Retail shrink in the Interior: what we see and what works

Retailers across the BC Interior are dealing with the same squeeze: rising theft, thinner margins, and staff who are understandably wary of confrontation. The instinct is to lock everything down, but heavy-handed security can cost you more in lost customers than it saves in shrink. There's a better balance.

Start with where loss actually happens

Shrink isn't evenly spread. It clusters around specific products, blind spots, and times of day. Before adding officers or hardware, it's worth understanding your own patterns, what's walking out, when, and from where. Good loss prevention is targeted, not blanket.

What tends to work

• Visible deterrence at the right moments, presence where and when loss peaks, not a guard standing idle at the door all day.
• Discreet coverage for organised theft, paired with staff who know how to respond safely.
• Clear documentation, so repeat offenders and patterns can actually be acted on.
• Backing staff up: officers de-escalate so your team never has to choose between safety and stock.

Keep the floor welcoming

The goal isn't to make shopping feel like crossing a border. Done well, loss prevention is mostly invisible to honest customers and quietly effective against theft. That balance, protecting margin and staff without chilling the experience, is the whole craft.

If shrink is eating into your store's numbers, a short assessment is usually the fastest way to find the few changes that move the needle most.