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26 Oct 2014SECURITY: Shopping Mall Robberies on the Increase - Customers Feel Vulnerable
Recent Western Cape Business News
There have been numerous attacks on malls in the past few months, with Cape Town being the main target over the past few weeks. Shopping centres targeted in Cape Town included Canal Walk, Tyger Valley, Somerset Mall, Blue Route Mall, Bayside and Zevenwacht shopping malls and in Gauteng some of the shopping malls were Soweto, Cresta, Northgate and Centurion.
In 2012-2013, armed robberies at shopping centres were up 60% year on year, says the Consumer Goods Risk Initiative. Gauteng is the highest targeted province with 51% of the reported incidents, followed by the Western Cape with 20% and KZN with 10% of the incidents reported to Consumer Goods Council of South Africa. About a third of the robberies are related to the theft of cellphones. The remaining 66% of robberies included other electronics, clothes, jewellery, and other goods – and it’s stores as well as customers in the malls that are being attacked.
We still have a magnificent country, but when South Africans shop till they drop they could be hitting the deck to avoid gunfire.
In the absence of a dramatic increase in effective policing, the onus falls on consumers themselves and the businesses and shopping centres they frequent.
Consumers should be aware of rising crime risks and must stay alert. But businesses should also remember that one of the greatest consumer needs is the need to feel safe on their premises.
The craving for security explains our love of money-back guarantees and reliable products and our sense of comfort when good value is assured.
Stores can promote this sense of security.
In one recent example, a store-owner had enough of petty thieves stealing from customers. He found that our justice system failed to secure convictions even when perpetrators were caught red-handed or police were presented with overwhelming video evidence.
So the store owner used evidence from in-store cameras to produce poster-size photos of the criminals. He put up these photos in plain sight near his shop entrance. As a result, the thieves gave his premises a wide berth. Customers felt safe. Business improved.
Visible action deters crime. Regrettably, I suspect our big stores focus on secret procedures to improve security – so secret consumer’s think nothing is being done.
More overt measures are necessary.
Stores and shopping mall management must act to make shoppers feel safe. Consumers must see that guards are on duty and look purposeful and prepared.
Consumers are not fools. They know some premises attract crime because they look like soft targets or because staff are complicit.
Talk to customers. Assure them their security is paramount, that staff screening is rigorous, that cctv and other measures are in place.
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