Losses rarely happen in one place. Walk from the loading dock to the front door and see where shrink hides and what to check at each stop.
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3 min read
The short answer
Shrink hides in six places: the receiving dock, the back room, the sales floor, checkout, the returns desk, and the exits. Each one has its own habits and weak spots. A short walk through all six, with a few questions at each stop, shows you where to look first.
Stop 1: the receiving dock
What goes wrong: Short shipments, wrong counts, and items leaving with deliveries. Ask yourself: Do two people count every delivery against the order? Who holds the keys to the dock door? Are delivery drivers ever alone with stock?
Stop 2: the back room
What goes wrong: Stock sits where few people look, so gaps can go unnoticed for weeks. Ask yourself: Who can walk in? Are shelves tidy enough that a missing box is obvious? How often do you count?
Stop 3: the sales floor
What goes wrong: Valuable items in blind aisles, and areas where no staff are nearby. Ask yourself: Can staff see every aisle from where they usually stand? Are your most stolen items placed where people can see them?
Stop 4: checkout
What goes wrong: Skipped scans at self checkout, voided sales, and discounts that don’t match any promotion. Ask yourself: Is the lane layout easy to supervise? Does anyone review void and discount reports?
Stop 5: the returns desk
What goes wrong: Returns without receipts, returns of items that were never bought, and exceptions that always go through the same person. Ask yourself: Are your return rules the same for everyone? Who approves the exceptions, and do you review them?
Stop 6: the exits
What goes wrong: Emergency doors used as shortcuts, employee exits with no checks, and goods hidden in trash and recycling. Ask yourself: Do door alarms work? Who handles the trash, and how is it checked?
How do you decide where to start?
Look at your own numbers. Which department has the biggest gaps? Which hours? Start where the loss is biggest and the fix is simplest. A cheap fix at the receiving dock may beat a costly fix on the floor.
Where does AI video help?
Cameras already cover most of these stops, but no team can watch them all day. AI video intelligence watches every feed and flags activity that looks like theft, fraud, or a safety problem, so a person can step in. For a chain, that means the same coverage in every store.
Spacture AI works with the cameras a retailer already has and detects theft, fraud, and safety incidents in real time.
Frequently asked questions
Where does most shrink come from?
In the National Retail Federation’s 2023 survey, external theft averaged 36% of shrink and internal theft averaged 29%. The rest came from process errors and other causes.
How often should I do a store walkthrough?
A monthly walk is a good habit. Add extra walks when you see losses jump.
Do I need cameras at every stop?
Start with the highest risk areas, then add coverage as your data shows where losses happen.
Key takeaways
Shrink is rarely in one place. Walk all six stops, use your numbers to pick a starting point, and fix the simple things first.
