Prevent Shoplifting Using Electronic Article Surveillance

What businesses does this case study apply to?

The principles discussed in this case study apply to larger retail businesses that allow customers to handle merchandise themselves.

What is the problem?

A chain of 16 large department stores wanted to test whether electronic article surveillance (EAS) would be a cost-effective way to prevent shoplifting. Eight of the stores installed EAS systems, and the management wanted to justify installing it in the remaining eight stores.

In the eight stores that installed EAS, it was only in the sections of the store that had the biggest shrinkage problem, such as men's and women's apparel. These two sections accounted for 60% of sales volume and over 70% of store-wide shrinkage. These apparel sections had shrinkage rates of about 3.5%. Other sections of the store, such as children's shoes and housewares had shrinkage rates under 2%--shrinkage was not considered to be such a serious problem.

What happened in these eight stores? Did it turn out that EAS was effective in reducing shoplifting in the men's and women's clothing sections? Click here to find out!

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