There are three main categories of shoplifters- the amateur, the opportunist, and the professional. Each one creates very specific demands on a retailer’s loss prevention and inventory control. That being said, the opportunistic shoplifter accounts for about 73 percent of the shoplifters. Because these are the shoplifters who do not steal out of need or through a driven intent to steal, Checkpoint Tags are a very effective solution.
The opportunist shoplifter is one that is presented with an opportunity to steal. It can be because inattentive employees do not respond to a customer at a checkout needing to make a quick purchase, so the customer walks out of the store without paying.
These shoplifters are also one that will find extra merchandise in a fitting room and decide to steal something because they know no one is paying attention. Along the sale lines, these might be customers who bring in excessive piles of merchandise to try one, or have small accessories with them in the fitting rooms. If an attendant does not do a piece count or restrict the merchandise, a customer is more likely to take advantage of a situation.
Checkpoint tags reduce these opportunities. Even without employee interaction with the customer, a Checkpoint tag attached to your merchandise will deter these opportunists. The tags will sound an alarm at the exit, and customers know this fact. If they see that the merchandise has a Checkpoint tag, they will leave the merchandise behind, rather than risk getting caught.
Since opportunistic shoplifters do not intend to steal, they have a higher risk threshold. They are more concerned about the risk of getting caught than other shoplifters who have already weighed out the risk and make a predetermined decision to steal. Seeing a Checkpoint tag generally is enough of a deterrent to keep the opportunist shoplifter from stealing.
There are three main categories of shoplifters- the amateur, the opportunist, and the professional. Each one creates very specific demands on a retailer’s loss prevention and inventory control. That being said, the opportunistic shoplifter accounts for about 73 percent of the shoplifters. Because these are the shoplifters who do not steal out of need or through a driven intent to steal, Checkpoint Tags are a very effective solution.
The opportunist shoplifter is one that is presented with an opportunity to steal. It can be because inattentive employees do not respond to a customer at a checkout needing to make a quick purchase, so the customer walks out of the store without paying.
These shoplifters are also one that will find extra merchandise in a fitting room and decide to steal something because they know no one is paying attention. Along the sale lines, these might be customers who bring in excessive piles of merchandise to try one, or have small accessories with them in the fitting rooms. If an attendant does not do a piece count or restrict the merchandise, a customer is more likely to take advantage of a situation.
Checkpoint tags reduce these opportunities. Even without employee interaction with the customer, a Checkpoint tag attached to your merchandise will deter these opportunists. The tags will sound an alarm at the exit, and customers know this fact. If they see that the merchandise has a Checkpoint tag, they will leave the merchandise behind, rather than risk getting caught.
Since opportunistic shoplifters do not intend to steal, they have a higher risk threshold. They are more concerned about the risk of getting caught than other shoplifters who have already weighed out the risk and make a predetermined decision to steal. Seeing a Checkpoint tag generally is enough of a deterrent to keep the opportunist shoplifter from stealing.
So you sent out flyers for a special sale going on this weekend. The weather is nice, and your store is busy. You are quick to pat yourself on the back for running a great promotion, until you realize that you had an exceptionally large sale, which pushed your sales over the top. Now you are left second-guessing your promotion and its effectiveness.
If you had the use of traffic counters in your store, you might have realized that even though the store was busy, your traffic was actually down compared to other promotional sales days.
By using a traffic counting system of some kind, you would be able to start compiling hard data based on different sales, different days of the week, and even times during the day. From there you can determine if a particular sale is more successful than another kind.
Take an early bird sale for example. If you had great sales in the morning Friday after Thanksgiving, would you base your entire years sales on those same results for every Friday? Probably not, that kind of sale is an exception. That doesn’t mean that an early bird sale can’t drive traffic on other mornings.
When you run early bird sales days, compare the customer traffic counts to the same days of the week, but with no sales. Is there an increase in customer traffic? If so, early bird sales are a proven marketing tool. If they consistently do not drive traffic (based off of the traffic counter’s data) then you probably want to scratch that as an effective marketing tool.
Maybe you don’t want early bird specials; maybe your store has better results with a night owl sale? When you can accurately count the traffic at any given time or day of the week, you can drive your marketing to the specific needs of your business, resulting in increased sales and revenue.
When it comes to designing a loss prevention strategy, how do you know when the program becomes too expensive for your projected return on investment? With so many different variables, it can be a daunting task to determine how much of a Checkpoint Security System will pay for itself over time, and how much will be a negative impact.
The best place to start is to determine which kinds of components will be most beneficial to your locations, and what kind of staffing will be required to fully utilizes and optimize those components.
Starting at the most basic point and working up will help keep things clearer when evaluating how inclusive of a Checkpoint Security System you will need. Begin with Checkpoint Labels and Checkpoint Tags. Determine which merchandise will need an EAS device, and if it is more suited for Checkpoint Labels or Checkpoint Tags. Soft lines like clothing and accessories do better with the Checkpoint Tags, where as hard line merchandise is better paired with the Checkpoint Labels.
Next determine if your in store employees will need to apply these EAS devices, or if your vendors can source tag your merchandise for a fraction of the cost.
Once you have your devices in place, work up to the next level- Cameras and recording devices. While these two items can be very beneficial as a deterrent and a safety measure, they can also provide an added expense. Will you need to train someone to use the camera system in store, and if so, who? Will you be the only one who can access the system and recordings? What kinds of pressure will that put on your schedule?
For high theft areas, or even high-end retailers, most customers expect you to have a camera system; not having one would mar your customer’s expectations. In this situation, a Checkpoint Security System is not about a return on investment, but as the price of admission for your customer base.
When it comes to designing a loss prevention strategy, how do you know when the program becomes too expensive for your projected return on investment? With so many different variables, it can be a daunting task to determine how much of a Checkpoint Security System will pay for itself over time, and how much will be a negative impact.
The best place to start is to determine which kinds of components will be most beneficial to your locations, and what kind of staffing will be required to fully utilizes and optimize those components.
Starting at the most basic point and working up will help keep things clearer when evaluating how inclusive of a Checkpoint Security System you will need. Begin with Checkpoint Labels and Checkpoint Tags.
Determine which merchandise will need an EAS device, and if it is more suited for Checkpoint Labels or Checkpoint Tags. Soft lines like clothing and accessories do better with the Checkpoint Tags, where as hard line merchandise is better paired with the Checkpoint Labels.
Next determine if your in store employees will need to apply these EAS devices, or if your vendors can source tag your merchandise for a fraction of the cost.
Once you have your devices in place, work up to the next level- Cameras and recording devices. While these two items can be very beneficial as a deterrent and a safety measure, they can also provide an added expense. Will you need to train someone to use the camera system in store, and if so, who? Will you be the only one who can access the system and recordings? What kinds of pressure will that put on your schedule?
For high theft areas, or even high-end retailers, most customers expect you to have a camera system; not having one would mar your customer’s expectations. In this situation, a Checkpoint Security System is not about a return on investment, but as the price of admission for your customer base.
If you are working in a library then you probably already know that the most commonly stolen items (and the ones that will benefit most from a library theft detection system) are magazines. I had a friend explain to me that magazines are most current and have pictures and other pieces of information that people want to keep for them selves.
It actually makes a lot of sense to me. In my years of retail security, I frequently found magazines as one of my top stolen items. I would have employees reading them in the break room and then take them home, I had customers flip through the pages for a recipe and then tear that page out. Thousands of dollars in losses each year came directly from our magazine rack.
Using Checkpoint systems as the library theft detection system of choice greatly reduces the number of theft incidents each year- regardless of employee theft (intentionally or otherwise) and customer theft. When you affix a library theft prevention label to the magazine you are sending a signal that the magazine is being monitored. Secondly, if someone ignores or doesn’t see the label, the alarms will sound, just like in a store, that the magazine has not been properly checked out.
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Library Theft Detection System devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop inventory losses.
For more information on a Library Theft Detection System, Library Theft Prevention, or a Checkpoint System and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to stop inventory losses in your library or call 1.770.426.0547
If you are working in a library then you probably already know that the most commonly stolen items (and the ones that will benefit most from a library theft detection system) are magazines. I had a friend explain to me that magazines are most current and have pictures and other pieces of information that people want to keep for them selves.
It actually makes a lot of sense to me. In my years of retail security, I frequently found magazines as one of my top stolen items. I would have employees reading them in the break room and then take them home, I had customers flip through the pages for a recipe and then tear that page out. Thousands of dollars in losses each year came directly from our magazine rack.
Using Checkpoint systems as the library theft detection system of choice greatly reduces the number of theft incidents each year- regardless of employee theft (intentionally or otherwise) and customer theft. When you affix a library theft prevention label to the magazine you are sending a signal that the magazine is being monitored. Secondly, if someone ignores or doesn’t see the label, the alarms will sound, just like in a store, that the magazine has not been properly checked out.
Visit the Loss Prevention Store to purchase Library Theft Detection System devices and your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system from Checkpoint Systems to stop inventory losses.
For more information on a Library Theft Detection System, Library Theft Prevention, or a Checkpoint System and how they can work with your Electronic Article Surveillance or EAS system contact us at Retail theft prevention to stop inventory losses in your library or call 1.770.426.0547
In the real estate market, curb appeal is the first impression a potential homebuyer has regarding a property for sale. Great curb appeal makes a homebuyer want to go inside, it makes them want to see more. The reasoning behind it is the more attractive and well maintained a home is on the outside, the more attractive and well maintained the inside presumably will be.
Retail establishments operate under a similar premise- the outside of their storefronts and buildings should convey a strong image about their brand, and the products they carry. Successful retail curb appeal should draw in potential customers and get them in the mood to purchase the retailer’s merchandise.
Curb appeal is also what drives a shoplifter or a thief inside your store. They will size your business up from the outside first. They look to see if there are any signals pointing them to your store as an easy target.
They might look for signage indicating that Checkpoint Systems are in use. The can listen for EAS alarms registering from the Checkpoint Systems towers, or they may physically look to see the towers in the doorways.
Thieves will also look for other indicators like inattentive employees; high-end merchandise that can be resold, or exterior décor and merchandise that can be readily stolen.
Without visible cues of Checkpoint Systems in place, a thief might look for other indicators that they will be less likely to be detected. Is the store in a remote location, or dimly lit at night? Can the exits be easily accessed or is their a back door or side entrance that is not well staffed or monitored?
These kinds of signals are portrayed in the curb appeal for shoplifters. Once they determine your store to be a good target, you can bet on an increase in shoplifting.
In the real estate market, curb appeal is the first impression a potential homebuyer has regarding a property for sale. Great curb appeal makes a homebuyer want to go inside, it makes them want to see more. The reasoning behind it is the more attractive and well maintained a home is on the outside, the more attractive and well maintained the inside presumably will be.
Retail establishments operate under a similar premise- the outside of their storefronts and buildings should convey a strong image about their brand, and the products they carry. Successful retail curb appeal should draw in potential customers and get them in the mood to purchase the retailer’s merchandise.
Curb appeal is also what drives a shoplifter or a thief inside your store. They will size your business up from the outside first. They look to see if there are any signals pointing them to your store as an easy target.
They might look for signage indicating that Checkpoint Systems are in use. The can listen for EAS alarms registering from the Checkpoint Systems towers, or they may physically look to see the towers in the doorways.
Thieves will also look for other indicators like inattentive employees; high-end merchandise that can be resold, or exterior décor and merchandise that can be readily stolen.
Without visible cues of Checkpoint Systems in place, a thief might look for other indicators that they will be less likely to be detected. Is the store in a remote location, or dimly lit at night? Can the exits be easily accessed or is their a back door or side entrance that is not well staffed or monitored?
These kinds of signals are portrayed in the curb appeal for shoplifters. Once they determine your store to be a good target, you can bet on an increase in shoplifting.
