When you shop in department stores and even smaller stores that are privately owned like Mom and Pop stores, they often find that the merchandise is moved around a lot.  I have noticed that if I shop Monday and return later during that week the merchandise may still be in the same place.  If I shop the first week of the month and go back a week or two later the merchandise is not where I thought it was.

Merchants move their merchandise around in an effort to get more sales.  They figure that if you come in and see something for the first time that you will think that it is new and be more prone to purchase it.  Actually, I prefer to shop and when I return to the same store I like to see the items I was interested in located in the same place.  If they are not there, I assume they have sold.  

It appears to me that merchants that move their merchandise frequently also take the risk of shoplifters.  If something is in the same place it is easier to miss when it disappears.  With as much shoplifting as happens, it is hard to understand the benefit of a moved item.
Shoplifters can pick up an item and quickly replace it if they are spotted or if the merchant suspects something untoward.  On the other hand a shoplifter can quickly tuck a small item inside clothing and breeze right out the door.  A moved item will possibly go unnoticed for days when items are shifted frequently.  This is particularly true if a merchant employs part time

shopkeepers.