Auto Peg Tag-5 WC Blog 259
Electronic Article Surveillance-3
Stop Shoplifting-4
Checkpoint Hard Tags-4
Battered By Battery Theft? Auto Peg Tags Help You Battle Back Against Bad Guys
For retailers, there are some items that get stolen and on the surface it seems the items are stolen at random. Having worked in Retail Loss Prevention for many years I learned that sometimes what appears to be random may actually have wider implications. For example, I once started to see an increase in the theft of certain high blood pressure cold medicines. Initially I thought the thefts were professionals boosting for resale on the black market. After partnering with police friends, I learned that the medicines were stolen by teenagers to get high. I also began learning about the dangers associated with the abuse of these medicines which was another scary prospect. I learned to start looking a little harder when theft trends appeared. While professional boosting may be part of a problem, there may be a darker motivation behind the theft of certain items. Unfortunately, many times retailers are reactive rather than proactive and try to protect merchandise after a theft trend has cost money and shortage. Rather than wait to stop shoplifting until a problem crops up, stores could use Checkpoint hard tags on products now to prevent a problem from starting. A good example of this would be to use the Auto Peg Tag on packages of batteries.
An Auto Peg Tag is an effective means to stop shoplifting while still keeping merchandise readily available for customers to pick up and carry to a checkout counter. These Checkpoint hard tags fit over the peg hole of a package and snap closed. It can only be removed with a detachment tool at a checkout counter. The tags are designed with electronic article surveillance technology built into them so they will cause an electronic article surveillance antenna to activate if a protected package is carried too close to the antenna. Few shoplifters want to risk setting off an alarm and draw attention to them. The bright color of the Auto Peg Tag alerts potential thieves that the package is protected and has EAS technology. Like other Checkpoint Hard Tags, the visual deterrence value alone helps to stop shoplifting of merchandise from a store.
What product is it that may be a target of thieves in your store and you aren’t even aware of it? For the purposes of this article, my concern is the need to protect packages of batteries, especially lithium batteries. Yes, batteries in general are expensive and can be profitable for simple resale, but you may not be aware that lithium batteries in particular are used as an ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine. According to the United States Department of Justice Archive, “The ingredients that are used in the process of making meth can include: …drain cleaner, battery acid and lithium (taken from inside batteries).” https://www.justice.gov/archive/olp/methawareness/ . If your store is seeing shortage in this area, the reason may be they are contributing to a major drug problem in the U.S.
So while most people are aware of the restrictions that have been placed on pseudoephedrine due to the use of it in making methamphetamine, many don’t realize lithium batteries are also key components. Because this is an important part of the process, lithium batteries are a high theft item. If you carry these batteries you may want to take another look at your peghooks to see just how instock you are. If you do not seem to have an issue, now would be the time to look at Checkpoint hard tags for protection. If you have already been impacted it is better to invest in the Auto Peg Tags now and stop shoplifting from continuing to hurt your business.
Use the protection of electronic article surveillance and Auto Peg Tags on all of your pegged merchandise, but I truly urge you to focus on your lithium batteries. You can improve your stock shortage results and possibly help to curb a drug epidemic.
Get more information on Auto Peg Tags. Contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
For retailers, there are some items that get stolen and on the surface it seems the items are stolen at random. Having worked in Retail Loss Prevention for many years I learned that sometimes what appears to be random may actually have wider implications. For example, I once started to see an increase in the theft of certain high blood pressure cold medicines. Initially I thought the thefts were professionals boosting for resale on the black market. After partnering with police friends, I learned that the medicines were stolen by teenagers to get high. I also began learning about the dangers associated with the abuse of these medicines which was another scary prospect. I learned to start looking a little harder when theft trends appeared. While professional boosting may be part of a problem, there may be a darker motivation behind the theft of certain items. Unfortunately, many times retailers are reactive rather than proactive and try to protect merchandise after a theft trend has cost money and shortage. Rather than wait to stop shoplifting until a problem crops up, stores could use Checkpoint hard tags on products now to prevent a problem from starting. A good example of this would be to use the Auto Peg Tag on packages of batteries.
An Auto Peg Tag is an effective means to stop shoplifting while still keeping merchandise readily available for customers to pick up and carry to a checkout counter. These Checkpoint hard tags fit over the peg hole of a package and snap closed. It can only be removed with a detachment tool at a checkout counter. The tags are designed with electronic article surveillance technology built into them so they will cause an electronic article surveillance antenna to activate if a protected package is carried too close to the antenna. Few shoplifters want to risk setting off an alarm and draw attention to them. The bright color of the Auto Peg Tag alerts potential thieves that the package is protected and has EAS technology. Like other Checkpoint Hard Tags, the visual deterrence value alone helps to stop shoplifting of merchandise from a store.
What product is it that may be a target of thieves in your store and you aren’t even aware of it? For the purposes of this article, my concern is the need to protect packages of batteries, especially lithium batteries. Yes, batteries in general are expensive and can be profitable for simple resale, but you may not be aware that lithium batteries in particular are used as an ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine. According to the United States Department of Justice Archive, “The ingredients that are used in the process of making meth can include: …drain cleaner, battery acid and lithium (taken from inside batteries).” https://www.justice.gov/archive/olp/methawareness/ . If your store is seeing shortage in this area, the reason may be they are contributing to a major drug problem in the U.S.
So while most people are aware of the restrictions that have been placed on pseudoephedrine due to the use of it in making methamphetamine, many don’t realize lithium batteries are also key components. Because this is an important part of the process, lithium batteries are a high theft item. If you carry these batteries you may want to take another look at your peghooks to see just how instock you are. If you do not seem to have an issue, now would be the time to look at Checkpoint hard tags for protection. If you have already been impacted it is better to invest in the Auto Peg Tags now and stop shoplifting from continuing to hurt your business.
Use the protection of electronic article surveillance and Auto Peg Tags on all of your pegged merchandise, but I truly urge you to focus on your lithium batteries. You can improve your stock shortage results and possibly help to curb a drug epidemic.
Get more information on Auto Peg Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
