A systematic review identified eight evaluations of the effectiveness of labeling in retail establishments. Of those studies, five showed reductions in theft, one showed no effect, and two showed an increase in theft after the implementation of labels. In addition, three of those studies drew comparisons between different types of tags and did not compare the effectiveness of the intervention with no intervention or with another security measure [1].
There is evidence that labeling both increases and decreases theft in commercial establishments (retail stores), but in general labels cannot be said to have a statistically significant effect on theft. In those studies in which an increase in theft was found, the poor outcome of the label intervention was observed to be the removal of another existing prevention measure, such as plastic tags, which were replaced by smaller, less visible tags that were easier to remove.
It is possible that the apparent increase in the number of thefts can be partially explained by the effectiveness of the earlier, more visible tags.
Overall, the evidence suggests that the tags implemented are large, as they have a better prevention outcome than small tags.