Designing Retail Merchandising Displays: Sell More, Lose Less Guest Series Part 1

By Dave King, Senior Project Leader, Frank Mayer & Associates, Inc.

With a declining economy as backdrop, the Global Retail Theft Barometer 2009 reports that retail shrink in North America rose 8.1 percent to $114.8 billion. This was a reversal in trend and a wake-up call for retailers.

While evaluating loss prevention measures, retailers and their partners should consider strategies that build more security not only into systems, but into store fixture and merchandising designs.

Planning for theft deterrent merchandising displays focuses on the presentation of the product and the hardware used to secure it. Understanding these elements plus human behavior are the foundations of a well-planned project. Great insight was gained when viewing video of how shoppers have stolen games from displays.