Clothing Security – 4 WC blog 848
Clothing security tags – 3
The Best Shortage Reduction Programs Always Include Clothing Security Tags
It can be difficult to decide the best clothing security to use to protect your merchandise from theft. Do you rely on fantastic customer service to dissuade potential pilferers from scooting out with unpaid goods? Do you have fitting room practices in place to prevent hidden goods from being secreted into a dressing room? Perhaps you use closed circuit television cameras and monitors to deter criminals from stealing clothing. Each of these is a good tool in the fight against merchandise shortage but if this is all you are doing then you are missing a critical element in your tool chest.
Sensormatic’s electronic article surveillance towers and clothing security tags are essential for those store owners who are looking for effective methods to reduce shortage. For one thing the tags are nearly impossible to remove without damaging the merchandise. They are built so that a Sensormatic detachment tool is required to take the tag off of an item. I confess that as a Loss Prevention Officer I wanted to see how difficult it really would be to forcibly remove clothing security tags so I attempted to pry one off of a shirt. The shirt was damaged already so I wasn’t destroying anything of value. I can say that the tag did not come off and as I recall I did end up damaging the product more in the process. Since I had a pretty good understanding of how the tags worked I can only imagine the damage a shoplifter would do to a garment if they were able to get a tagged article of clothing out of a store.
Sensormatic products alone are a strong deterrent to criminals. They don’t want to damage merchandise. Whether they intend to sell it to make money, trade the clothes for drugs or take the goods for their own use the majority of shoplifters recognize the damage tags will cause of forcibly removed. That removes the incentive to try to steal in the first place. Most people also understand what electronic article surveillance systems do and that includes shoplifters. The potential risk of setting off a Sensormatic security alarm and getting caught is another deterrent that prevents theft from taking place.
Are these risks associated with Sensormatic tags enough to impede all shoplifters? I would say no. A system may work as a standalone clothing security measure for a time but when crooks see that no one responds to alarm activations they no longer fear being stopped. An effective clothing security program will incorporate training employees on how to properly react to electronic article surveillance alarms. Waving at a customer who has just set off a Sensormatic alarm pedestal only reinforces to thieves that alarms are not taken seriously at a store where this happens. Ongoing training with employees is an important part of an overall shortage reduction program for a store. There are right and wrong ways to stop people who set off alarms.
I mentioned at the beginning of this article that there are other tools that retailers use in their efforts to enhance clothing security. Fitting room controls is one of my favorite areas to focus theft prevention. The reason is the privacy afforded thieves when they enter a fitting room. They know stores cannot place closed circuit television cameras or mirrors here. They hide merchandise and clothing articles between draped pieces of clothing and walk in. While in the room they either change into the clothing hidden between layers of merchandise they are carrying or they conceal those items in a bag, backpack, purse etc. Scheduling an associate to work the fitting room and separate merchandise being taken into a room is a strong deterrent to shoplifting. I cannot tell you how much merchandise I have seen good fitting room attendants recover.
In order to stop shoplifting and improve your profits you must have a comprehensive program in place. Start a program with a great customer service culture add clothing security tags and a Sensormatic system and a fitting room attendant and you will be well on your way. Help is always just a phone call away.
For more information on clothing security contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
It can be difficult to decide the best clothing security to use to protect your merchandise from theft. Do you rely on fantastic customer service to dissuade potential pilferers from scooting out with unpaid goods? Do you have fitting room practices in place to prevent hidden goods from being secreted into a dressing room? Perhaps you use closed circuit television cameras and monitors to deter criminals from stealing clothing. Each of these is a good tool in the fight against merchandise shortage but if this is all you are doing then you are missing a critical element in your tool chest.
Sensormatic’s electronic article surveillance towers and clothing security tags are essential for those store owners who are looking for effective methods to reduce shortage. For one thing the tags are nearly impossible to remove without damaging the merchandise. They are built so that a Sensormatic detachment tool is required to take the tag off of an item. I confess that as a Loss Prevention Officer I wanted to see how difficult it really would be to forcibly remove clothing security tags so I attempted to pry one off of a shirt. The shirt was damaged already so I wasn’t destroying anything of value. I can say that the tag did not come off and as I recall I did end up damaging the product more in the process. Since I had a pretty good understanding of how the tags worked I can only imagine the damage a shoplifter would do to a garment if they were able to get a tagged article of clothing out of a store.
Sensormatic products alone are a strong deterrent to criminals. They don’t want to damage merchandise. Whether they intend to sell it to make money, trade the clothes for drugs or take the goods for their own use the majority of shoplifters recognize the damage tags will cause of forcibly removed. That removes the incentive to try to steal in the first place. Most people also understand what electronic article surveillance systems do and that includes shoplifters. The potential risk of setting off a Sensormatic security alarm and getting caught is another deterrent that prevents theft from taking place.
Are these risks associated with Sensormatic tags enough to impede all shoplifters? I would say no. A system may work as a standalone clothing security measure for a time but when crooks see that no one responds to alarm activations they no longer fear being stopped. An effective clothing security program will incorporate training employees on how to properly react to electronic article surveillance alarms. Waving at a customer who has just set off a Sensormatic alarm pedestal only reinforces to thieves that alarms are not taken seriously at a store where this happens. Ongoing training with employees is an important part of an overall shortage reduction program for a store. There are right and wrong ways to stop people who set off alarms.
I mentioned at the beginning of this article that there are other tools that retailers use in their efforts to enhance clothing security. Fitting room controls is one of my favorite areas to focus theft prevention. The reason is the privacy afforded thieves when they enter a fitting room. They know stores cannot place closed circuit television cameras or mirrors here. They hide merchandise and clothing articles between draped pieces of clothing and walk in. While in the room they either change into the clothing hidden between layers of merchandise they are carrying or they conceal those items in a bag, backpack, purse etc. Scheduling an associate to work the fitting room and separate merchandise being taken into a room is a strong deterrent to shoplifting. I cannot tell you how much merchandise I have seen good fitting room attendants recover.
In order to stop shoplifting and improve your profits you must have a comprehensive program in place. Start a program with a great customer service culture add clothing security tags and a Sensormatic system and a fitting room attendant and you will be well on your way. Help is always just a phone call away.
For more information on clothing security contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
