First impressions are always important, and for brick-and-mortar retailers, the storefront provides a first impression of the business. By presenting an appealing glimpse of the store, it provides a preview of what the store has to offer, attracting customers through visual displays and product choices. But effective storefronts also deliver a glance into the culture of the retail space, helping to create a welcoming image that invites customers to enter, see what the store has to offer, and continue their purchasing journey in the process.
Of course, storefronts serve both functional and aesthetic purposes as the primary way in and out for customers, clients, employees, and others coming and going from the business, also making it a point of vulnerability. Whether the business has just a few doors and windows or a huge glass storefront, these are always among the property’s most susceptible points. Break-ins, burglary, rioting, vandalism, and smash-and-grab theft are all huge problems that retailers of all sizes must deal with. Weather issues and other natural disasters can also pose considerable risk. Considering the potential exposures, this also makes retail storefronts a key factor in business security.
Recently, there has been a heightened concern for break-ins and break-in attempts at retail locations across the country. Considering the rise in organized retail crime incidents, civil unrest and related issues, temporary retail closures resulting from pandemic-related mandates and response, weather issues and natural disasters, and other concerns that have impacted the retail climate, managing these threats have taken on increased urgency for retail loss prevention programs nationwide.
Layered security efforts are by far the best way to keep bad actors out of the store, to include alarms, monitoring, appropriate locks, and similar tools. But a starting point remains creating strong physical barriers that deter forced entry. Entry must be more difficult than smashing a pane of glass in a door to open it from the inside, or breaking a window and stepping right in. For retail storefront doors and windows, this means reinforcing and protecting the doors, glass, and other storefront features so it can withstand forced entry attempts.
Break-ins and break-in attempts are always a concern for retailers for both safety and security reasons, and these concerns have only heightened under the threats we have faced in recent years. Do you see these threats as a growing problem? Are we taking adequate steps to prevent occurrences? Do we feel there is adequate response when incidents occur? How have these issues impacted your business?
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Thank you for taking the time to share your insights. Results of the survey will be published as part of an upcoming article with LP Magazine.
