The Psychology of Security: Don’t Put My Drill in a Diamond Display

Just months ago, the National Retail Federation (NRF) unveiled a study in which retailers reported a 93 percent increase in shoplifting incidents in 2023 compared to 2019. Over the same period, these companies saw a 90 percent increase in dollar loss due to shoplifting. In between, during those COVID-19 years, we’d see stores let shoplifters walk out the door, the growth of organized theft and gangs, all played out in the media and even used for political theater.

Despite it all, and the many extra security measures and technologies we’ve deployed, shoplifters always seem able to adapt and succeed. So do we just embrace acceptable loss or is the answer to lock up everything? Even products we chain down and put cases around get stolen. Locks keep honest people a little more honest, while making determined thieves that much more determined. Give a person a three-foot tether and some wire cutters and they’ll be across the parking lot with the latest smartphone in seconds.

Such thoughts loom large for brick-and-mortar retailers, especially when a consumer can easily stay home, order a product online, all without having to locate an employee to open a display case. It all comes down to how the consumer experience is impacted and, ultimately, sales.

Diamonds and Drills

I understand locking up cold and allergy medicines to prevent the possibility of abuse. Razors are easy to hide and cost a lot, so it makes sense to secure them. Those diamond earrings priced at thousands could easily slip into someone’s pocket, too. And, after all, things locked up are perceived as having higher value.

The $100 drill in a steel cage at the mega hardware store may not make sense at first blush, especially when pocketable accessories like drill bits — which can be worth three times more — are within reach. That is, unless you’re a consumer who has decided you must feel the heft of this tool for yourself. In that case, time is no longer a factor and you’ll wait as long as it takes for someone to unlock that cage and give you that drill. Until you hear that lock release and the gate swing open, you’ll be content looking at, and likely purchasing, other items.

This is the psychology of security, where customer satisfaction meets sales allure. Elaborate glass displays with sensors are for pricey jewelry. Laser-cut acrylic boxes, precisely designed and secured, let you see those sleek electronics and read medical product details. But when you put a drill in the diamond display, you’re not only missing your audience, you’re losing out on cross-selling opportunities.

Deck Dreaming, Margarita Visions

You can go old school and do what the big-box outfits like Costco do and have employees check customer receipts as they exit. However, this costs money. Walmart, once known for not prosecuting theft under a certain dollar value, now locks up most-often-swiped items, while adjusting its self-checkout processes and implementing missed scan detection. But, more often than not, security is still defined on a product-by-product basis and weighed against how much inconvenience the consumer will tolerate during the buying experience.

The best bet for a brick-and-mortar retailer is understanding which products bring people in and optimizing the buying experience during the time they’re in-store. If they have to wait at the steel cage for the drill, be sure accessories and items for impulse buying are close by. However, don’t clutter your environment and hang everything you’ve got on a wall. That kind of shopping can be done online — a consumer only has to click.

To me, Best Buy is one of the best stores when it comes to layout. Apple has its space, Microsoft does, too. All the major brands have their turf and do more than just put a specific product out, they create a cohesive experience. Elsewhere, in Europe for example, a retailer like Braun often won’t just show something like its electric razors, it will display all its products. This would include items like toothbrushes, which here in the U.S. you would find lumped together with other brands.

Furthermore, many major retailers engage in lifestyle marketing, with half of their displays focusing on people and how they use a given product. It presents that ideal slice of life — showcasing a product that has made a person’s world better and more enjoyable. Because when a consumer enters a store and has a vision of enjoying a margarita on a new deck that they built, chances are they’ll be leaving with much more than just a $100 drill.

Brian Stehn is senior account manager, North and Latin America, at Paragon Global Brands, formerly Communisis VOX.