Community Chat

[Mersha]

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@Cats3000 wrote:

@MershaNope.  Wouldn't work for me.  If a business wants to prevent/reduce shoplifting, the owner will have to allow his employees to be armed, qualified to use personal protection, and use it on the perpetrators.  The waves of thugs roaming a store and running away with bundles of stuff have to be stopped  That is the ONLY sure cure.

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Yeah, sure, what could possibly go wrong with that idea???????

[GoneButNotForgotten]

chop their hands off

[icezeus]

If I was just browsing. The policy would probably deter me because I would not want to be bothered. 

If I actually planned on shopping in the store, then I would make sure to bring the right size purse so that I could be able to shop.

I was watching the news the other night and they had a news story about a mall in Torrance, CA called Del Amo Mall. I use to love to shop there as a teenager with my friends. Well apparently a large group of kids. Organized on FB and decided to go through and cause damage and destruction.

Why???

I realized I never answered the question. We need tougher laws and we need our attorney generals to prosecute. We need consequences for actions.

[bonnielu]

I would feel uncomfortable having to store my purse or bag. I would rather turn around and walk out OR carry a concealed bag around my waist with essentials in it.  I have big floppy sweaters and tops that would allow my important items to be concealed. 

[gardenman]

If the shoplifting free-for-all continues, I suspect we'll see stores move back to the Basco, Best, Service Merchandise catalog store model. You'd wander through a showroom looking at the display items that were disabled, anchored down, or in some other way rendered unusable/unstealable. Scan any item you were interested in. Be given the option to read reviews of that item, see a video of it in action, see it modeled by people of different sizes (for clothing, etc.,) and have the option to put it in your virtual cart.

As you're putting things in your cart,  a series of robots (or human workers) can be collecting them in the warehouse and placing them in a secure locker. When you're done shopping you check out through your smartphone and are given the code to unlock the locker containing your stuff. Depending on what you bought, it could be in a cart, basket, or simply there for you to pick up. All of the merchandise is safely kept in a secure warehouse adjacent to the showroom, but with no access from the showroom. The warehouse can be guarded like Fort Knox if need be.

Such a system could nearly eliminate theft and reduce operating costs. The startup costs would be enormous but it could be a pretty neat way to shop. You'd still have the problem with idiot vandals ruining stuff, but at least theft would decline.