I work in an office supply store and there are several different methods the store employs to prevent shoplifting. I am in the unique position that I can look at these strategies and make a professional judgement on their effectiveness. I have been involved in Retail Loss Prevention in one way or another for over 20 years. I have used the most effective retail anti-theft devices and the least effective tools for protecting merchandise. As a sales associate in my current role I can speak to the one strategy I really detest and that is keeping merchandise in a stockroom. It wasn’t long ago I had a customer who wanted to take a look at a couple of packages of pens. The store doesn’t keep these pens on the floor; instead there are placards with the picture of each type of pen on them. If the customer wants to look at the pen I have to go to the stockroom and get one out. I wanted to help this customer get what they came in for so I went to retrieve one so she could examine it. This was just to look at the pen, there was no guarantee she would purchase it (and ultimately she did not). On the way to the stockroom I had to stop and answer questions for two other customers. In one of those instances I had to ask the customer to wait until I was done helping my first customer then I would get back to her. What a terrible way to provide customer service. Yes, I called to see if anyone else could assist her but everyone was occupied with their own customer or they were busy in another department. If I had my choice I would protect the pens with Sensormatic Safers rather than the placard/stockroom lockup method.
There are two types of Safers available to prevent shoplifting. The first is the Flexible Safer and the second is the Adjustable Safer. Both types are equipped with electronic article surveillance technology. This means anyone attempting to carry a protected item out of the store is going to activate the Sensormatic pedestals and store associates can respond and recover the merchandise. The wonderful thing about Sensormatic Safers is that they are great for protecting small items or high dollar goods. For example Flexible Safers are a fantastic tool for protecting 4-packs of AAA lithium batteries or electric toothbrush heads. Adjustable Safers might be used to protect fragrances or skin care products (or pens). The use of these retail anti-theft devices allow merchants more options for stocking merchandise on the salesfloor and minimizing the use of stockrooms for holding merchandise. Protecting products and getting them in the hands of your customers alleviates the necessity of wasted manpower to retrieve products that may or may not be bought. It also makes the convenience of picking up an item and examining it an unstated selling point. As a shopper, I get frustrated when I can’t look at a locked up item because no one is nearby to readily unlock a display case or retrieve something from a stockroom. If it frustrates me, I know it frustrates others.
Sensormatic Safers were not available to me when I was a Loss prevention Manager. I wish they had been. I recall one of the hardest areas of the store to prevent shoplifting in was the health and beauty department. Within the specific department razor blades, perfumes and colognes were some of the specific items where we were constantly fighting shoplifting. We had some retail anti-theft devices we used but Safers would have been a better option if we had them available to us. We spent an exorbitant amount of time trying to brand these items to deter Organized Retail Crime groups and tagging them with electronic article surveillance tags. We were more successful than some of our peers but we still had theft problems that impacted our ability to keep product in-stock for paying customers. Of course, this hurt sales, on top of the financial impact of the theft itself.
Customer service is a powerful tool in retail. A negative experience for a customer may mean they don’t return for quite some time if at all. On the other hand a great experience leads to customer loyalty and a many return trips. Providing convenience to your customers contributes to an enhanced shopping trip and sales for your store. Sensormatic Safers can make the shopping experience easier and happier for your clients and that means more sales for you.
Get more information on Sensormatic Safers, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
