AA Blog 32
Checkpoint Labels: 5
Stop Shoplifting: 3
Checkpoint Labels Provide A Multi-Faceted Means to Stop Shoplifting and Avoid Price Swapping
When it comes to retail shoplifting, I have had my share of problems, but I have also learned a lot throughout the years. I have learned new ways to protect my store and my products from not only shoplifting in general, but from price switching and clearance tagging. I am not sure if this has been a problem for you in your store, but I know it was a huge problem for me. Of course we weren’t locating these issues on the front end, but instead we were finding them after the sale, when we were netting our losses. We had a large problem, with people switching prices or adding clearance stickers to expensive items, which included returns for full price credits on the same items. It was a problem that was significantly affecting our bottom line and we knew we had to do something about it. We just weren’t sure how we could stop shoplifting of this type, without requiring management approval for every sale item. This as you know would be time consuming and an irritation to our loyal customers. I had discussed these issues with some of my counterparts to see what they were doing to prevent this type of activity in their stores. Some of them had changed their brand of labels, so they would adhere better, but that still wasn’t fool proof. I wanted a way to ensure that our labels were being utilized to the best of our ability without added expense. That was when I discovered Checkpoint Labels.
Checkpoint Labels are the perfect way to prevent price swapping. These labels can be easily printed in store, so you can print the label with your pricing and your store logo on site at a low cost. These labels once applied, cannot be removed without damaging the label. They are also equipped with EAS technology to stop shoplifting. They are a multi-faceted tool to protect all your products. They come in various sizes and shapes to meet all of your needs, and a new label can easily be re-applied in the event of a sale. This eliminates the need for a secondary sales tag, which can be swapped to other non-sale items. Having the ability to quickly adjust pricing in store, is an ideal way to protect your products while saving time and money. It also makes for a good shopping experience for your customers, by reducing time and hassle during the checkout process. Checkpoint Labels also offer a clear label that can be placed over the existing barcode, which adds EAS technology and prevents price swapping all in one label.
Preventing shoplifting is an ongoing battle, regardless of the method in which it is occurring. I know I have struggled with managing this problem from all angles, but I do know that Checkpoint Labels have substantially reduced my loss. They work on so many levels to protect my property, which makes for a cost-effective means to stop shoplifting. I have purchased the label makers, which really helps me manage my pricing more effectively in store. They come in large rolls that allow me to manage my products and my security at a low cost, with very little effort. I love how handy they are, and unlike other cheap labels, I know they won’t peel off, and they work more effectively in alerting my staff when a breach occurs. Now anytime a fellow retailer comes to me about their personal store issues, I can pass on the knowledge I have learned, and hopefully help them in their loss prevention efforts. Helping one another is key in this field.
Get more information on Checkpoint Labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
When it comes to retail shoplifting, I have had my share of problems, but I have also learned a lot throughout the years. I have learned new ways to protect my store and my products from not only shoplifting in general, but from price switching and clearance tagging. I am not sure if this has been a problem for you in your store, but I know it was a huge problem for me. Of course we weren’t locating these issues on the front end, but instead we were finding them after the sale, when we were netting our losses. We had a large problem, with people switching prices or adding clearance stickers to expensive items, which included returns for full price credits on the same items. It was a problem that was significantly affecting our bottom line and we knew we had to do something about it. We just weren’t sure how we could stop shoplifting of this type, without requiring management approval for every sale item. This as you know would be time consuming and an irritation to our loyal customers. I had discussed these issues with some of my counterparts to see what they were doing to prevent this type of activity in their stores. Some of them had changed their brand of labels, so they would adhere better, but that still wasn’t fool proof. I wanted a way to ensure that our labels were being utilized to the best of our ability without added expense. That was when I discovered Checkpoint Labels.
Checkpoint Labels are the perfect way to prevent price swapping. These labels can be easily printed in store, so you can print the label with your pricing and your store logo on site at a low cost. These labels once applied, cannot be removed without damaging the label.They are also equipped with EAS technology to stop shoplifting. They are a multi-faceted tool to protect all your products. They come in various sizes and shapes to meet all of your needs, and a new label can easily be re-applied in the event of a sale. This eliminates the need for a secondary sales tag, which can be swapped to other non-sale items. Having the ability to quickly adjust pricing in store, is an ideal way to protect your products while saving time and money. It also makes for a good shopping experience for your customers, by reducing time and hassle during the checkout process. Checkpoint Labels also offer a clear label that can be placed over the existing barcode, which adds EAS technology and prevents price swapping all in one label.
Preventing shoplifting is an ongoing battle, regardless of the method in which it is occurring. I know I have struggled with managing this problem from all angles, but I do know that Checkpoint Labels have substantially reduced my loss. They work on so many levels to protect my property, which makes for a cost-effective means to stop shoplifting. I have purchased the label makers, which really helps me manage my pricing more effectively in store. They come in large rolls that allow me to manage my products and my security at a low cost, with very little effort. I love how handy they are, and unlike other cheap labels, I know they won’t peel off, and they work more effectively in alerting my staff when a breach occurs. Now anytime a fellow retailer comes to me about their personal store issues, I can pass on the knowledge I have learned, and hopefully help them in their loss prevention efforts. Helping one another is key in this field.
Get more information on Checkpoint Labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Door Counting Sensor- 3 wc blog 267
Customer Counting System-4
Retail Traffic Counting System-3
Customer Counting Systems Can Help Convert Foot Traffic Into Improved Sales And Reduced Shrink Part 2
In Part 1 of this 2 part series I discussed the potential for customer counting systems to help improve in-store marketing efforts by taking advantage of data that can be provided by a VisiPlus people counting system. Overhead sensors can be strategically installed in locations where high profile displays or endcaps may be set up to attract customers and generate sales. If information from these sensors determines that foot traffic is not increasing or garnering the attention intended by managers, the display can be changed out rather than taking up space. New displays can be set up or changed out to get the desired effect. Another advantage that a VisiPlus retail traffic counting system offers is being able to determine electronic article surveillance activity at your entrance/exits. If you can take steps to make your theft prevention efforts more effective, you not only drive down merchandise shrink, you send thieves to other stores.
I’ve spent a lot of time already talking about advantages of a retail counting system, specifically Checkpoint’s VisiPlus customer counting system, but I do need to take a minute to explain what it is. VisiPlus is a retail traffic counting system that is attached to your Checkpoint electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas and collects information on the number of customers entering and exiting the store, and EAS alarm activity that takes place. You will receive reports that break down patron traffic by time of day. The information can aid a management team in creating better scheduling models to help make a better customer service environment. More employees at the times of heaviest customer traffic translate to improved sales as cashiers are available to checkout patrons with less wait time. There will also be more employees available to assist on the salesfloor. This in turn improves the ability to help customers find what they are looking for and increased salesfloor coverage also serves to deter shoplifters who seek out stores where there is little or no attention paid to customers. The VisiPlus system also has overhead sensors that can be installed in strategic salesfloor areas to assist in tracking foot traffic near promotional displays.
I now want to get back to the topic of a door counting sensor reducing shrink and improving profits. If a store is practicing good electronic article surveillance alarm response at the front doors, they are keeping a log of alarm activations and the causes of those alarms. Having worked as a Loss Prevention Manager for many years, I know that many alarms were not recorded in our log book. I rarely had a true picture of exactly how many alarms were activated during the day and, therefore, could not measure whether our supervisors or cashiers were responding to alarms properly. It also made it difficult to determine if I was experiencing any malfunction issues with our EAS antennas. The VisiPlus door counting sensor records EAS alarm activations in a daily report. Management can use the report information compared to the alarm response book and determine if alarms are being properly addressed. If not, retraining can be conducted for front end employees. They can also look for indications of excessive alarms that could be indicative of system problems. Since the report breaks down activity by time of day, possible theft trends can be determined and action plans created to stem the issues.
A door counting sensor doesn’t have to be limited to the traditional idea of a retail traffic counting system only numbering the people entering and leaving your business. A customer counting system can help you increase sales and decrease theft with accurate data reporting and timeline breakdowns. Count on more from your customer counting system than just people, count on sales growth too!
Need information on a retail traffic counting system? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
In Part 1 of this 2 part series I discussed the potential for customer counting systems to help improve in-store marketing efforts by taking advantage of data that can be provided by a VisiPlus people counting system. Overhead sensors can be strategically installed in locations where high profile displays or endcaps may be set up to attract customers and generate sales. If information from these sensors determines that foot traffic is not increasing or garnering the attention intended by managers, the display can be changed out rather than taking up space. New displays can be set up or changed out to get the desired effect. Another advantage that a VisiPlus retail traffic counting system offers is being able to determine electronic article surveillance activity at your entrance/exits. If you can take steps to make your theft prevention efforts more effective, you not only drive down merchandise shrink, you send thieves to other stores.
I’ve spent a lot of time already talking about advantages of a retail counting system, specifically Checkpoint’s VisiPlus customer counting system, but I do need to take a minute to explain what it is. VisiPlus is a retail traffic counting system that is attached to your Checkpoint electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas and collects information on the number of customers entering and exiting the store, and EAS alarm activity that takes place. You will receive reports that break down patron traffic by time of day. The information can aid a management team in creating better scheduling models to help make a better customer service environment. More employees at the times of heaviest customer traffic translate to improved sales as cashiers are available to checkout patrons with less wait time. There will also be more employees available to assist on the salesfloor. This in turn improves the ability to help customers find what they are looking for and increased salesfloor coverage also serves to deter shoplifters who seek out stores where there is little or no attention paid to customers. The VisiPlus system also has overhead sensors that can be installed in strategic salesfloor areas to assist in tracking foot traffic near promotional displays.
I now want to get back to the topic of a door counting sensor reducing shrink and improving profits. If a store is practicing good electronic article surveillance alarm response at the front doors, they are keeping a log of alarm activations and the causes of those alarms. Having worked as a Loss Prevention Manager for many years, I know that many alarms were not recorded in our log book. I rarely had a true picture of exactly how many alarms were activated during the day and, therefore, could not measure whether our supervisors or cashiers were responding to alarms properly. It also made it difficult to determine if I was experiencing any malfunction issues with our EAS antennas. The VisiPlus door counting sensor records EAS alarm activations in a daily report. Management can use the report information compared to the alarm response book and determine if alarms are being properly addressed. If not, retraining can be conducted for front end employees. They can also look for indications of excessive alarms that could be indicative of system problems. Since the report breaks down activity by time of day, possible theft trends can be determined and action plans created to stem the issues.
A door counting sensor doesn’t have to be limited to the traditional idea of a retail traffic counting system only numbering the people entering and leaving your business. A customer counting system can help you increase sales and decrease theft with accurate data reporting and timeline breakdowns. Count on more from your customer counting system than just people, count on sales growth too!
Need information on a retail traffic counting system? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Checkpoint security system-4 WC blog 283
Checkpoint tags-4
Stop shoplifting-3
Inventory Time Does Not Have To Be Intimidating; A Checkpoint Security System And A Few Tips Can Lead To Great Results – Part 2
In part 1 of this two-part series on tips for preparing for a successful inventory I touched on the importance of meeting with an Inventory Team Leader prior to your store inventory date. This is the time to make sure questions about the inventory process are answered; both parties share their expectations of the other for breaks, package checks, the order of how things will be inventoried and what the store needs to do to prep the merchandise and departments. A successful inventory requires the store and the inventory crew to act as a single team. I also discussed briefly how a store with a Checkpoint security system benefits not only from how it can stop shoplifting during the year but the night of inventory it can prevent employee and vendor theft. If a dishonest inventory crew member or a store employee tries to exit with concealed merchandise protected by Checkpoint tags, an electronic article surveillance antenna will detect the tags and the alarm will activate. Yes, I have seen it work on inventory nights.
If you missed part 1, a quick review of what a Checkpoint security system is and how it operates is in order. A Checkpoint system includes everything from electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas positioned at entrance/exit doors, hardware at checkout counters that deactivates soft Checkpoint tags and detachment tools to remove hard Checkpoint tags. The tags are designed to set off the EAS antennas when the protected merchandise is carried too close to the doors. Most theft can be deterred just by protecting merchandise and when a thief does attempt to steal, the alarm activation alerts store staff to respond and recover items or the would be shoplifter drops the items. When you stop shoplifting with a Checkpoint system during the course of the year inventory results improve and add profit to the store.
Doing all you can to prevent employee theft and stop shoplifting is crucial to good stock shortage results but once you hit inventory time, it is a matter of doing all you can to ensure you get an accurate count. Whether the store is using an outside inventory company or using their own employees, there are preparations that can increase the likelihood you will get a more accurate count:
• Use prep time to ensure the Checkpoint Security system is working and leave time to have a service call placed if necessary.
• Clothes on tables should be turned so the barcode faces out, it makes each piece easier to scan for the inventory crew and means there will be less straightening to do later.
• Inventory teams don’t straighten after counting so having hang tags easy to get to creates less of a mess. I mentioned clothing above, but don’t forget bath towels and wash clothes also.
• Make sure all merchandise on a peghook is the same SKU. Though each item should be scanned, many times during inventory the first item is scanned and the inventory team member keys in the quantity of items on the peg, regardless of whether there are different SKU’s.
• Use prep time to ensure everything has a scannable barcode and if items are missing Checkpoint tags, this is the perfect time to catch it and fix it.
• Does your store have non-working displays? If so, be sure these are marked with DNI (Do Not Inventory) tags.
• Make sure working model displays taken from store inventory are counted.
• If you sell food, it would be beneficial to check for dates as your team preps and also look for cans with loose labels and tape the labels or have a cart set aside for merchandise you will manually count or do a financial inventory sheet on.
• Stores selling food should also ask the vendors to help prepare by giving store credits for merchandise that isn’t selling and take it out of the building. It will help move product and tidy up stockroom space.
• If the store sells jewelry, keeping name brands together by price point can make auditing easier to determine where a counting error may have occurred.
• AUDIT! I can’t stress enough the importance of auditing behind the inventory counters. Whether you are using an outside agency or your own employees. When a counter is identified who continually makes errors, it should already be agreed with the inventory leader that counter will be removed from the store.
• If people leave the building for breaks, have a manager or security monitor the doors in case the Checkpoint security system alarms.
Following these tips can help you enjoy a smooth inventory night and experience more accurate results.
Get more information on Checkpoint tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
In part 1 of this two-part series on tips for preparing for a successful inventory I touched on the importance of meeting with an Inventory Team Leader prior to your store inventory date. This is the time to make sure questions about the inventory process are answered; both parties share their expectations of the other for breaks, package checks, the order of how things will be inventoried and what the store needs to do to prep the merchandise and departments. A successful inventory requires the store and the inventory crew to act as a single team. I also discussed briefly how a store with a Checkpoint security system benefits not only from how it can stop shoplifting during the year but the night of inventory it can prevent employee and vendor theft. If a dishonest inventory crew member or a store employee tries to exit with concealed merchandise protected by Checkpoint tags, an electronic article surveillance antenna will detect the tags and the alarm will activate. Yes, I have seen it work on inventory nights.
If you missed part 1, a quick review of what a Checkpoint security system is and how it operates is in order. A Checkpoint system includes everything from electronic article surveillance (EAS) antennas positioned at entrance/exit doors, hardware at checkout counters that deactivates soft Checkpoint tags and detachment tools to remove hard Checkpoint tags. The tags are designed to set off the EAS antennas when the protected merchandise is carried too close to the doors. Most theft can be deterred just by protecting merchandise and when a thief does attempt to steal, the alarm activation alerts store staff to respond and recover items or the would be shoplifter drops the items. When you stop shoplifting with a Checkpoint system during the course of the year inventory results improve and add profit to the store.
Doing all you can to prevent employee theft and stop shoplifting is crucial to good stock shortage results but once you hit inventory time, it is a matter of doing all you can to ensure you get an accurate count. Whether the store is using an outside inventory company or using their own employees, there are preparations that can increase the likelihood you will get a more accurate count:
• Use prep time to ensure the Checkpoint Security system is working and leave time to have a service call placed if necessary.
• Clothes on tables should be turned so the barcode faces out, it makes each piece easier to scan for the inventory crew and means there will be less straightening to do later.
• Inventory teams don’t straighten after counting so having hang tags easy to get to creates less of a mess. I mentioned clothing above, but don’t forget bath towels and wash clothes also.
• Make sure all merchandise on a peghook is the same SKU. Though each item should be scanned, many times during inventory the first item is scanned and the inventory team member keys in the quantity of items on the peg, regardless of whether there are different SKU’s.
• Use prep time to ensure everything has a scannable barcode and if items are missing Checkpoint tags, this is the perfect time to catch it and fix it.
• Does your store have non-working displays? If so, be sure these are marked with DNI (Do Not Inventory) tags.
• Make sure working model displays taken from store inventory are counted.
• If you sell food, it would be beneficial to check for dates as your team preps and also look for cans with loose labels and tape the labels or have a cart set aside for merchandise you will manually count or do a financial inventory sheet on.
• Stores selling food should also ask the vendors to help prepare by giving store credits for merchandise that isn’t selling and take it out of the building. It will help move product and tidy up stockroom space.
• If the store sells jewelry, keeping name brands together by price point can make auditing easier to determine where a counting error may have occurred.
• AUDIT! I can’t stress enough the importance of auditing behind the inventory counters. Whether you are using an outside agency or your own employees. When a counter is identified who continually makes errors, it should already be agreed with the inventory leader that counter will be removed from the store.
• If people leave the building for breaks, have a manager or security monitor the doors in case the Checkpoint security system alarms.Following these tips can help you enjoy a smooth inventory night and experience more accurate results.
Get more information on Checkpoint tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
