Neutralize Shopper Excuses for Petty Crimes

Consumer behavior research is distinguished by its broad interdisciplinary nature, incorporating theories and findings from psychology, sociology, marketing, economics, and more. Include criminology in the blend, say researchers at Queensland University of Technology as they apply principles from that field to propose ways to curb consumer behaviors destructive to retailers. These behaviors range from thievery, such as shoplifting and fraudulent merchandise returns, to disruptions such as jumping queues and verbally abusing store staff.
     Consider these as deviance from acceptable norms in the society of retailing, say the researchers, and so adapt to the society of retailing selected tactics which have worked to curb misdemeanor criminal behavior in our overall society
     Here’s my version of their recommendations:

• Broadly announce that you punish thievery. Then do it. The most compelling evidence is criminal prosecution and then posting store announcements of successful convictions. Because this is not optimal overall for most retailers, it can be useful to post announcements of other retail theft convictions, maintain obvious surveillance of shoppers you suspect of thievery, and conduct thorough interrogation of shoppers who abuse liberal return policies. 
• Humanize the retailer. Spend at least a little time chatting with shoppers, post photos of store staff on the store website or in-store with brief stories about them, and publicize news about developments in your business. 
• Thank your shoppers for customer citizenship behavior, in which shoppers assist others who happen to be shopping in the store at the same time, give suggestions to the store owner in the presence of other shoppers for improvements, and enforce store standards, such as tipping off staff about a shoplifter. Peer pressure can encourage deviant behavior, and it also can discourage it. 
• Explain the reasons for store policies in terms of people-to-people relationships. To support this, keep the policies easy to understand and prepare all store staff to succinctly answer questions about the policies. A major motivation for deviant behavior is a feeling that the perpetrator is being treated unfairly or arbitrarily. 

     These four are interrelated and all are successful because they help challenge the excuses retail shoppers give themselves for engaging in petty crimes. In another set of studies, consumer behavior researchers at Northern Illinois University, University of Tampa, and University of Texas-Tyler were struck by the large number of reasons people give themselves to justify deviance and by the fragility of the reasons people give themselves for refraining from it.

For your success: Retailer’s Edge: Boost Profits Using Shopper Psychology

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