Checkpoint tags don’t always stop theft, and that’s something every retailer needs to understand. Just last week, I was talking with a friend who is a general manager for a very small retailer. It’s a family owned business with just a handful of stores. He was telling me how they were getting absolutely hammered in a particular product line and convinced the owners to invest a small amount of money into security tags for the product, a more expensive pair of shoes. What he told me next is something I’ve heard time and time again, and I thought I’d take a moment to address this with anyone out there who feels the same way. He told me that even with the security tags in place, he was still losing product to theft.
Let’s take a minute and look at this issue from a global perspective. Let’s assume that in his store, he would lose about 10 pairs of shoes per week due to theft. Coming from a background in that business, I can tell you that is a very conservative number. In past lives, I’ve been in stores where every single pair of shoes are secured with a checkpoint tag, and the store still lost product. Why? I’ll get to that in a minute, but let’s get back to the scenario. Those 10 pairs of shoes retail, on average, $100 a pair, so we can say that this small store sees about $1,000 in loss every week, equating to just about $50k by years end, maybe more. Wouldn’t you like to have a spare fifty grand laying around? How could your store benefit from that much in additional sales?
Now, in this same, with the same amount of loss, the managers decide to deploy some checkpoint tags to combat the loss. Let’ assume they secure every pair of shoes. Chances are, it’s going to reduce their theft, but not by 100%. It’s a safe bet to assume that they will still lose 3-5 pairs per week. Why? Shoplifters make their living from stealing from you, and no amount of security will stop their actions altogether. As a manager/owner, you have to do what you can to limit your exposure to loss. You have to understand that you will never, and I mean never, completely eliminate shoplifting losses.
Then why bother? Remember that $50k loss estimate from above? Even if you reduce that number by 50%, you’re still saving your store $25-30K a year, with a very small investment. There aren’t too many things out there that will give you a 50% ROI, but a simple checkpoint tag can. The tags also serve as a great physical deterrent to theft as well. I’ve seen shoplifters shy away from an item just because it had a hard tag affixed to it. It’s a great way to implement a solid control in your business, and while you can never eliminate all losses from theft, you can get your losses down to a more manageable and acceptable level.
For more information, contact us: Cloting Security, or call 1.770.426.0547
Checkpoint Tags don’t always stop theft, and that’s something every retailer needs to understand. Just last week, I was talking with a friend who is a general manager for a very small retailer. It’s a family owned business with just a handful of stores. He was telling me how they were getting absolutely hammered in a particular product line and convinced the owners to invest a small amount of money into security tags for the product, a more expensive pair of shoes. What he told me next is something I’ve heard time and time again, and I thought I’d take a moment to address this with anyone out there who feels the same way. He told me that even with the Checkpoint Tags in place, he was still losing product to theft.
Let’s take a minute and look at this issue from a global perspective. Let’s assume that in his store, he would lose about 10 pairs of shoes per week due to theft. Coming from a background in that business, I can tell you that is a very conservative number. In past lives, I’ve been in stores where every single pair of shoes are secured with a Checkpoint Tag, and the store still lost product. Why? I’ll get to that in a minute, but let’s get back to the scenario. Those 10 pairs of shoes retail, on average, $100 a pair, so we can say that this small store sees about $1,000 in loss every week, equating to just about $50k by years end, maybe more. Wouldn’t you like to have a spare fifty grand laying around? How could your store benefit from that much in additional sales?
Now, in this same scenario, with the same amount of loss, the managers decide to deploy some Checkpoint Tags to combat the loss. Let’ assume they secure every pair of shoes. Chances are, it’s going to reduce their theft, but not by 100%. It’s a safe bet to assume that they will still lose 3-5 pairs per week. Why? Shoplifters make their living from stealing from you, and no amount of security will stop their actions altogether. As a manager/owner, you have to do what you can to limit your exposure to loss. You have to understand that you will never, and I mean never, completely eliminate shoplifting losses.
Then why bother? Remember that $50k loss estimate from above? Even if you reduce that number by 50%, you’re still saving your store $25-30K a year, with a very small investment. There aren’t too many things out there that will give you a 50% ROI, but a simple Checkpoint Tag can. The tags also serve as a great physical deterrent to theft as well. I’ve seen shoplifters shy away from an item just because it had a hard tag affixed to it. It’s a great way to implement a solid control in your business, and while you can never eliminate all losses from theft, you can get your losses down to a more manageable and acceptable level.
For more information, contact us at Prevent Shoplifting Loss, or call 1.770.426.0547
Ask any retailer today and they’ll tell you that the fastest growing part of their business is E-Commerce. I work for a company that has a fairly recent online store and I can tell you that within the past 4 years, it has exploded. A considerable amount of people, myself included, would much rather shop from the comfort of my own home. It’s fast, easy and you don’t have to deal with crowds and traffic, especially during the holiday season. It’s also more convenient, with most sites offering free, or heavily reduced shipping. Anyone with a smartphone can practically have anything they could ever need shipped right to their door. For a new business, an online store is much more affordable than a traditional brick and mortar. The one thing the online store has in common with a traditional retailer though, is shrink. If you’ve got your hands in the E-Com cookie jar, you may want to take a look at Alpha Shark Tags and how they could save you tons on loss.
As an online apparel retailer, you probably don’t have to worry much about shoplifting. It’s not like someone can walk into your store and stuff a purse full of your clothing. In fact, you’ve probably never thought about customer theft since the day you first launched. Why should you? You never have face to face interactions with your customers, and the only time your customers are touching your product is well after it has been purchased. So where is the risk? The big two are counterfeiting and wardrobing. If you’re not familiar with the wardrobing, it’s where a customer will purchase an item, where it once, or twice and then return it within your allotted return policy and receive a full refund. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but it is. It’s a form of return fraud that many store fronts have taken very seriously…. And you should too.
Alpha Shark Tags are a great solution to this fraud scheme. They are small, in-expensive and will not damage a garment. You can place the tag in a very open place on any piece of apparel. If placed in a prominent location, it will not allow a customer to wear it out in public. You could also stipulate in your returns policy that a garment cannot be returned without the tag still in place. This will not only protect your sales, but also protect your honest customers from higher prices.
For more information, contact us: Alpha Shark Tags, or call 1.770.426.0547
Ask any retailer today and they’ll tell you that the fastest growing part of their business is E-Commerce. I work for a company that has a fairly decent online store and I can tell you that within the past 4 years, it has exploded. A considerable amount of people, myself included, would much rather shop from the comfort of my own home. It’s fast, easy and you don’t have to deal with crowds and traffic, especially during the holiday season. It’s also more convenient, with most sites offering free, or heavily reduced shipping. Anyone with a smartphone can practically have anything they could ever need shipped right to their door. For a new business, an online store is much more affordable than a traditional brick and mortar. The one thing the online store has in common with a traditional retailer though, is shrink. If you’ve got your hands in the E-Com cookie jar, you may want to take a look at Alpha Shark Tags and how they could save you tons on loss.
As an online apparel retailer, you probably don’t have to worry much about shoplifting. It’s not like someone can walk into your store and stuff a purse full of your clothing. In fact, you’ve probably never thought about customer theft since the day you first launched. Why should you? You never have face to face interactions with your customers, and the only time your customers are touching your product is well after it has been purchased. So where is the risk? The big two are counterfeiting and wardrobing. If you’re not familiar with the wardrobing, it’s where a customer will purchase an item, where it once, or twice and then return it within your allotted return policy and receive a full refund. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but it is. It’s a form of return fraud that many store fronts have taken very seriously…. And you should too.
Alpha Shark Tags are a great solution to this fraud scheme. They are small, in-expensive and will not damage a garment. You can place the tag in a very open place on any piece of apparel. If placed in a prominent location, it will not allow a customer to wear it out in public. You could also stipulate in your returns policy that a garment cannot be returned without the tag still in place. This will not only protect your sales, but also protect your honest customers from higher prices.
For more information, contact us: Alpha Shark Tags, or call 1.770.426.0547
I’m from southern Louisiana. Down here, you can walk into any grocery store, big box retailer or gas station and purchase liquor. The first time I traveled to Texas for work, I was shocked when I had to go to a liquor store to make a purchase. I thought this wasn’t normal, until I told the store clerk. She looked at me and said, “Y’all just live in one big party down there!” Not really the case, but I can see the confusion. It was in this liquor store that I had some fun with a bottle lock.
I was traveling for work around the beginning of December one year. It was our annual holiday party and all the regional LP managers flew into our home office to get together, celebrate the year and sit in on some pretty boring meetings. One of the highlights of the trip was the annual secret Santa gift exchange. There was an unwritten rule that the gifts had to be of an alcoholic nature. In the office that day, I happened to pull the name of our Vice President. It was going to be a fun time…
I found myself back in that same liquor store later that night. I knew he was a scotch man, so I was looking for something that I thought he would like. I found a bottle and brought it to the checkout. The scotch was secured with an Alpha Easy Bottle lock. After the cashier accepted my money, she began to remove the bottle lock. I stopped her and asked if I could keep it. She looked at me, very confused and asked why. I told her my plan was to pull a nice prank on my company’s Vice President. She was unsure what to make of my request, so she called over a manager, who after laughing hysterically at my idea, let me leave with the bottle, still secured. He wished my luck and let me know that he had a stocker position open should my boss not find it as amusing as I did.
The time had finally come to exchange gifts, and I seriously could not wait until he opened it. So the party was underway and everyone was exchanging and opening gifts. Except the VP. He had the liquor in his possession, but for some unknown reason, didn’t open it. I was a bit let down. I really thought it would be a hit. A few weeks after our trip I received an email from our VP. It was tilted “a few items to address” and it copied the entire department. When I opened the email, I nearly fell out of my chair. It was a picture of him with a very sad look on his face, holding the bottle of scotch, still secured with a bottle lock. Absolutely priceless.
For more information, contact us: Bottle Lock, or call 1.770.426.0547
I’m from southern Louisiana. Down here, you can walk into any grocery store, big box retailer or gas station and purchase liquor. The first time I traveled to Texas for work, I was shocked when I had to go to a liquor store to make a purchase. I thought this wasn’t normal, until I told the store clerk. She looked at me and said, “Y’all just live in one big party down there!” Not really the case, but I can see the confusion. It was in this liquor store that I had some fun with a bottle lock.
I was traveling for work around the beginning of December one year. It was our annual holiday party and all the regional LP managers flew into our home office to get together, celebrate the year and sit in on some pretty boring meetings. One of the highlights of the trip was the annual secret Santa gift exchange. There was an unwritten rule that the gifts had to be of an alcoholic nature. In the office that day, I happened to pull the name of our Vice President. It was going to be a fun time…
I found myself back in that same liquor store later that night. I knew he was a scotch man, so I was looking for something that I thought he would like. I found a bottle and brought it to the checkout. The scotch was secured with an Alpha Easy Bottle lock. After the cashier accepted my money, she began to remove the bottle lock. I stopped her and asked if I could keep it. She looked at me, very confused and asked why. I told her my plan was to pull a nice prank on my company’s Vice President. She was unsure what to make of my request, so she called over a manager, who after laughing hysterically at my idea, let me leave with the bottle, still secured. He wished me luck and let me know that he had a stocker position open should my boss not find it as amusing as I did.
The time had finally come to exchange gifts, and I seriously could not wait until he opened it. So the party was underway and everyone was exchanging and opening gifts. Except the VP. He had the liquor in his possession, but for some unknown reason, didn’t open it. I was a bit let down. I really thought it would be a hit. A few weeks after our trip I received an email from our VP. It was tilted “a few items to address” and it copied the entire department. When I opened the email, I nearly fell out of my chair. It was a picture of him with a very sad look on his face, holding the bottle of scotch, still secured with a bottle lock. Absolutely priceless.
For more information, contact us: Bottle Lock, or call 1.770.426.0547
There is a current case in the court systems right now as to the sentencing of a crime ringleader. He has been convicted of the thefts of over $400,000 dollars worth of merchandise from various stores. It took a task force over 6 months to identify and track down this ringleader and over 180 accomplices.
The case is currently debating the ringleader’s sentencing. He was given jail time as well as has been instructed to pay back the full $400,000 dollars in restitution. Obviously the ringleader didn’t want to pay for the merchandise the first time around, so it is no surprise that he doesn’t want to pay for it now. He is appealing to have the restitution pro rated amongst all of the accomplices.
This case creates several interesting points relevant to the retailers from which the merchandise was initially stolen. The first is that any physical merchandise that has been held as evidence will continue to be held while the restitution is decided upon. It further reiterates the thought that once merchandise is stolen, do not plan on getting it back anytime soon, even if you know who stole it.
Next, once restitution is decided as to who will be responsible for which portion, how will those payments be divided up amongst the victimized retailers? Restitution is generally made in set payments, over a specific period of time. It is similar in principle to what one would pay if they had taken out an installment loan.
Those payments are based upon a realistic dollar amount that could be paid every month. For some, it could be several hundred each month; others may only be paying ten or twenty dollars at a time. If the $400,000 is split between 180+ people, each with their own repayment schedule, and each of those payments broken down by a portion to be allocated to each retailer, it can be a very long time before anyone actually sees enough restitution come back in to offset any of the losses. This could easily be years, or even decades later.
I had a case once where the restitution was set at $100 dollars a month for 35 years. That was 15 years ago. The store has since closed down, so they did not recover even half of the stolen dollar amount.
The best bet is to stop shoplifting before it happens. Even if your criminals are not stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, what kinds of losses can you live with without planning on recouping any of those lost profits? For many businesses, even a few hundred dollars in inventory losses can start to put a real cramp in their operating budgets.
Operate your anti shoplifting programs to eliminate inventory losses before they leave the store. Once merchandise is gone, there is no guarantee you will get it back, or see a restitution check fast enough to offset those particular inventory losses. Even though the ringleader is currently on the hook for $400,000 in restitution, it is the retailers that are currently paying for all of that merchandise.
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Anti-Shoplifting devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop shoplifting in your store.
For more information on Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint Labels, a Checkpoint Security System, Checkpoint Security Tags, Checkpoint Systems, or Checkpoint Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to Stop Shoplifting in your store or call 1.770.426.0547
There is a current case in the court systems right now as to the sentencing of a organized retail crime ringleader. He has been convicted of the thefts of over $400,000 dollars worth of merchandise from various stores. It took a task force over 6 months to identify and track down this ringleader and over 180 accomplices.
The case is currently debating the ringleader’s sentencing. He was given jail time as well as has been instructed to pay back the full $400,000 dollars in restitution. Obviously the ringleader didn’t want to pay for the merchandise the first time around, so it is no surprise that he doesn’t want to pay for it now. He is appealing to have the restitution pro rated amongst all of the accomplices.
This case creates several interesting points relevant to the retailers from which the merchandise was initially stolen. The first is that any physical merchandise that has been held as evidence will continue to be held while the restitution is decided upon. It further reiterates the thought that once merchandise is stolen, do not plan on getting it back anytime soon, even if you know who stole it.
Next, once restitution is decided as to who will be responsible for which portion, how will those payments be divided up amongst the victimized retailers? Restitution is generally made in set payments, over a specific period of time. It is similar in principle to what one would pay if they had taken out an installment loan.
Those payments are based upon a realistic dollar amount that could be paid every month. For some, it could be several hundred each month; others may only be paying ten or twenty dollars at a time. If the $400,000 is split between 180+ people, each with their own repayment schedule, and each of those payments broken down by a portion to be allocated to each retailer, it can be a very long time before anyone actually sees enough restitution come back in to offset any of the losses. This could easily be years, or even decades later.
I had a case once where the restitution was set at $100 dollars a month for 35 years. That was 15 years ago. The store has since closed down, so they did not recover even half of the stolen dollar amount.
The best bet is to stop shoplifting before it happens. Even if your criminals are not stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, what kinds of losses can you live with without planning on recouping any of those lost profits? For many businesses, even a few hundred dollars in inventory losses can start to put a real cramp in their operating budgets.
Operate your anti shoplifting programs to eliminate inventory losses before they leave the store. Once merchandise is gone, there is no guarantee you will get it back, or see a restitution check fast enough to offset those particular inventory losses. Even though the ringleader is currently on the hook for $400,000 in restitution, it is the retailers that are currently paying for all of that merchandise.
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Anti-Shoplifting devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop shoplifting in your store.
For more information on Anti-Shoplifting, Checkpoint Labels, a Checkpoint Security System, Checkpoint Security Tags, Checkpoint Systems, or Checkpoint Tags and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to Stop Shoplifting in your store or call 1.770.426.0547
Currently there seem to be more pain relief makers converting to bottle only packaging. With this change, there also needs to be a change in how we, as owners and managers, will protect these items. RX Caps are a solution to being able to safely display this new method of packaging.
From my first day starting to work in the retail pharmacy business, all of our OTC pain relievers out on the sales floor have been sold as “bottle inside box” packaging. This approach does make it easier to merchandise the products on the shelves. There is the advantage of maximum pack out, because in boxes they can be stacked without falling over. As for loss prevention, some can be placed inside Alpha Keepers, others are just tagged with Checkpoint Labels. Of course, there was the issue of finding empty packages hidden throughout the store, but that was pretty rare. The best solution I found was to just limit the shelf quantity.
Now, to be bluntly honest, if I was to just put out the bottles as they are coming now, I would not be finding empty packages. I would be finding empty shelves. It may be environmentally friendly to leave out the cardboard, but it is not retailer friendly. In the inner city setting, between petty thievery and boosters, private label and name brand pain relief bottles are just too tempting. Without bulky boxes, they are now more easily concealed, in pants and jacket pockets, or slipped into big shoplifter bags. That’s where the hero of the day, RX Caps, can come in to help. As the bottles arrive in the delivery, the Caps can be attached right over the lid before putting them out for sale. The Checkpoint System will alarm if someone gets too close to the pedestals with protected merchandise, and will self alarm if there is an attempt to improperly remove them. The caps can only be removed with the provided magnet key, which is an easy task for the clerk at the register.
I have certainly had plenty of experience dealing with boosters. Stores in our area are constant targets for them, as they seem to know our routines, our staffing, and our delivery schedules. Although the OTC pain relief section is directly in front of our pharmacy, in plain sight straight down the aisle, boosters know when the pharmacy is likely to be the busiest and they take advantage of that. I have come down the aisle to discover every piece of a particular brand wiped out. I want to be proactive and not reactive about this new packaging though. Rather than standing in the aisle with my hands on my hips, looking in disbelief at the big empty space where my inventory should have been, I plan to take the steps needed now to stop the problem before it ever arises. I would rather watch the camera screen from the comfort of my office, and catch a glimpse of a booster standing there looking at the bottles, maybe even picking them up and turning them over in their hands trying to figure out how to accomplish the theft. All the while I will know he or she can not get out the door undetected with them. Sure, in the real world that never happens, but it’s worth dreaming about. RX Caps can help make that dream come true.
For more information contact us: Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547
Currently there seem to be more pain relief makers converting to bottle only packaging. With this change, there also needs to be a change in how we, as owners and managers, will protect these items. RX Caps are a solution to being able to safely display this new method of packaging.
From my first day starting to work in the retail pharmacy business, all of our OTC pain relievers out on the sales floor have been sold as “bottle inside box” packaging. This approach does make it easier to merchandise the products on the shelves. There is the advantage of maximum pack out, because in boxes they can be stacked without falling over. As for loss prevention, some can be placed inside Alpha Keepers, others are just tagged with Checkpoint Labels. Of course, there was the issue of finding empty packages hidden throughout the store, but that was pretty rare. The best solution I found was to just limit the shelf quantity.
Now, to be bluntly honest, if I was to just put out the bottles as they are coming now, I would not be finding empty packages. I would be finding empty shelves. It may be environmentally friendly to leave out the cardboard, but it is not retailer friendly. In the inner city setting, between petty thievery and boosters, private label and name brand pain relief bottles are just too tempting. Without bulky boxes, they are now more easily concealed, in pants and jacket pockets, or slipped into big shoplifter bags. That’s where the hero of the day, RX Caps, can come in to help. As the bottles arrive in the delivery, the Caps can be attached right over the lid before putting them out for sale. The Checkpoint System will alarm if someone gets too close to the pedestals with protected merchandise, and will self alarm if there is an attempt to improperly remove them. The caps can only be removed with the provided magnet key, which is an easy task for the clerk at the register.
I have certainly had plenty of experience dealing with boosters. Stores in our area are constant targets for them, as they seem to know our routines, our staffing, and our delivery schedules. Although the OTC pain relief section is directly in front of our pharmacy, in plain sight straight down the aisle, boosters know when the pharmacy is likely to be the busiest and they take advantage of that. I have come down the aisle to discover every piece of a particular brand wiped out. I want to be proactive and not reactive about this new packaging though. Rather than standing in the aisle with my hands on my hips, looking in disbelief at the big empty space where my inventory should have been, I plan to take the steps needed now to stop the problem before it ever arises. I would rather watch the camera screen from the comfort of my office, and catch a glimpse of a booster standing there looking at the bottles, maybe even picking them up and turning them over in their hands trying to figure out how to accomplish the theft. All the while I will know he or she can not get out the door undetected with them. Sure, in the real world that never happens, but it’s worth dreaming about. Rx Caps can help make that dream come true.
For more information contact us: Antishoplifting.net or call 1.770.426.0547
