Retail traffic counting companies-4 WC blog 281
Door counting sensor-4
Customer counting device-3
Don’t Let Traffic Jams And Front End Slow Downs Hurt Sales; Find Out How Retail Traffic Counting Companies Can Drive Profits
Do you ever watch your morning traffic report before you go to work? Sometimes the information we get from those reports can be useful, we learn where an accident has taken place and we can find an alternate route if necessary. We may find out road construction is tying up traffic causing delays. We even get a heads up that school buses are out so expect slow- downs stops and buses pick up children. Retail traffic counting companies can provide store owners with valuable information that can be useful for improving sales and customer service issues using reporting information from a customer counting device or door counting sensor. Much like the traffic reporter it can give the information that can help ensure you take a better, more efficient route to your destination which is running a successful and profitable business.
A door counting sensor placed at the entrance(s) of a store can provide data on how many people have entered the business during the day. Reporting can provide hourly breakdowns so an owner or manager can see when the peak periods of that day were. If a store has an electronic article surveillance system the door counting sensor can be tied into it. For stores that have taken steps to prevent theft with an electronic article surveillance system, a customer counting device can report how many alarm activations took place during the day and what times those alarms happened. In a sense, retail traffic counting companies provide valuable information that can help shop owners prepare for future traffic patterns, whether it is how many people will visit the store and may need sales advice or assistance or how many people will wait in checkout lines wanting to buy merchandise. If properly prepared, a manager may have extra sales floor help or extra cashiers that may keep customers from walking out empty handed.
Think about retail counting companies like your local traffic report in this sense, if you know in advance what to expect you can better prepare for it. If the reports you receive demonstrate you have increases in customer traffic on Friday afternoons you can evaluate your staffing model and adjust it so you have more employees working during that peak time. Conversely, if Monday mornings are particularly slow, reduce the number of employees at that time of the day. Adjust payroll to fit the traffic patterns of the store. Do you ever look at snarled and backed up lines at the registers and wonder what happened? Do you ever think to yourself, “I wish I had an extra cashier right now!”? This is one of the advantages a door counting sensor can provide. You can look at past trends and make schedules that ensure you have the right people to meet customer demand.
A customer counting device does also provide reporting data on the number of electronic article surveillance alarms a store is receiving. If the store has faulty equipment a repair ticket can quickly be submitted for a repair. If excess alarms are taking place a store owner will have a more accurate picture of it than what employees are reporting. It means quicker service calls can be placed or there may be a requirement for trying to stop a shoplifting ring or individual hitting the store on a certain day. It could also help owners identify training needs for associates on how to respond to an alarm.
By using retail traffic counting companies you can prevent those ugly lines backing up at the checkout lanes. Unfortunately for you, the only detour your customers tend to make as opposed to the driver on the road is a one-way trek out your doors without a purchase. Abandoned shopping carts of merchandise that translate to lost sales can be avoided. Customers waiting for sales floor help that never arrives can be a thing of the past. No one enjoys a traffic jam and they don’t enjoy waiting to make purchases. See how much you can improve your sales and customer service performance by finding out what retail traffic counting companies can do for you.
Need information on Retail Traffic Counting Companies? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Do you ever watch your morning traffic report before you go to work? Sometimes the information we get from those reports can be useful, we learn where an accident has taken place and we can find an alternate route if necessary. We may find out road construction is tying up traffic causing delays. We even get a heads up that school buses are out so expect slow- downs stops and buses pick up children. Retail traffic counting companies can provide store owners with valuable information that can be useful for improving sales and customer service issues using reporting information from a customer counting device or door counting sensor. Much like the traffic reporter it can give the information that can help ensure you take a better, more efficient route to your destination which is running a successful and profitable business.
A door counting sensor placed at the entrance(s) of a store can provide data on how many people have entered the business during the day. Reporting can provide hourly breakdowns so an owner or manager can see when the peak periods of that day were. If a store has an electronic article surveillance system the door counting sensor can be tied into it. For stores that have taken steps to prevent theft with an electronic article surveillance system, a customer counting device can report how many alarm activations took place during the day and what times those alarms happened. In a sense, retail traffic counting companies provide valuable information that can help shop owners prepare for future traffic patterns, whether it is how many people will visit the store and may need sales advice or assistance or how many people will wait in checkout lines wanting to buy merchandise. If properly prepared, a manager may have extra sales floor help or extra cashiers that may keep customers from walking out empty handed.
Think about retail counting companies like your local traffic report in this sense, if you know in advance what to expect you can better prepare for it. If the reports you receive demonstrate you have increases in customer traffic on Friday afternoons you can evaluate your staffing model and adjust it so you have more employees working during that peak time. Conversely, if Monday mornings are particularly slow, reduce the number of employees at that time of the day. Adjust payroll to fit the traffic patterns of the store. Do you ever look at snarled and backed up lines at the registers and wonder what happened? Do you ever think to yourself, “I wish I had an extra cashier right now!”? This is one of the advantages a door counting sensor can provide. You can look at past trends and make schedules that ensure you have the right people to meet customer demand.
A customer counting device does also provide reporting data on the number of electronic article surveillance alarms a store is receiving. If the store has faulty equipment a repair ticket can quickly be submitted for a repair. If excess alarms are taking place a store owner will have a more accurate picture of it than what employees are reporting. It means quicker service calls can be placed or there may be a requirement for trying to stop a shoplifting ring or individual hitting the store on a certain day. It could also help owners identify training needs for associates on how to respond to an alarm.
By using retail traffic counting companies you can prevent those ugly lines backing up at the checkout lanes. Unfortunately for you, the only detour your customers tend to make as opposed to the driver on the road is a one-way trek out your doors without a purchase. Abandoned shopping carts of merchandise that translate to lost sales can be avoided. Customers waiting for sales floor help that never arrives can be a thing of the past. No one enjoys a traffic jam and they don’t enjoy waiting to make purchases. See how much you can improve your sales and customer service performance by finding out what retail traffic counting companies can do for you.
Need information on Retail Traffic Counting Companies? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Clothing Security Tags – 3 WC blog 346
Security Tags on Clothes-5
Recognizing Employees For Consistent Performance Such As Clothing Security Tag Placement Does Improve Productivity And Shrink
My daughter is getting her feet wet as a department manager in training for a clothing retailer and has been coming home telling me stories of the challenges she is facing. Employee call-outs and no one willing to come in to work those shifts, freight not getting completely processed and pushed out in a timely manner are points of frustration for her. She has also told me about clothing security tags not being placed on merchandise properly according to their company standards. These are all those challenges many of us can relate to. Of course as her father I give her advice, but I also know she is going to have to learn to be creative and find her own solutions to these problems. One attempt she has made on her own is to try to provide incentives for her team and while I admire what she seeks to accomplish I have kept my thoughts to myself. Sometimes people learn best when they learn from the results of their own actions. Recognition is a great motivator and can impact shortage but it has to be done properly.
As I said, one of the issues that her store has struggled with is the placement of security tags on clothes or the lack of any clothing security tags on merchandise that is on the salesfloor. Security tags are an anti-theft strategy used by stores to prevent theft both by shoplifters and employees. They have electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology built in that works with EAS towers. The towers pick up radio frequency signals specific to the tags and when merchandise with clothing security tags on them are carried close enough the towers sound a loud alert signal. Most towers have flashing lights as well so there is no problem with attracting the attention of store employees to a potential theft. Trained staff members respond to these alarms and through receipt checks and customer-friendly interactions recover merchandise that was not paid for. When stores are inconsistent in the placement of tags or security tags on clothes aren’t put on at all, issues arise. Inconsistency leads to cashiers failing to detach tags and not putting them on at all leads to theft. It is easy to see why this would be a big problem for my daughter to address.
Being new, my manager in training thought it would be a good idea to bring food in for her freight team to “motivate” them to work faster and complete all their tasks. Well, the team took a break and they did eat the food but no, the work did not all get done. Security tags on clothes were still missing and freight still didn’t all get worked to the floor. She was somewhat surprised that her gifts did not bear the fruit she was expecting. We discussed her dilemma, she wanted to motivate people but I let her know the reward should come AFTER the results were evident. The idea was good it was the execution where the error occurred.
I am a firm believer in reward and recognition programs, especially when it comes to stock shortage, but I think it applicable in almost any situation. When your team goes above and beyond expectations, there is nothing wrong with rewarding that behavior. It lets people know you care about what they have done. Recognition can be a thank you card or a mention in public setting like a pre-opening huddle. Something tangible like a card is best because it is something the employee can hold onto. When I was a Loss Prevention Manager, if an employee prevented a theft I made a point of giving them a recognition card. Our company also had a theft hotline that a few of our employees used to give tips on suspected employee theft that resulted in financial reward when I closed the cases. The key is not to give undue recognition for doing what is supposed to be done. If a fitting room attendant separated clothes and found hidden merchandise, I gave verbal recognition. If that same employee suspected patrons were tampering with security tags on clothes by examining the clothes closely and reported it to security I gave a recognition thank-you card.
Recognize your employees for outstanding performance. Find what motivates them, food, gift cards, thank-you cards, etc. but reward them for going above and beyond expectations. That said you owe it to your staff to thank them daily for working for you and being part of the team. A team that feels valued will be take pride in even the small things like ensuring security tags on clothes are properly placed.
Get more information on clothing security tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
My daughter is getting her feet wet as a department manager in training for a clothing retailer and has been coming home telling me stories of the challenges she is facing. Employee call-outs and no one willing to come in to work those shifts, freight not getting completely processed and pushed out in a timely manner are points of frustration for her. She has also told me about clothing security tags not being placed on merchandise properly according to their company standards. These are all those challenges many of us can relate to. Of course as her father I give her advice, but I also know she is going to have to learn to be creative and find her own solutions to these problems. One attempt she has made on her own is to try to provide incentives for her team and while I admire what she seeks to accomplish I have kept my thoughts to myself. Sometimes people learn best when they learn from the results of their own actions. Recognition is a great motivator and can impact shortage but it has to be done properly.
As I said, one of the issues that her store has struggled with is the placement of security tags on clothes or the lack of any clothing security tags on merchandise that is on the salesfloor. Security tags are an anti-theft strategy used by stores to prevent theft both by shoplifters and employees. They have electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology built in that works with EAS towers. The towers pick up radio frequency signals specific to the tags and when merchandise with clothing security tags on them are carried close enough the towers sound a loud alert signal. Most towers have flashing lights as well so there is no problem with attracting the attention of store employees to a potential theft. Trained staff members respond to these alarms and through receipt checks and customer-friendly interactions recover merchandise that was not paid for. When stores are inconsistent in the placement of tags or security tags on clothes aren’t put on at all, issues arise. Inconsistency leads to cashiers failing to detach tags and not putting them on at all leads to theft. It is easy to see why this would be a big problem for my daughter to address.
Being new, my manager in training thought it would be a good idea to bring food in for her freight team to “motivate” them to work faster and complete all their tasks. Well, the team took a break and they did eat the food but no, the work did not all get done. Security tags on clothes were still missing and freight still didn’t all get worked to the floor. She was somewhat surprised that her gifts did not bear the fruit she was expecting. We discussed her dilemma, she wanted to motivate people but I let her know the reward should come AFTER the results were evident. The idea was good, it was the execution where the error occurred.
I am a firm believer in reward and recognition programs, especially when it comes to stock shortage, but I think it applicable in almost any situation. When your team goes above and beyond expectations, there is nothing wrong with rewarding that behavior. It lets people know you care about what they have done. Recognition can be a thank you card or a mention in public setting like a pre-opening huddle. Something tangible like a card is best because it is something the employee can hold onto. When I was a Loss Prevention Manager, if an employee prevented a theft I made a point of giving them a recognition card. Our company also had a theft hotline that a few of our employees used to give tips on suspected employee theft that resulted in financial reward when I closed the cases. The key is not to give undue recognition for doing what is supposed to be done. If a fitting room attendant separated clothes and found hidden merchandise, I gave verbal recognition. If that same employee suspected patrons were tampering with security tags on clothes by examining the clothes closely and reported it to security I gave a recognition thank-you card.
Recognize your employees for outstanding performance. Find what motivates them, food, gift cards, thank-you cards, etc. but reward them for going above and beyond expectations. That said you owe it to your staff to thank them daily for working for you and being part of the team. A team that feels valued will be take pride in even the small things like ensuring security tags on clothes are properly placed.
Get more information on clothing security tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
AA Blog 45
Alpha Keepers: 5
Prevent Shoplifting: 3
Inventory Control: 3
Alpha Keepers Will Solve All Of Your Inventory Control Problems
Do you have inventory control problems? Are you routinely trying to locate product that should be on the shelves, but is nowhere to be found? I think anyone who is in the business of sales, regardless of the market, has at one time or another had inventory issues. I went through these same issues myself in my store. We typically do a full inventory quarterly, which involves the majority of my staff, going through every item. This includes our storage items and those on the shelf. It is such a time consuming process and nobody enjoys it. I end up paying overtime and buying pizza just to bribe my employees into being upbeat about the process. I spend days trying to track down items, verify sales, and account for product before I accept the fact that I have a serious shrinkage issue. Over the period of a year, I noticed a huge loss rate in our electronics/entertainment section to include: Video games, music CDs, Movies, and various other electronics and accessories. I knew we had a serious problem, but I wasn’t sure how to prevent shoplifting and reduce my losses. I ranted to a friend of mine who is also in the retail industry, and he suggested I use Alpha keepers, to secure my higher valued items in my areas of concern. So I did some research and decided to take his advice and try them out.
I learned very quickly that Alpha keepers come in a wide variety of options, which allow me to utilize them in more areas than I ever thought possible. They have collapsible keepers, which provide maximized shelf space, media keepers, and a multi-use keeper that can accommodate various types of products. These products are made of a durable plastic, and encase the item completely, preventing the removal of the item from the packaging. The keepers are bulky and make concealment difficult, without limiting the customers’ visibility and handling of the product. The Alpha keepers are re-useable, which makes them a sound investment. Associates simply remove the keeper from the product, at the time of sale, and use them again on other products. The media keepers come with an alarm and LED light that provide a visual and audible deterrent in the event of tampering. Some keepers come equipped with hang tags, for those small items you want to display. These items provide a viable means to prevent shoplifting in your store, improve inventory control, and increase profit.
The Alpha keepers have significantly improved my inventory control and my ability to monitor and manage my shrinkage rates. I have reduced my loss by 20% on the items protected by the keepers, which reduces my headache during inventory and increases my profits. I strongly believe that the added protection has increased our theft deterrence storewide. If you want to stop shoplifting, I suggest you look at your options and better protect yourself against theft. I know it has improved my business and the moral of both myself and my employees.
For more information on Alpha Keepers contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Do you have inventory control problems? Are you routinely trying to locate product that should be on the shelves, but is nowhere to be found? I think anyone who is in the business of sales, regardless of the market, has at one time or another had inventory issues. I went through these same issues myself in my store. We typically do a full inventory quarterly, which involves the majority of my staff, going through every item. This includes our storage items and those on the shelf. It is such a time consuming process and nobody enjoys it. I end up paying overtime and buying pizza just to bribe my employees into being upbeat about the process. I spend days trying to track down items, verify sales, and account for product before I accept the fact that I have a serious shrinkage issue. Over the period of a year, I noticed a huge loss rate in our electronics/entertainment section to include: Video games, music CDs, Movies, and various other electronics and accessories. I knew we had a serious problem, but I wasn’t sure how to prevent shoplifting and reduce my losses. I ranted to a friend of mine who is also in the retail industry, and he suggested I use Alpha keepers, to secure my higher valued items in my areas of concern. So I did some research and decided to take his advice and try them out.
I learned very quickly that Alpha keepers come in a wide variety of options, which allow me to utilize them in more areas than I ever thought possible. They have collapsible keepers, which provide maximized shelf space, media keepers, and a multi-use keeper that can accommodate various types of products. These products are made of a durable plastic, and encase the item completely, preventing the removal of the item from the packaging. The keepers are bulky and make concealment difficult, without limiting the customers’ visibility and handling of the product. The Alpha keepers are re-useable, which makes them a sound investment. Associates simply remove the keeper from the product, at the time of sale, and use them again on other products. The media keepers come with an alarm and LED light that provide a visual and audible deterrent in the event of tampering. Some keepers come equipped with hang tags, for those small items you want to display. These items provide a viable means to prevent shoplifting in your store, improve inventory control, and increase profit.
The Alpha keepers have significantly improved my inventory control and my ability to monitor and manage my shrinkage rates. I have reduced my loss by 20% on the items protected by the keepers, which reduces my headache during inventory and increases my profits. I strongly believe that the added protection has increased our theft deterrence storewide. If you want to stop shoplifting, I suggest you look at your options and better protect yourself against theft. I know it has improved my business and the moral of both myself and my employees.
For more information on Alpha Keepers, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
