1. Research & Design Process
R S A //
‘Design out Shoplifting’
changing rooms, changing behaviour
Fraser Gibb

2. Stakeholders - who is involved in the shoplifting world?
Offenders Before During After
I used Gumtree to find
current shoplifters to gain
insights to their behaviours,
allowing participants to
remain annonymous.
I presented the offenders People Clothing, with a
Ex -Offenders and ex-offenders with a
What types of people shoplift?
statistically high rate
before-during-after scenerio of crime alongside
Why do/did you shoplift? cosmetics, appears
asking how they feel/felt
I also visited an when shoplifting, and how to be vunerable to
they do/did it. Stealing theft and allowed my
initiative who deal What do/did you commonly steal? project to develop a
with prison leavers, Why? focus.
rehabilitating them
back into society, many Security
of whom were jailed How do/did you perceive security?
for mutiple shoplifting (guards, cameras, tags...)
offensives.

3. Stakeholders - who is involved in the shoplifting world?
Staff “It’s impossible
to keep track of
I spoke to staff in both what’s going in and
out, especially at
‘stack ‘em high’ large
weekends”
stock stores and more
high-end stores to em ployee a t TKMa x x
contrast the differing
experi ences i n relation
t o t heft . “Changing rooms are
the easy way to do
it”
Security “Without giving
St ua r t , s ecur it y gua r d
away trade secrets
S ecuri ty is as I call them, it’s
hard to explain,
managed
its like doing
d i fferently something out of
depending on the sight, its easier
t y pe o f stor e, so when you know
I approached two noone can see you.”
very d i ff er ent Kevi n , se cur i t y g u a r d
securi t y team s.

4. Existing Prevention Methods
Prevention Values
cctv - “I don’t know if
r e p u t ation someone is watching
me or not”
m o r als
can’t see close
detail when your numbered
back is turned to tagging -
the mirror relies heavily
on assitant’s
every item tied down, and memory
law only one of each on display
punishment
What stops someone from
stealing? I identified 3 key
values that may play on the
mind of a shoplifter.

5. Types of Shoplifters
Opportunists
junkies-in-need-of-quick-fix/desperate
Pr o fessi onal s law mora ls r e p u t a t i on
I considered why each
f ue l a d r u g h a b i t ‘ type’ steal and what
as an ‘occupation’ ho m e l e ss might be key t o c hanging
such behaviour. Playing
law mor als r eputation employees
on t he employee and
steal-to-order law mora ls r e p u t a t i on middle class conscious
group organisation is c ent ral t o a lot of
prevention, but thevies
middle-class have to feel they are
being watched and run
law mora ls r e p u t a t i on
a s ev ere ris k of get t ing
sk i n t , wa n t t o sust a i n a l i f es t yle caught, to stop them even
sp u r-o f-t he m o m en t
t rying.
p rog res s i v el y bec ome. . . m a ke o wn m o r a l j u st i f i ca t ion

6. Clothes Shopping Touchpoints
1: rails upon rails 2: shelving 3: hangers 4: changing rooms 5: cash desk 6: exit
The most
obvious place to
hide - a private
area within a
seperate, hidden
space of a store,
invisible to 7: eas system
cctv and other
shoppers .
In large stores
this is cu rrently
an easy
environment to
steal, compared
to the sh op floor
which is full
of people and
surveillance.

7. Observations
p uma - h a v e st y l i sh ( t ho u g h
o t h e r w i s e p o i n t l es s ) i n s t o r e q u e u es a r e c o m m o n - t h ey a l l o w a shoplifter to
s c reens fi l m i n g y o ur f e et j u d g e ho w b usy t h e a r e a i s
Quiksilver - mirrors
on out s ide of
G-star - tiny mirror in
ch a nging r oom door s
ch a nging t oom t o f or ce
customers to come out
a nd view t h em s elves on
t h e s h opf loor G-star - changing rooms open
ont o s h opf loor
chan gi n g rooms river island - have a tag system in new look.
al l ow t i me t o w a i ti ng a rea a nd a s s i s ta n t s very hard for assistant
tamper wi t h l a rg e c o n s t a n t l y p r es e n t u p a n d t o ke ep t r a ck e sp e ci a l l y
tags un n oti ce d . dow n th e c ubi c a l s o n b usy d a y s
s ec uri ty o f t h e cha n g i n g a r e a r el y s he a vi l y o n t he vi g i l a n ce o f t h e primark - changing a ll s a int s - t ucked
a s s i s ta n t s, who m o r e o f t e n t h a n n o t g et ve r y b o r ed a n d r e st l e ss r oom s give no indica t ion a wa y but s t ill pa r t
of wh o is a r ound of s h op f loor

8. What Makes Changings Rooms ‘the easy way to do it’?
c hanging r oom
Why do changing rooms have to
A shoplifte r has all the time in the world to mess be at the back of a store? Aren’t
with the ta gs, replace an old shirt with a new one, they private enough?
swap items and walk out -“it’s all about blaggin’ it”

9. Concepts
A central changing area that is out
in the open, nowhere to hide, pay
station at changing area...
Changing ‘pods’ that are only in use when need... on shop
floor-reduces privacy aspect... semi-opaque material-reveal
the shadows of a thieve at work - ‘is someone watching me?’

10. Concepts
vis ibility s trong customer
experience
Focus on a strong customer Make the items themselves more visible, not necessary the
experience by being able to person... what role can other customers play in the deterrent of
pay in changing room... shoplifters?... what goes in must come out...

11. Key Concept
Make items more visible... play on passive
customer policing... develop a sense of
“who’s watching my items..?”
items visualised on
clothes screen
scanned
on entry touchscreen ‘wardrobe’
items displayed
outside each
cubical

12. Shoplifter’s Journey
Greeted by a
p ersonal ‘wardrobe’
in cubicle. This
Shopper allocated acts as a further Shoplifter attempts
a changing room. deterrent, to leave but the
Others can see what indicating that ‘ the large visual screen
Enter chan ging other shoppers are system’ knows what highlights there is
room area trying on you have also. an item missing
Items scanned Arrives at Shopper
via RFID and allocated room can browse
displayed on ‘wardrobe’ for
screen for the other items and
benefit of shop access further
assistant and features (see
acts as a visual next page)
deterrent

13. Touchscreen Interactions
1 2
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
3 4
A personalised wardrobe displays clothing sizes, colours, alternatives (1), a stock checker and locator (2)...
i.e saves a customer from hunting for a hoodie when it could just be in the changing room area itself. Option
to send item your email to ‘ think about it later ’ (3)... subtle ‘ timer ’ (4) controlled by the changing room
assistant to be used on busy periods to control potential queues - displayed on customer screen.

14. Feedback
retailers against crime & the cardinal group
Maxime Fraser: Retails Against Crime (RAC)
Danielle Page: The Cardinal Grpup
Having sent my design summary in PDF by email, I received positive feedback from both ‘Retails Against Crime’ - a Group that
represents many major retailers with issues regarding shoplifting, and ‘Cardinal Group’ - a group who fit shop security systems across
the country. They recognise the design’s strength in preventing changing room theft, though also note its marketing capabilities.