CLOTHING SECURITY TAGS WILL ENSURE YOUR HIGH END ITEMS ARE PROTECTED, NOT BOOSTED!
Clothing Security Tags-4 ML Blog 23
Security Tags on Clothes-4
When it comes to shoplifting in my store, I am always looking for the best protection for our high end merchandise. Luckily, there are high quality deterrent devices available that do not break the bank! As retailers, we have to outwit the thieves and make sure we are utilizing what really works. I’ve worked in several retail stores who at first, did not believe in using security tags on clothes. I would watch their high end items walk out of the store every single day, until they realized how big of a theft problem they were having. Shoplifters would leave racks empty, taking a huge toll on sales! Clothing security tags provide the ultimate protection for high theft merchandise, without effecting the customer experience.
As a Senior Loss Prevention Manager, I frequently use our CCTV cameras to analyze where our theft issues occur. I also pull weekly shrink reports to see where we stand each week in known loss. One retail location that I worked at, had trending shrink issues. I started to research to see what departments they were coming from. I noticed they were consistently shrinking out in men’s sportswear, so this was a high focus area for myself to review. I completed a floor walk, to notice none of their items priced at $70.00 and up had security tags on clothes. I was shocked! Why would you leave a shrinking out department without any protection, making a honey hole for thieves? I immediately implemented a plan to have any men’s sportswear clothing tagged with clothing security tags. It took us only 2 hours to get ALL of the items protected. Now that I executed a new plan, we needed to see if it really was working. I was scanning CCTV cameras one evening, and noticed a male and a female acting suspicious in that area. The female was carrying a large, empty purse. They both rapidly selected 10 high dollar items, priced at $79.99-$129.99 each item. After selecting the items, the male walks around the sales floor to lookout for store personnel. The female goes into a corner of the store and bends down to the ground, to load up her empty purse. As she is concealing, she stops and takes a quick look at one of the items. She realizes that the items she selected are protected now by clothing security tags! She pauses in a panic, and calls the male subject over. She shows him the tags, and she pulls the items she already concealed out of her purse. She hands all of the merchandise to the male, and he tries to break the tags off. He realizes that the task was too difficult, and drops the merchandise on the floor. Luckily, the tags are built with technology that provides tamper resistant security! He starts looking for the exit, and hand signals for the female to follow him out. They exit into the parking lot, with no merchandise! They didn’t realize my store now places security tags on clothes. Luckily, if the shoplifters decided to be bold by stealing with the tags on, they would set off the security system as they approach the exit. The security system would alert by making a massive noise and light up at the same time. This would place all eyes on them and allow the associates to react in time. This showed my store team the importance of ensuring that we are utilizing the clothing security tags. These 2 subjects could have absconded close to $800 in only one instance. Think of how many times they have visited this store in the past? Keeping security tags on merchandise works as a deterrent in more ways than retailers can imagine. We keep the shoplifters leaving empty handed, due to our tough merchandise protection standards. I’ve seen several of these same scenarios at retailers, not realizing how important the tags are. After 2 months of utilizing the new plan, we saw a massive decrease in our known theft numbers. For that specific department, we cut our known loss by 70%. I’ve personally seen this plan work at each store I have worked at. Another positive aspect of the tags, are how customer friendly they are. My store manager really likes that they are reusable and easy to remove at the point of sale. This allows customers to still be able to check out at the registers quickly.
Clothing is a high targeted theft item, and extremely easy to conceal for thieves. Decrease your shrink by simply placing security tags on clothes. Why not protect your assets with an easy, cost effective fix? Clothing security tags ensure that your high end clothing is protected, and not boosted.
Get more information on Clothing Security Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
When it comes to shoplifting in my store, I am always looking for the best protection for our high end merchandise. Luckily, there are high quality deterrent devices available that do not break the bank! As retailers, we have to outwit the thieves and make sure we are utilizing what really works. I’ve worked in several retail stores who at first, did not believe in using security tags on clothes. I would watch their high end items walk out of the store every single day, until they realized how big of a theft problem they were having. Shoplifters would leave racks empty, taking a huge toll on sales! Clothing security tags provide the ultimate protection for high theft merchandise, without affecting the customer experience.
As a Senior Loss Prevention Manager, I frequently use our CCTV cameras to analyze where our theft issues occur. I also pull weekly shrink reports to see where we stand each week in known loss. One retail location that I worked at, had trending shrink issues. I started to research to see what departments they were coming from. I noticed they were consistently shrinking out in men’s sportswear, so this was a high focus area for myself to review. I completed a floor walk, to notice none of their items priced at $70.00 and up had security tags on clothes. I was shocked! Why would you leave a shrinking out department without any protection, making a honey hole for thieves? I immediately implemented a plan to have any men’s sportswear clothing tagged with clothing security tags. It took us only 2 hours to get ALL of the items protected. Now that I executed a new plan, we needed to see if it really was working. I was scanning CCTV cameras one evening, and noticed a male and a female acting suspicious in that area. The female was carrying a large, empty purse. They both rapidly selected 10 high dollar items, priced at $79.99-$129.99 each item. After selecting the items, the male walks around the sales floor to lookout for store personnel. The female goes into a corner of the store and bends down to the ground, to load up her empty purse. As she is concealing, she stops and takes a quick look at one of the items. She realizes that the items she selected are protected now by clothing security tags! She pauses in a panic, and calls the male subject over. She shows him the tags, and she pulls the items she already concealed out of her purse. She hands all of the merchandise to the male, and he tries to break the tags off. He realizes that the task was too difficult, and drops the merchandise on the floor. Luckily, the tags are built with technology that provides tamper resistant security! He starts looking for the exit, and hand signals for the female to follow him out. They exit into the parking lot, with no merchandise! They didn’t realize my store now places security tags on clothes. Luckily, if the shoplifters decided to be bold by stealing with the tags on, they would set off the security system as they approach the exit. The security system would alert by making a massive noise and light up at the same time. This would place all eyes on them and allow the associates to react in time. This showed my store team the importance of ensuring that we are utilizing the clothing security tags. These 2 subjects could have absconded close to $800 in only one instance. Think of how many times they have visited this store in the past? Keeping security tags on merchandise works as a deterrent in more ways than retailers can imagine. We keep the shoplifters leaving empty handed, due to our tough merchandise protection standards. I’ve seen several of these same scenarios at retailers, not realizing how important the tags are. After 2 months of utilizing the new plan, we saw a massive decrease in our known theft numbers. For that specific department, we cut our known loss by 70%. I’ve personally seen this plan work at each store I have worked at. Another positive aspect of the tags, are how customer friendly they are. My store manager really likes that they are reusable and easy to remove at the point of sale. This allows customers to still be able to check out at the registers quickly.
Clothing is a high targeted theft item, and extremely easy to conceal for thieves. Decrease your shrink by simply placing security tags on clothes. Why not protect your assets with an easy, cost effective fix? Clothing security tags ensure that your high end clothing is protected, and not boosted.
Get more information on Clothing Security Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Can Loss Prevention Be Free?-3 WC Blog 420
Free Loss Prevention Calculator-3
Is It Reasonable To Ask The Question, “Can Loss Prevention Be Free?” The Answer May Pleasantly Surprise You
Over the last six years or so I have worked as an overnight supervisor in a college library. I also work part-time for an office supply retail store and I write articles based on my many years of Retail Loss Prevention Management and retail logistics management experience. Recently I have changed positions in the library from an overnight supervisor to a daytime supervisor, a change I have been hoping for over the last year or so. I had to consider the costs and benefits of such a move before I asked for it. The cost was going to be losing a shift differential payment that went with working overnights. Financially it was going to be a bit tighter on my budget. The return on investment (ROI) for me would be working during the daytime, seeing my family more and not dealing with sleep issues from working overnights. There would also be the opportunity to enjoy a full day off rather than sleeping part of my second day off in order to get ready for the overnight shift. To address the financial loss I was able to pick up an additional shift at my retail job each week. Some decisions are not always easy to make, they have to be well thought out because there can be consequences to those decisions. In my case it was a financial cost but I was able to find a solution and the benefits far outweighed the cost. Some decisions are what I call no-brainers. The benefits from a decision clearly outweigh a cost and will continue to reap dividends in the future. One decision that would be a no-brainer would be if someone were to ask, “Can Loss Prevention be free?” and the answer would be yes.
It may sound like a preposterous question, “Can Loss Prevention be free?” but it really isn’t preposterous. By using the Free Loss Prevention Calculator a business owner can see how long it would take for a Checkpoint Loss Prevention System to pay for itself in savings due to reduced theft. Here’s how it works, you go to the calculator, enter your annual sales information and the amount of money you would like to invest in Checkpoint retail anti-theft equipment. Based on average retail shortage percentages of 1.2%, the calculator reduces annual shrinkage to .65% and gives an estimated figure of how many months it would take for the system to pay for itself. I should also point out that the Free Loss Prevention Calculator requires no “sign-ups” and there is no tracking of information. In fact, you can change the information you input as much as you like to see the different results you could get by spending more or less on Loss Prevention equipment.
If reduced shortage in and of itself isn’t enough motivation to get you to try the Free Loss Prevention Calculator perhaps you would be interested to know that you can also improve sales with a decline in theft due to shoplifting and employee pilferage. Shoplifters empty product from store shelves and thereby remove product for your true customers to purchase. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that without merchandise there is nothing to buy and guess what? The shoplifters are stealing what everyone else wants not the items that sit on the shelf and don’t move. They are taking the items that can be sold on the internet or in “Mom and Pop” shops. Without those items sales decline on top of the losses you are incurring from the criminals. Installing an anti-theft system puts a stop to the losses and product remains on the shelf until the paying customer takes it off and buys it.
Can Loss Prevention be free? It can and it can be profitable too, this is a no-brainer. Theft prevention, improved in-stocks and increased sales can be your ROI if you invest in Checkpoint equipment.
Get more information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Over the last six years or so I have worked as an overnight supervisor in a college library. I also work part-time for an office supply retail store and I write articles based on my many years of Retail Loss Prevention Management and retail logistics management experience. Recently I have changed positions in the library from an overnight supervisor to a daytime supervisor, a change I have been hoping for over the last year or so. I had to consider the costs and benefits of such a move before I asked for it. The cost was going to be losing a shift differential payment that went with working overnights. Financially it was going to be a bit tighter on my budget. The return on investment (ROI) for me would be working during the daytime, seeing my family more and not dealing with sleep issues from working overnights. There would also be the opportunity to enjoy a full day off rather than sleeping part of my second day off in order to get ready for the overnight shift. To address the financial loss I was able to pick up an additional shift at my retail job each week. Some decisions are not always easy to make, they have to be well thought out because there can be consequences to those decisions. In my case it was a financial cost but I was able to find a solution and the benefits far outweighed the cost. Some decisions are what I call no-brainers. The benefits from a decision clearly outweigh a cost and will continue to reap dividends in the future. One decision that would be a no-brainer would be if someone were to ask, “Can Loss Prevention be free?” and the answer would be yes.
It may sound like a preposterous question, “Can Loss Prevention be free?” but it really isn’t preposterous. By using the Free Loss Prevention Calculator a business owner can see how long it would take for a Checkpoint Loss Prevention System to pay for itself in savings due to reduced theft. Here’s how it works, you go to the calculator, enter your annual sales information and the amount of money you would like to invest in Checkpoint retail anti-theft equipment. Based on average retail shortage percentages of 1.2%, the calculator reduces annual shrinkage to .65% and gives an estimated figure of how many months it would take for the system to pay for itself. I should also point out that the Free Loss Prevention Calculator requires no “sign-ups” and there is no tracking of information. In fact, you can change the information you input as much as you like to see the different results you could get by spending more or less on Loss Prevention equipment.
If reduced shortage in and of itself isn’t enough motivation to get you to try the Free Loss Prevention Calculator perhaps you would be interested to know that you can also improve sales with a decline in theft due to shoplifting and employee pilferage. Shoplifters empty product from store shelves and thereby remove product for your true customers to purchase. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that without merchandise there is nothing to buy and guess what? The shoplifters are stealing what everyone else wants not the items that sit on the shelf and don’t move. They are taking the items that can be sold on the internet or in “Mom and Pop” shops. Without those items sales decline on top of the losses you are incurring from the criminals. Installing an anti-theft system puts a stop to the losses and product remains on the shelf until the paying customer takes it off and buys it.
Can Loss Prevention be free? It can and it can be profitable too, this is a no-brainer. Theft prevention, improved in-stocks and increased sales can be your ROI if you invest in Checkpoint equipment.
Get more information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Alpha 3 Alarm -5 WC Blog 398
Retail Ani-Theft Device-4
Prevent Shoplifting-3
Monitor A Problem Or Prevent A Problem? Alpha 3 Alarm Tags Are An Effective Tool To Prevent Shoplifting
The commercial begins with several armed thugs barging into a bank. The customers all get down on the floor cowering and the bank clerks raise their hands in submission. In the middle of the bank a uniformed officer is standing watching what is going on. A woman on the floor whispers up at him and says, “Do something!” The officer looks down at her and says, “Oh, I’m not a security guard, I’m a security monitor.” He goes on to explain that he only monitors for bank robberies he doesn’t do anything about them. The commercial is hilarious to me. The absurdity of the exaggeration has enough ring of truth to it to make it effective in getting out its message. The company is pointing out that it proactively monitors personal information and credit information for the clients who use it. It argues through the messaging of the commercial that it doesn’t just monitor when a person has their identity stolen. I bring this up because it seems some stores use retail anti-theft devices on merchandise with the intention to prevent shoplifting but then do nothing about it when an alarm sounds. It may be the tamper alarm on an Alpha 3 Alarm tag that is sounding or an electronic article surveillance (EAS) pedestal activating due to a shoplifter trying to sneak tagged merchandise out the door. Of course, talking about an Alpha 3 Alarm tag makes no sense if you aren’t familiar with it so let me talk about it briefly.
An Alpha 3 Alarm tags are retail anti-theft devices that are attached to merchandise, especially softlines products (clothing, clothing accessories, bath shop items and bedding to name a few) that deters thieves and can prevent shoplifting. Tags are two–pieces, a hard tag with a pin and a cap that covers the pin after it is pushed through the product. Once pieced together the tag is nearly impossible to remove from the merchandise without an Alpha detachment tool. When a crook attempts to pry a tag off the merchandise is damaged and rendered useless to the criminal, defeating the reason they would want to get the tag off in the first place. Tags are also equipped with EAS technology designed to be picked up by EAS pedestal sensors when a shoplifter tries to carry an item out of the store. This sounds an alarm in the pedestal designed to elicit employee response to determine the cause of the alarm and recover merchandise. An Alpha 3 Alarm tag has a built in tamper alarm that activates when someone tries to pry it off, activates a pedestal alarm and if it is carried out the door and a built in alarm that sounds in the tag. Thieves cannot avoid being noticed with a screeching tag giving them away as they try to run away.
Going back to my commercial example and retail theft prevention strategies, I am perplexed by the number of times I am hearing EAS alarm activations and there appears to be no response to the alarms. I was in the mall not long ago and heard an alarm activation at one of the doors. The person who set it off looked around and left. The closest cashier didn’t look over or appear to acknowledge an alarm had gone off. I just questioned what the purpose was of having the EAS pedestals in the first place. All I picture is the pedestal in place of the security monitor saying, “I’m not an a retail anti-theft device, I’m a retail anti-theft monitor, I only let you know when a theft took place” then matter- of- factly it adds, “A theft just took place” and the alarm sounds. No one does anything to react you just know a theft occurred.
C’mon, take theft and shortage seriously. Don’t invest in an EAS pedestal and ignore it. Don’t purchase Alpha 3 Alarm tags and use them on only part of the merchandise in the store. What are you trying to do stop just some of the shoplifters stealing from you? Which ones are they? Prevent shoplifting from taking place don’t just monitor the problem.
Get more information on Alpha 3 Alarm, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
The commercial begins with several armed thugs barging into a bank. The customers all get down on the floor cowering and the bank clerks raise their hands in submission. In the middle of the bank a uniformed officer is standing watching what is going on. A woman on the floor whispers up at him and says, “Do something!” The officer looks down at her and says, “Oh, I’m not a security guard, I’m a security monitor.” He goes on to explain that he only monitors for bank robberies he doesn’t do anything about them. The commercial is hilarious to me. The absurdity of the exaggeration has enough ring of truth to it to make it effective in getting out its message. The company is pointing out that it proactively monitors personal information and credit information for the clients who use it. It argues through the messaging of the commercial that it doesn’t just monitor when a person has their identity stolen. I bring this up because it seems some stores use retail anti-theft devices on merchandise with the intention to prevent shoplifting but then do nothing about it when an alarm sounds. It may be the tamper alarm on an Alpha 3 Alarm tag that is sounding or an electronic article surveillance (EAS) pedestal activating due to a shoplifter trying to sneak tagged merchandise out the door. Of course, talking about an Alpha 3 Alarm tag makes no sense if you aren’t familiar with it so let me talk about it briefly.
An Alpha 3 Alarm tags are retail anti-theft devices that are attached to merchandise, especially softlines products (clothing, clothing accessories, bath shop items and bedding to name a few) that deters thieves and can prevent shoplifting. Tags are two–pieces, a hard tag with a pin and a cap that covers the pin after it is pushed through the product. Once pieced together the tag is nearly impossible to remove from the merchandise without an Alpha detachment tool. When a crook attempts to pry a tag off the merchandise is damaged and rendered useless to the criminal, defeating the reason they would want to get the tag off in the first place. Tags are also equipped with EAS technology designed to be picked up by EAS pedestal sensors when a shoplifter tries to carry an item out of the store. This sounds an alarm in the pedestal designed to elicit employee response to determine the cause of the alarm and recover merchandise. An Alpha 3 Alarm tag has a built in tamper alarm that activates when someone tries to pry it off, activates a pedestal alarm and if it is carried out the door and a built in alarm that sounds in the tag. Thieves cannot avoid being noticed with a screeching tag giving them away as they try to run away.
Going back to my commercial example and retail theft prevention strategies, I am perplexed by the number of times I am hearing EAS alarm activations and there appears to be no response to the alarms. I was in the mall not long ago and heard an alarm activation at one of the doors. The person who set it off looked around and left. The closest cashier didn’t look over or appear to acknowledge an alarm had gone off. I just questioned what the purpose was of having the EAS pedestals in the first place. All I picture is the pedestal in place of the security monitor saying, “I’m not an a retail anti-theft device, I’m a retail anti-theft monitor, I only let you know when a theft took place” then matter- of- factly it adds, “A theft just took place” and the alarm sounds. No one does anything to react you just know a theft occurred.
C’mon, take theft and shortage seriously. Don’t invest in an EAS pedestal and ignore it. Don’t purchase Alpha 3 Alarm tags and use them on only part of the merchandise in the store. What are you trying to do stop just some of the shoplifters stealing from you? Which ones are they? Prevent shoplifting from taking place don’t just monitor the problem.
Get more information on Alpha 3 Alarm, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
