Holiday Shopping Safety

There are many important tips to give to holiday shoppers, with even greater urgency this year. With so many people struggling this holiday season, it is without doubt that this will bring out a criminal element, as well as more stressed out shoppers that will take advantage of holiday shoppers.

1. Keep your purse and or wallet on you at all times. I see far too many shoppers, especially women, who put their purses in or on their shopping cart. It only takes one quick glance away for that purse to disappear. Every holiday season I would have customers frantic that their purse was stolen with money, credit cards, personal information, once even a piece of jewelry valued at over $100,000! Keep it on your shoulder, in your hand, strapped across your chest.

2. Try to keep money and credit cards tucked away securely, not in pockets that could easily be "picked". As an ex-retail manager, I have seen loss prevention demonstrate to myself and my team how very easy it is to pick pockets with an accidental "bump" or "brush". I have watched countless surveillance videos in which people are being robbed of hundreds, even thousands, of dollars without any knowledge. These people work fast and if your pockets are empty, they cannot prey on you.

3. Be aware of your surroundings, and if you will be shopping at odd hours when it may be dark or with fewer shopppers out, shop with a "buddy". Be aware of people lurking in parking garages, park directly under the best lit areas, and the buddy system is ideal to stay safer. Try to park closest to the doors of the anchor retailers, or major entrances. These are areas that are on electronic surveillance and the "bad guys" steer clear of any area where they could end up on camera!

4. Have a sense of the crowd around you. If you are in a line waiting for a retailer to open, or waiting for a special promotion, be very aware of the mood of the crowd and if you have any sense of the crowd being out of control or unsafe, you are better off walking away from that "deal" with your safety and well-being intact!

Reuters is reporting: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Wal-Mart employee in New York state's Long Island died on Friday when a throng of shoppers surged into the store and physically broke down the doors, a police spokesman said." Furthermore, "Four shoppers, including a 28-year-old pregnant woman, were also taken to local hospitals for injuries sustained in the incident, police said."

How incredibly sad and tragic. But not terribly shocking. I, too, have had employees injured in surging crowds. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, worth that risk. Best yet, just stay away from those crowds all together. While it is great to get one of those loss leaders, you need to remember that most any retailer will try to honor to the best of their ability a sale price. Even if you did not get to that super cheap digital camera, ask a manager what they could do to discount another.

5. Keep your kids with you at all times. I have dealt with one too many panicked parent looking for a child in a holiday crowd. Why? They let their child go to the toy department or somewhere else alone in the store. Thankfully, the child was always found, but not after a lot of stress and a lot of tears. Retail employees are not babysitters.

Stay safe while shopping this holiday season, these are just a few ways to ensure the safety of your money, your identity, yourself and your loved ones.