Flash Mobs Take a Turn for the Criminal
Apparently there’s nothing so enjoyable that someone can’t find a way to make it nasty. Now flash mobs, those pseudo-spontaneous acts of guerrilla goofiness, have made their way onto the list of criminal tactics retailers need to be on the lookout for.
The National Retail Federation has included “criminal flash mobs” in its list of theft tactics retailers should be aware of. A surprising number of them already are, to their dismay. According to the NRF’s “Multiple Offender Crimes” white paper (available for download here) , some 79% of 106 retailers polled by the group in July reported being the victim of theft by groups. And 10% of those reported that they had fallen prey to group crime organized using flash mob tactics, usually a large number of people entering the store at once, disrupting business and stealing merchandise.
According to the NRF’s results, 83% of the reported attacks involved juveniles; and testimony from those apprehended indicates that social media, text messages or viral emails were used to recruit participants or plan the assaults in 42% of the crimes.
The report cites a number of instances of such attacks in recent months, including March attacks on the Michigan Avenue outposts of The North Face, Express and Filene’s basement here in Chicago: groups of teens converging on a store, creating a commotion at the same instant, and using the confusion to steal merchandise– $3,000 worth, in the case of North Face. The March attacks got a lot of press when they happened, and even more in June when police reported groups attacks against simple passersby in and around the same shopping district.
Other areas have seen worse examples, in both monetary and human terms. In April a clothing store in Washington D.C.’s Dupont Circle, G-Star Raw, was victimized by 20 teens who suddenly grabbed the articles they had been trying on and ran, taking some $20,000 in goods.
And 40 offenders mobbed a Sears store in Philadelphia in June, stealing thousands in watches, shoes and jewelry. In other examples cited in the NRF report, convenience-store workers have been assaulted and store owners pepper-sprayed.
What does this mean for the future of Flash mobs? The NRF report includes a series of guidelines for retailers, including both preventive and response measures. Among those steps for averting a flash swarm are a recommendation that both merchants and law enforcement step up their monitoring of social media activity to be forewarned of any attacks. So it looks like retailers may have to get very savvy about social listening tools and start watching for spikes in comments referring to their brand, as a precaution.
And that in turn has implications for marketers who might be considering staging a flash event in a mall or some other public space that includes retail outlets. Remember, that well-choreographed outbreak might be effective at grabbing the attention and delight of spectators, like the classic T-Mobile dance staged in London’s Liverpool Station.
And don’t forget the groups that don’t have a marketing aim—they just want to add some surprise and joy to people’s lives, and maybe grab a few minutes of “Glee”-ful spotlight. Since most of us congregate around shopping, malls and stores have been their accustomed targets.
If this trend toward criminal flash attacks continues, harmless, legit groups that use social media to get their performers together might just meet a bunch of shuttered shops and a contingent of cops charged with breaking up the party.
Too bad. Flash mobs can be good, clean, stupid fun, and there’s not enough of that around.
