U.S. retailers have been facing a growing wave of smash-and-grab theft in recent years, with thieves in larger groups carrying out more brazen attacks on stores.
These smash-and-grab incidents can occur night or day and are linked to an overall rise in organized retail crime across the country, which is costing American retailers tens of billions of dollars a year.
While many thieves who perpetrate these crimes eventually get caught, and insurance often covers damage and losses, a smash-and-grab can still have a lasting impact on a retail business, affecting everything from employee morale to insurance premiums. This is why it’s so important for retailers to take proactive steps to combat smash-and-grab theft.
What Is a Smash-and-Grab?
A smash-and-grab is a type of theft in which the perpetrators break into a store, often by smashing glass doors, windows, or display cases, and quickly steal large amounts of valuable merchandise before fleeing the scene. These thieves usually target stores that stock relatively small, valuable items that are easy to resell, such as electronics, jewelry, and high-end fashion items.
Although smash-and-grabs are nothing new in the world of retail theft, they’ve become a more serious concern in the last five years or so, with criminals seemingly emboldened and increasingly more aggressive in their tactics.
Surveillance camera footage from recent incidents has sometimes shown mobs of up to 80 individuals descending on a store at once, destroying most of its storefront and display cases and making off with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise — in a matter of just a couple of minutes. These large-scale incidents are colloquially known as “flash robs,” short for “flash robberies.”
Because of the speed and efficiency these smash-and-grab gangs operate, they’re usually gone before law enforcement arrives and after the damage has already been done. Store owners are then left to deal with the attack's aftermath, which involves time-consuming glass cleanup and repair, insurance claim filing, and operational disruptions.
Since flash rob-style smash-and-grabs sometimes occur during the day, when a business is open, they can also have a negative psychological impact on employees and customers present at the time. Employees may feel unsafe at work, and customers might not want to come back, further hurting a business’s bottom line after it has fallen victim to a smash-and-grab theft.
Fortunately, there are steps retailers can take to deter and prevent smash-and-grabs, mitigating many of the associated risks, including property damage, loss of inventory, increased insurance premiums, and psychological effects on customers and employees.

How Retail Businesses Can Protect Themselves Against Smash-and-Grab Theft
Combating smash-and-grab theft requires a multi-layered approach, starting on the outside by reinforcing a store’s exterior against forced entry, then moving inwards to protect high-value merchandise on display within a store.
Traditional retail security system components, including surveillance and alarm systems, are still an essential part of the overall security profile of any retail store. Still, they are no longer enough to deter brazen criminals from carrying out smash-and-grabs — forced-entry resistant barriers are required to stop would-be intruders in their tracks. These barriers should include a mix of security glazing, shutters, and cases.
Security Shutters and Cases
Security shutters, such as those offered by QMi, can be rolled over a store’s windows and doors when closed, providing an additional layer of after-hours protection against smash-and-grab theft.
When combined with impact-resistant glazing, security shutters provide dual-layered storefront security that frustrates even the most determined forced entry attempts.
Security cases, also offered by QMi, are essentially small inventory displays or storage cases with built-in security shutters and/or security glazing, allowing retailers to keep their most valuable merchandise behind an extra layer of protection.
Even if thieves can gain unauthorized entry to a store or attempt a smash-and-grab during business hours, they won’t be able to access merchandise stored inside these secure cases.
Security Glazing
Retailers can use forced entry-resistant security glazing, such as Riot Glass, to reinforce a store’s glass surfaces against impacts and break-in or smash-and-grab attempts, from its exterior storefront windows and doors to its interior display cases.
Whereas all it takes is a blow from a sledgehammer or a thrown rock to break a traditional storefront window, such attempts will simply bounce right off of Riot Glass, denying would-be intruders entry to the store.
Depending on the specific model, this advanced security glazing can often be retrofitted on top of the existing glass, protecting it from impacts and breakage. So, even if there is a smash-and-grab attempt, it will typically only scratch or mildly damage the Riot Glass, rather than shattering the glass behind. Alternatively, it can be used to replace the existing glazing.
Additionally, Riot Glass can be integrated into display cases to prevent criminals from smashing them to gain access to the types of small, high-value items that they frequently target. This makes it ideal for jewelry stores, for example.
The Bottom Line
Securing your store against smash-and-grabs doesn’t just safeguard your inventory — it protects your reputation and the physical and mental well-being of your employees and customers.
Not only that, but reinforcing your storefront and displays against impacts can help keep your business insurable and prevent your insurance premiums from skyrocketing.
Ready to get rolling with anti-smash-and-grab security upgrades? Let us at QMi craft you a custom solution that addresses all your needs and goals. Contact us today for a quote!