Last Sunday my girlfriend and I decided to take a drive to the flea market right outside of town. She wanted to go see if she could find any antiques, while I was pretty certain I’d come across some stolen goods. Flea markets and swap shops are an easy fence for stolen property, and my visit last week only proved that. I came across a “vendor” selling baby formula, which still had my store’s checkpoint labels attached to the cans. Jokingly, I asked the seller if he had his own checkpoint system. Apparently, not knowing what I meant, he laughed, shrugged his shoulders and tried to sell me the formula.
Baby formula is a hot target for organized retail crime (ORC) groups. In most stores, these cans of formula are not protected by the store’s checkpoint system, so they make an easy target for thieves. I’ve seen cases where one booster has can wipe out an entire store’s selection in a matter of seconds. This is a problem, and not just for the retailer experiencing the loss. Baby formula can be tracked over the border, and some recent ORC busts have revealed large warehouses in the US and Mexico where these gangs were storing millions of dollars’ worth of just baby formula, before being able to liquidate their stolen goods. In these instances, these warehouses were clearly not up to any type of standards.
Think about how sensitive a newborn baby’s immune system is. Now you have these criminals stealing baby formula, transporting them in hot cars, and storing them in climate controlled warehouses in the middle of the summer. There’s a good chance that the formula can go bad, or spoil. An unknowing mother who only sees a cheap alternative to the store’s price buys this, feeds her child and the baby gets sick, or possibly worse. A checkpoint label should be your first line of defense to prevent this from ever happening.
If you have a checkpoint system set up in your store, I can guarantee that there will be a checkpoint label out there that can solve baby formula theft issues in your store. Whether you want a clear label, round label or one with a barcode, the possibilities are almost limitless for your store. What I personally have done to battle ORC groups is to have my store’s name and number printed on the checkpoint label. This has gone a long way to discourage boosters from targeting those particular products, since they can link directly back to where the theft was committed. In stores where we have deployed this tactic, baby formula theft dried up. The boosters are not willing to take the chance, especially as more and more states are taking a much harder stance against shoplifting.
For more information, contact us: Chekcpoint Lables, or call 1.770.426.0547
Last Sunday my girlfriend and I decided to take a drive to the flea market right outside of town. She wanted to go see if she could find any antiques, while I was pretty certain I’d come across some stolen goods. Flea markets and swap shops are an easy fence for stolen property, and my visit last week only proved that. I came across a “vendor” selling baby formula, which still had my store’s Checkpoint Labels attached to the cans. Jokingly, I asked the seller if he had his own Checkpoint System. Apparently, not knowing what I meant, he laughed, shrugged his shoulders and tried to sell me the formula.
Baby formula is a hot target for organized retail crime (ORC) groups. In most stores, these cans of formula are not protected by the store’s Checkpoint System, so they make an easy target for thieves. I’ve seen cases where one booster has can wipe out an entire store’s selection in a matter of seconds. This is a problem, and not just for the retailer experiencing the loss. Baby formula can be tracked over the border, and some recent ORC busts have revealed large warehouses in the US and Mexico where these gangs were storing millions of dollars’ worth of just baby formula, before being able to liquidate their stolen goods. In these instances, these warehouses were clearly not up to any type of standards.
Think about how sensitive a newborn baby’s immune system is. Now you have these criminals stealing baby formula, transporting them in hot cars, and storing them in climate controlled warehouses in the middle of the summer. There’s a good chance that the formula can go bad, or spoil. An unknowing mother who only sees a cheap alternative to the store’s price buys this, feeds her child and the baby gets sick, or possibly worse. A Checkpoint Label should be your first line of defense to prevent this from ever happening.
If you have a Checkpoint System set up in your store, I can guarantee that there will be a Checkpoint Label out there that can solve baby formula theft issues in your store. Whether you want a clear label, round label or one with a barcode, the possibilities are almost limitless for your store. What I personally have done to battle ORC groups is to have my store’s name and number printed on the Checkpoint Label. This has gone a long way to discourage boosters from targeting those particular products, since they can link directly back to where the theft was committed. In stores where we have deployed this tactic, baby formula theft dried up. The boosters are not willing to take the chance, especially as more and more states are taking a much harder stance against shoplifting.
For more information, contact us at Antishoplifting.net, or call 1.770.426.0547
When you operate a small business that sells wines and spirits, you need impulse buys. People come in, and are about to buy a bargain bottle, then see the higher retail premium bottle they have seen advertised, and decide to buy it instead because it is a chance to splurge on themselves. Impulse buys are great, but impulse theft of those same bottles can eat a hole in your bottom line at a fast pace. Bottle Locks can provide your store with a method to merchandise those bottles where they can be seen, without the fear of them being stolen.
You as the retailer have to make the choice of how to display your high theft brands of wine and spirits. As the manager or owner, you do not want any of your bottles just walking out the door unpaid, no matter the price tag. Your low price bottles can become a problem in large quantity losses, but they don’t add up as quickly as your premium brands. A benefit of Bottle Locks is they do not discriminate whether or not to protect your inventory. They come in many sizes, and secure all brands. The customer can still pick up the bottles, compare them, make their choice, and bring them to the checkout area when they are ready.
You could make the choice to display behind your counters or in glass cases. This requires additional storage space, the added expense of building or buying shelves and parts, and more labor for the employees. This also takes away the impulse buy. When you lock up all the good stuff, the customer does not get to have that moment of satisfaction and the feeling they are treating themselves. Taking away the customer’s ability to make the quick decision has the potential to cost you a lot of extra profits. Customers come in and make their selections. Then they get to the front and see that the more popular bottles, and bigger name brands are behind the counter, or behind glass. They see that some of those bottles may be a higher retail than what they have brought to the checkout, so now they have to make the choice before paying, whether they want to exchange their selection for something else, or just stick with what they have. Customers are more likely to just keep what they chose, rather than bother to ask the clerk for another brand. In most cases they simply do not want to have to return the first bottle to the shelf, or even ask the employee to do it for them.
Again, Bottle Locks give that fun part back and let them make the choice out on the floor. When you have a small business every dollar counts. There are the people that come in with a plan of what to buy, those that saw your store and just pulled in out of the blue, and even tourists. Put the impulse back into the customer’s hands, keep your bottles safely out on the sales floor, and you will probably see your profits on the rise.
For more information contact us at: Bottlelock.net or call 1.770.426.0547
When you operate a small business that sells wines and spirits, you need impulse buys. People come in, and are about to buy a bargain bottle, then see the higher retail premium bottle they have seen advertised, and decide to buy it instead because it is a chance to splurge on themselves. Impulse buys are great, but impulse theft of those same bottles can eat a hole in your bottom line at a fast pace. Bottle Loks can provide your store with a method to merchandise those bottles where they can be seen, without the fear of them being stolen.
You as the retailer have to make the choice of how to display your high theft brands of wine and spirits. As the manager or owner, you do not want any of your bottles just walking out the door unpaid, no matter the price tag. Your low price bottles can become a problem in large quantity losses, but they don’t add up as quickly as your premium brands. A benefit of Bottle Loks is they do not discriminate whether or not to protect your inventory. They come in many sizes, and secure all brands. The customer can still pick up the bottles, compare them, make their choice, and bring them to the checkout area when they are ready.
You could make the choice to display behind your counters or in glass cases. This requires additional storage space, the added expense of building or buying shelves and parts, and more labor for the employees. This also takes away the impulse buy. When you lock up all the good stuff, the customer does not get to have that moment of satisfaction and the feeling they are treating themselves. Taking away the customer’s ability to make the quick decision has the potential to cost you a lot of extra profits. Customers come in and make their selections. Then they get to the front and see that the more popular bottles, and bigger name brands are behind the counter, or behind glass. They see that some of those bottles may be a higher retail than what they have brought to the checkout, so now they have to make the choice before paying, whether they want to exchange their selection for something else, or just stick with what they have. Customers are more likely to just keep what they chose, rather than bother to ask the clerk for another brand. In most cases they simply do not want to have to return the first bottle to the shelf, or even ask the employee to do it for them.
Again, Bottle Loks give that fun part back and let them make the choice out on the floor. When you have a small business every dollar counts. There are the people that come in with a plan of what to buy, those that saw your store and just pulled in out of the blue, and even tourists. Put the impulse back into the customer’s hands, keep your bottles safely out on the sales floor, and you will probably see your profits on the rise.
For more information contact us at: Bottlelock.net or call 1.770.426.0547
Have you ever been walking you’re the sales floor of your store and come across an article of clothing that looks vaguely familiar? It might look like a faded, worn out, shrunken version of something that you sell. But this isn’t for sale, right? This better be going to the lost and found! But sadly, it has a merchandise tag on it. Who in their right mind would buy this item at full price? Furthermore, how did it get onto your sales floor in this condition? Sounds like you’ve been wardrobed. There are a few good, tools, along with some very helpful best practices that can be used to prevent this from happening to you, to keep your store and your brand up to its best reputation, and to maintain your best profitability while keeping wardrobing out of your store.
One good first line of defense is an anti-wardrobing tag. Checkpoint offers a security device called the shark tag. Alpha Shark tags easily attach to any clothing item with a small pin. The device is designed for removal at home before wearing, so this device is not removed by the salesperson at the point of sale. Basically, if an item is returned with the shark tag missing, it can be assumed to have been worn. To make the most effective use of these tags, they should be placed in a conspicuous area so that if a wardrober would have a difficult time wearing the item with the tag in place. However, the shark tags are of little use without an effective return policy.
Having a customer-friendly return policy that your employees and business can stand behind is very important for implementing clothing security and profitability. Without a policy in place, the usefulness of the shark tags diminishes. For example, if there is no return policy in place requiring shark tags to be on return items that are required to have them, then they make no difference to wardrobers; they would be able to remove them and return them without the tags anyway! In addition, it is typically a good idea to have a certain window within which the item may be returned. This will not only prevent people from using clothing for a period of time and then returning it, but it will also keep you from getting outdated fashions coming back into the store—items that you won’t be able to make a dime off of. Finally, a good policy typically includes regulations against washed and worn items. If the items appear faded, stained, or smell like laundry detergent, it is usually in your business’s best interest not to allow a return.
The last, but certainly not least most important action to prevent wardrobing is abiding by the return policy. Many big-box retail stores have sound refund and return policies that are implemented inconsistently. The difference is, these big-box stores can typically afford to return a few items here and there that cannot be resold. Likewise, consistent communication to thousands of employees is far more difficult. To protect your business, it is important to implement a policy that can be executed nearly 100% of the time. Sure, there will always be exceptions but a return policy is only as good as the employees who enforce it. It would be wise to ensure everyone is on the same page with refunds. That goes for both employees and customers!
For more information contact us: Wardrobing or call 1.770.426.0547
Have you ever been walking the sales floor of your store and come across an article of clothing that looks vaguely familiar? It might look like a faded, worn out, shrunken version of something that you sell. But this isn’t for sale, right? This better be going to the lost and found! But sadly, it has a merchandise tag on it. Who in their right mind would buy this item at full price? Furthermore, how did it get onto your sales floor in this condition? Sounds like you’ve been wardrobed. There are a few good tools along with some very helpful best practices that can be used to prevent this from happening to you, to keep your store and your brand up to its best reputation, and to maintain your best profitability while keeping wardrobing out of your store.
One good first line of defense is an anti-wardrobing tag. Checkpoint offers a security device called the Alpha Shark Tag. Alpha Shark Tags easily attach to any clothing item with a small pin. The device is designed for removal at home before wearing, so this device is not removed by the salesperson at the point of sale. Basically, if an item is returned with the Shark Tag missing, it can be assumed to have been worn. To make the most effective use of these tags, they should be placed in a conspicuous area so that if a wardrober would have a difficult time wearing the item with the tag in place. However, the Alpha Shark Tags are of little use without an effective return policy.
Having a customer-friendly return policy that your employees and business can stand behind is very important for implementing clothing security and profitability. Without a policy in place, the usefulness of the Shark Tags diminishes. For example, if there is no return policy in place requiring Shark Tags to be on return items that are required to have them, then they make no difference to wardrobers; they would be able to remove them and return them without the tags anyway! In addition, it is typically a good idea to have a certain window within which the item may be returned. This will not only prevent people from using clothing for a period of time and then returning it, but it will also keep you from getting outdated fashions coming back into the store—items that you won’t be able to make a dime off of. Finally, a good policy typically includes regulations against washed and worn items. If the items appear faded, stained, or smell like laundry detergent, it is usually in your business’s best interest not to allow a return.
The last, but certainly not least most important action to prevent wardrobing is abiding by the return policy. Many big-box retail stores have sound refund and return policies that are implemented inconsistently. The difference is, these big-box stores can typically afford to return a few items here and there that cannot be resold. Likewise, consistent communication to thousands of employees is far more difficult. To protect your business, it is important to implement a policy that can be executed nearly 100% of the time. Sure, there will always be exceptions but a return policy is only as good as the employees who enforce it. It would be wise to ensure everyone is on the same page with refunds. That goes for both employees and customers!
For more information contact us: Wardrobing or call 1.770.426.0547
It wasn’t that long ago that I found myself racking my brains over the amount of theft I was seeing in my shoe department. Day in and day out, I was finding empty boxes, defeated EAS pins and old dirty shoes. I was adjusting out anywhere between $1k-$2k every single day. I was bleeding, and I had to stop it. What more could I do, though? I had a great Checkpoint System installed, had cameras, an LP team and a very engaged staff. I had narrowed my losses down to external theft, so I knew it wasn’t coming from the warehouse, or one of my employees. I needed to stop the losses, so I began testing different Checkpoint Tags.
For as long as I could remember, I used a standard pencil tag on my footwear that retailed for $99 and up. They seemed to do the job, but I’d still find defeated tags constantly. I needed a better deterrent, and I found it with Checkpoint Tags. After playing with a few different types of tags, I stumbled across the ink tags. At first, I was a bit weary, as I didn’t want my legitimate shoppers to inadvertently have ink splashed in their faces. I quickly learned that isn’t the case and the tags are mainly used as a deterrent… meaning the tag is effective because the thief thinks he may be sprayed with ink. In addition, these tags worked with the Checkpoint System that was already installed in the store, so I didn’t have to spend any additional capital to implement the new program.
Once I got a handful of the ink tags in, I instructed my store to hard tag all footwear with the new Checkpoint Tag with a retail price of $79 and up. We placed the tag right through the tongue of the shoe, were it was clearly visible to a would-be thief. Best part? It didn’t interfere with the honest customer at all. The results were almost immediate. Our thieves wouldn’t risk damaging their boosted goods and our losses dropped to about one single pair, or two per week. A substantial reduction in loss, all thanks to our Checkpoint System.
Eventually, we rolled this program out to our entire company and within two years, we saw a dramatic decrease in footwear shrink across the board. Not only did this help us minimize shrink, it also lead to higher sales, since we had the shoes in stock that the customer wanted to purchase!
For more information, contact us: Checkpoint Tags, or call 1.770.426.0547
It wasn’t that long ago that I found myself racking my brain over the amount of theft I was seeing in my shoe department. Day in and day out, I was finding empty boxes, defeated EAS pins and old dirty shoes. I was adjusting out anywhere between $1k-$2k every single day. I was bleeding, and I had to stop it. What more could I do, though? I had a great Checkpoint System installed, had cameras, an LP team and a very engaged staff. I had narrowed my losses down to external theft, so I knew it wasn’t coming from the warehouse, or one of my employees. I needed to stop the losses, so I began testing different Checkpoint Tags.
For as long as I could remember, I used a standard pencil tag on my footwear that retailed for $99 and up. They seemed to do the job, but I’d still find defeated tags constantly. I needed a better deterrent, and I found it with Checkpoint Tags. After playing with a few different types of tags, I stumbled across the ink tags. At first, I was a bit weary, as I didn’t want my legitimate shoppers to inadvertently have ink splashed in their faces. I quickly learned that isn’t the case and the tags are mainly used as a deterrent… meaning the tag is effective because the thief thinks he may be sprayed with ink. In addition, these tags worked with the Checkpoint System that was already installed in the store, so I didn’t have to spend any additional capital to implement the new program.
Once I got a handful of the ink tags in, I instructed my store to hard tag all footwear with the new Checkpoint Tag with a retail price of $79 and up. We placed the tag right through the tongue of the shoe, were it was clearly visible to a would-be thief. Best part? It didn’t interfere with the honest customer at all. The results were almost immediate. Our thieves wouldn’t risk damaging their boosted goods and our losses dropped to about one single pair, or two per week. A substantial reduction in loss, all thanks to our Checkpoint System.
Eventually, we rolled this program out to our entire company and within two years, we saw a dramatic decrease in footwear shrink across the board. Not only did this help us minimize shrink, it also lead to higher sales, since we had the shoes in stock that the customer wanted to purchase!
For more information, contact us at Antishoplifting.net, or call 1.770.426.0547
The convenience of online shopping has become a big draw for today’s consumer. There is also the fact that small online only retailers can usually offer considerably lower prices based on having little or no overhead expenses. Unfortunately, with the ease and anonymity of buying items from a website with no personal interaction, customers that engage in the practice of “wardrobing” now have a new avenue to support their habits. If your business has had to deal with this problem shopper, take a look at the Alpha Shark Tag. That is, of course, unless you want to remain in the buy and borrow business model.
A defective or wrong sized item returned is one issue, but when customers return an item they have used or worn, and receive a full refund, it is only the business that loses. Many times the store can no longer sell these types of returns for full retail, or they have to “damage” them out of the inventory and throw them away. Honestly, who wants to buy a dress with makeup on the neckline, a purse with lipstick on the interior, or a tuxedo that has sweat stains? Even if it comes back clean, if it has been obviously worn, it can not go back out to another buyer at full retail unless you are also in the thrift store business. Shark Tags can put a stop to this problem before it ever happens.
There are different reasons a shopper may justify to themselves the plan to buy an item, wear or use it, and then return it. Perhaps they have been invited to a wedding, party or gala, or they have a big date. They have nothing to wear to this event so they decide it’s time to buy a new dress, purse or accessory, or for men, a new suit or tuxedo. After they splurge, and wear it on their big night, they have buyer’s remorse and decide to return the item. They may have intended to return the purchase the whole time, because of lack of employment or disposable income. There are also those that shop to alleviate symptoms of depression, wear the apparel, then return it just to punish themselves, in a vicious cycle. Even if they have to pay to ship the stuff back, the “wardrober” still comes out on top, considering the lower price they initially paid to the online retailer.
Your business could invest in and keep up with an extensive and costly database of customers that make purchases and returns. The loss of profit from the refunds, markdown of used merchandise, and now the maintenance of the database would likely mean passing the additional costs down to your honest customers though. Shark Tags are inexpensive, easy to use, and very effective in reducing fraudulent returns. Your new return policy will state that if the Shark Tag is removed, the return and refund will not be processed. It can not be cut off and reattached, without obvious signs of tampering, so the ball is back in your court. The Tag is placed in a prominent area of a garment, or attached via lanyard to an accessory such as a purse, and since they are brightly colored, they cannot simply be hidden. These gadgets do not detract from the appearance of the merchandise or stop the person from trying on the article; they just stop “wardrobers” from taking advantage of your online business.
For more information contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Clothingsecurity.net
The convenience of online shopping has become a big draw for today’s consumer. There is also the fact that small online only retailers can usually offer considerably lower prices based on having little or no overhead expenses. Unfortunately, with the ease and anonymity of buying items from a website with no personal interaction, customers that engage in the practice of “wardrobing” now have a new avenue to support their habits. If your business has had to deal with this problem shopper, take a look at the Alpha Shark Tag. That is, of course, unless you want to remain in the buy and borrow business model.
A defective or wrong sized item returned is one issue, but when customers return an item they have used or worn, and receive a full refund, it is only the business that loses. Many times the store can no longer sell these types of returns for full retail, or they have to “damage” them out of the inventory and throw them away. Honestly, who wants to buy a dress with makeup on the neckline, a purse with lipstick on the interior, or a tuxedo that has sweat stains? Even if it comes back clean, if it has been obviously worn, it can not go back out to another buyer at full retail unless you are also in the thrift store business. Alpha Shark Tags can put a stop to this problem before it ever happens.
There are different reasons a shopper may justify to themselves the plan to buy an item, wear or use it, and then return it. Perhaps they have been invited to a wedding, party or gala, or they have a big date. They have nothing to wear to this event so they decide it’s time to buy a new dress, purse or accessory, or for men, a new suit or tuxedo. After they splurge, and wear it on their big night, they have buyer’s remorse and decide to return the item. They may have intended to return the purchase the whole time, because of lack of employment or disposable income. There are also those that shop to alleviate symptoms of depression, wear the apparel, then return it just to punish themselves, in a vicious cycle. Even if they have to pay to ship the stuff back, the “wardrober” still comes out on top, considering the lower price they initially paid to the online retailer.
Your business could invest in and keep up with an extensive and costly database of customers that make purchases and returns. The loss of profit from the refunds, markdown of used merchandise, and now the maintenance of the database would likely mean passing the additional costs down to your honest customers though. Alpha Shark Tags are inexpensive, easy to use, and very effective in reducing fraudulent returns. Your new return policy will state that if the Shark Tag is removed, the return and refund will not be processed. It can not be cut off and reattached, without obvious signs of tampering, so the ball is back in your court. The Shark Tag is placed in a prominent area of a garment, or attached via lanyard to an accessory such as a purse, and since they are brightly colored, they cannot simply be hidden. These gadgets do not detract from the appearance of the merchandise or stop the person from trying on the article; they just stop “wardrobers” from taking advantage of your online business.
For more information contact us: at Clothingsecurity.net
