This past February, the National Retail Federation (NRF) announced that retail theft if on the rise due to our struggling economy. While theft is always an issue, this recent report cited that there are more organized groups than ever before committing retail theft and then reselling the stolen goods to gain profit from their illegal actions. These groups, referred to as Organized Retail Crime (ORC) result in a loss of more than 30 billion dollars a year for retailers. As independent retailers, there area a few things you can do to help decrease your odds of being a part of theft.

1. Say hello to all customers that walk into your store. Research shows that communicating with your customers decreases theft. Talk to your customers within 30 seconds or a minute at the most so that they know you are aware of their presence and are alert to their actions. Continue to acknowledge them while they are in your store with engaging questions about your store, your product, or how you can help them. By reaching out to them throughout their store visit, they will have less likely of an opportunity to feel alone enough to commit a crime. An added bonus, since most customers are not in your store to shoplift, this simply provides increased customer service!

2. Make sure you are aware of the inventory in your store. Keep an accurate checklist, whether manually, through Quickbooks or with your own Excel spreadsheet, so that you are aware of what is currently in stock, out of stock, damaged, sold or missing. If you find that certain items are missing, it is likely they are a high theft item. Be aware of what may be considered high theft to avoid potential loss as well as to provide extra overview on these products. You can do this by merchandising these products close to the cash wrap or whereever you and your staff are most present. Another idea is to secure these items with security tags that will alarm if they leave the store.

3. Install video cameras in your store. The catch? Even cameras that don’t work will alert theives and persuade them NOT to shoplift. You can purchase video cameras that appear to be real or even buy real but used cameras that no longer work. Of course, working cameras would be your best bet but this is a costly investment that not everyone can afford.

4. Plan your floor space to see all areas of the shop. The floor plan of your store can increase or decrease your chance for theft. Try and balance your store space so that you have visible access to all areas in which a customer may be, with exception to a dressing room, of course. Use mirrors to see challenging corners that may not otherwise be visible. Lock up expensive merchandise in glass cases or with security tags. Do not allow customers access to dressing rooms without having to be let in by a sales associate and limit the number of items they can take into the room with them. When they come out of the room, count the products that came out with them to make sure nothing is missing. You can also use alarms on doors that should not be opened so that customers cannot sneak out a back door. Even customer bathrooms should be locked so that you can monitor who is going in and out of them. While this may seem like a few more extra steps than you have time for, all of these actions will provide valuable store security if you need it. In addition, it also provides supportive customer service.

5. Use signage to reinforce security messages. Let shoppers know you have security cameras or that your store has a security alarm system. Make sure potential thieves are reminded that you have sales associates watching both customers and products throughout the store. Don’t be scared to alarm them with “Shoplifters will be prosecuted” signs, as well.

Finally, make sure that your store is well kept in an effort to help you see what is out of place or possibly stolen. Tidy up every day throughout the day and make sure all of your sales associates do this, as well. Remind everyone, including yourself, that this is not just to have a great looking store but also to avoid theft.

We need to hope that most customers are still honest and trustworthy, but as the saying goes, better safe than sorry! Make sure you are taking care of your store by taking control of your store security.

Contributor Nicole Reyhle is founder of Retail Minded, a boutique support firm and blog for independent retailers and wholesalers. Learn more about Retail Minded and how their professional blogs may help you by visiting www.retailminded.com .