelry store in California.
  8. Depending on your type of store and location, you may want a roll-down security gate for your storefront, and a uniformed and armed security guard may be advisable during hours of operation.
  9. Learn more by enrolling in Jewelers Mutual’s online Selling with Security course that’s free for policyholders and inexpensive for non-clients.

Not all losses come from smash-and-grab burglaries, of course. Security cameras help deter thefts at the hands of employees and pretend customers. And while there is little you can do about natural disasters — hurricanes, fire, tornadoes, etc. — you can ensure your jewelry store has adequate insurance coverage.

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Palmer Retail Solutions strives to offer our clients the absolute best combination of innovation, quality, service, and value for our diversified custom store fixtures and merchandising displays. For more information about our designs, retail fixtures, cash wraps, kiosks, or point of purchase displays, visit our website at: http://www.palmerretailsolutions.com.

Topics: Retail Trends

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