Checkpoint Tags-5 WC blog 93
Clothing Security tags-4
Security tags on clothes-3
Urgent! Checkpoint Tags Increase Profits But Lead To Reduction Of Funny Shoplifting Stories
I remember one of my favorite funny shoplifting stories was from my days working as a department store Loss Prevention Officer. It was a time when silk jackets were very popular and we were experiencing some theft of these items in our men’s department. The jackets cost around $90 each, but they were not one of the categories we had any type of security tags on. Due to the theft trend, my boss and I were closely monitoring the area on closed circuit television. This one particular day, a young man and his girlfriend were in the area and the guy started looking at the silk jackets while his girlfriend acted as his lookout. He selected a jacket, wrapped it around the hanger and stuffed it down his pants. I met him at the door as he started to exit and identified myself. He asked me why I had stopped him and I couldn’t help but start laughing and pointed to his side. The end of the hanger was pushing through his shirt making it obvious he had something underneath. I told the young man he either needed some serious medical attention for a broken rib and we needed to call an ambulance, or he had one of our silk jackets concealed under his clothes. He admitted to the theft and the jacket was recovered, no ambulance was necessary for the extraction. He did get a ride, but it was not to the hospital. The incident was humorous, but if we had been using Checkpoint tags it may not have ever taken place.
What difference would Checkpoint tags have made? Checkpoint clothing security tags act first as a visual deterrent to a shoplifter. Most shoplifters will see security tags on clothes and leave that merchandise alone. The everyday shoplifter doesn’t want to try to remove a security device. The second reason Checkpoints tags would have worked is because the store had electronic article surveillance antennas and we used tags on a very limited number of items at the time. If the jackets had been protected with clothing security tags and the young man tried to exit, the alarm would have activated. In many cases, shoplifters will drop merchandise if they set off an alarm. Or if trained store personnel can tactfully recover merchandise because the customer “did not realize an item in their possession had not been paid for”. There are many excuses you can help a potential shoplifter use to return merchandise and leave a store without accusing them of theft.
You may be thinking to yourself, “Wait a minute I thought you said the jackets were made of silk, wouldn’t the Checkpoint Tags have damaged the fabric?” My response is, not necessarily. The Checkpoint Gen 3 Hard Tag series is designed to be used on merchandise without damaging fabric. Security tags on clothes used to be a concern some time ago, especially on delicate fabrics, but pins are not necessarily as thick as they used to be and the clothing security tags close much better today, making them almost impossible to defeat and pry apart.
There are two other benefits I would like to point out about using Checkpoint tags. First, they are reusable. The hard tags are removed at the point of sale and then re-applied to new merchandise when it is received at the store. There is no need to constantly be replenishing your supply of tags. Second, you can have the tags applied at the source. In other words, you don’t have to use your payroll to have employees tag merchandise. Checkpoint can work with you to have the vendors place tags on from their locations, which ensures consistency in the placement of tags. This makes it easier for cashiers to know exactly where to look for clothing security tags on different products.
Funny shoplifter stories will always be out there, but using security tags on clothes can reduce these stories and improve stock shortage results. This, in turn, increases profit. So, if you prefer dollars over stories, look into using Checkpoint Tags on ALL of your clothes and laugh all the way to the bank!
For more information on Checkpoint Tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
I remember one of my favorite funny shoplifting stories was from my days working as a department store Loss Prevention Officer. It was a time when silk jackets were very popular and we were experiencing some theft of these items in our men’s department. The jackets cost around $90 each, but they were not one of the categories we had any type of security tags on. Due to the theft trend, my boss and I were closely monitoring the area on closed circuit television. This one particular day, a young man and his girlfriend were in the area and the guy started looking at the silk jackets while his girlfriend acted as his lookout. He selected a jacket, wrapped it around the hanger and stuffed it down his pants. I met him at the door as he started to exit and identified myself. He asked me why I had stopped him and I couldn’t help but start laughing and pointed to his side. The end of the hanger was pushing through his shirt making it obvious he had something underneath. I told the young man he either needed some serious medical attention for a broken rib and we needed to call an ambulance, or he had one of our silk jackets concealed under his clothes. He admitted to the theft and the jacket was recovered, no ambulance was necessary for the extraction. He did get a ride, but it was not to the hospital. The incident was humorous, but if we had been using Checkpoint tags it may not have ever taken place.
What difference would Checkpoint tags have made? Checkpoint clothing security tags act first as a visual deterrent to a shoplifter. Most shoplifters will see security tags on clothes and leave that merchandise alone. The everyday shoplifter doesn’t want to try to remove a security device. The second reason Checkpoints tags would have worked is because the store had electronic article surveillance antennas and we used tags on a very limited number of items at the time. If the jackets had been protected with clothing security tags and the young man tried to exit, the alarm would have activated. In many cases, shoplifters will drop merchandise if they set off an alarm. Or if trained store personnel can tactfully recover merchandise because the customer “did not realize an item in their possession had not been paid for”. There are many excuses you can help a potential shoplifter use to return merchandise and leave a store without accusing them of theft.
You may be thinking to yourself, “Wait a minute I thought you said the jackets were made of silk, wouldn’t the Checkpoint Tags have damaged the fabric?” My response is, not necessarily. The Checkpoint Gen 3 Hard Tag series is designed to be used on merchandise without damaging fabric. Security tags on clothes used to be a concern some time ago, especially on delicate fabrics, but pins are not necessarily as thick as they used to be and the clothing security tags close much better today, making them almost impossible to defeat and pry apart.
There are two other benefits I would like to point out about using Checkpoint tags. First, they are reusable. The hard tags are removed at the point of sale and then re-applied to new merchandise when it is received at the store. There is no need to constantly be replenishing your supply of tags. Second, you can have the tags applied at the source. In other words, you don’t have to use your payroll to have employees tag merchandise. Checkpoint can work with you to have the vendors place tags on from their locations, which ensures consistency in the placement of tags. This makes it easier for cashiers to know exactly where to look for clothing security tags on different products.
Funny shoplifter stories will always be out there, but using security tags on clothes can reduce these stories and improve stock shortage results. This, in turn, increases profit. So, if you prefer dollars over stories, look into using Checkpoint Tags on ALL of your clothes and laugh all the way to the bank!
For more information on Checkpoint Tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Return Fraud-3 WC blog 120
Wardrobing-5
Alpha Shark Tags-4
Wardrobing IS Return Fraud-Prevent It With Alpha Shark Tags
In a Dec 17, 2015 report, The National Retail Federation states, “retailers estimate that 3.5% of their holiday returns this year will be fraudulent”. They estimate that this will translate to 2.2 billion dollars. I have not been able to locate the final numbers for this past season, but 2.2 billion is a lot of money by ANY definition. The report did go on to say that 72.6% of the retailers they interviewed said that they have experienced wardrobing in the last year. Of all the return fraud that takes place this is probably the one that creates the biggest headaches for retailers. Wardrobing is the practice of buying an item, wearing it and returning it. There are a few methods to stop the practice, one of the best being Alpha Shark Tags.
Alpha Shark Tags are pinned to clothing and only removed by the purchaser once they get out of the store or get home. These bright colored tags are placed in a prominent location on a piece of merchandise and may even have an optional hang tag warning the buyer about the store return policy. The warning tag lets customers know that once the tag is removed, the article of clothing cannot be returned to the retailer. Since they are one-time use devices, Shark Tags cannot be removed from a garment, and replaced at a later time.
Why is the one-time use feature of the tag so important? The people involved in wardrobing are in the market to get free use out of merchandise from retailers. Take for example, if your store sells sports coats and a customer comes in who has a job interview coming up. Rather than spend money for a jacket they will only wear once, the customer purchases a sports coat and hides the tags or carefully removes them. The jacket is worn to the interview, brought back home, tags reattached and with receipt in hand, the jacket is returned for a full refund. The retailer makes absolutely no money from the sale and while some major retailers may be able to absorb these types of returns as the price of doing business, the small business owner can’t do the same. With an Alpha Shark Tag attached to that jacket in a location such as a lapel, the customer is unable to wear the jacket with the tag in place. If the customer removes the tag to wear it to the interview the ability to return the jacket is voided.
Some people argue that wardrobing is not return fraud because they are staying within the return policies set by the stores themselves. If stores establish guidelines such as accepting returns within a set number of days as long as the patron has the receipt, and that is what they as the customer are doing, they see no issue. Often the merchandise returned has stains or odors on them from being worn. While I worked as a Loss Prevention Officer for a large department store I saw clothing returned with make-up stains, food stains, deodorant stains, perfume smells and cigarette odors. Because of the loose return policies, receipted returns were accepted, even with these blemishes. The store damaged the merchandise out and took the loss because the merchandise was not in a sellable condition. Because we tracked refund slips at that time, we knew that there were regular offenders, but we weren’t able to do anything about it.
Alpha Shark Tags are unobtrusive so they don’t interfere with trying on a garment. They allow a customer to purchase an item and take it home to try it on or give it as a gift. As long as the tag remains intact the merchandise can be returned with a receipt. Start using Alpha Shark Tags and boost profits by eliminating wardrobing and return fraud.
Return Fraud is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
In a Dec 17, 2015 report, The National Retail Federation states, “retailers estimate that 3.5% of their holiday returns this year will be fraudulent”. They estimate that this will translate to 2.2 billion dollars. I have not been able to locate the final numbers for this past season, but 2.2 billion is a lot of money by ANY definition. The report did go on to say that 72.6% of the retailers they interviewed said that they have experienced wardrobing in the last year. Of all the return fraud that takes place this is probably the one that creates the biggest headaches for retailers. Wardrobing is the practice of buying an item, wearing it and returning it. There are a few methods to stop the practice, one of the best being Alpha Shark Tags.
Alpha Shark Tags are pinned to clothing and only removed by the purchaser once they get out of the store or get home. These bright colored tags are placed in a prominent location on a piece of merchandise and may even have an optional hang tag warning the buyer about the store return policy. The warning tag lets customers know that once the tag is removed, the article of clothing cannot be returned to the retailer. Since they are one-time use devices, Shark Tags cannot be removed from a garment, and replaced at a later time.
Why is the one-time use feature of the tag so important? The people involved in wardrobing are in the market to get free use out of merchandise from retailers.Take for example, if your store sells sports coats and a customer comes in who has a job interview coming up. Rather than spend money for a jacket they will only wear once, the customer purchases a sports coat and hides the tags or carefully removes them. The jacket is worn to the interview, brought back home, tags reattached and with receipt in hand, the jacket is returned for a full refund. The retailer makes absolutely no money from the sale and while some major retailers may be able to absorb these types of returns as the price of doing business, the small business owner can’t do the same. With an Alpha Shark Tag attached to that jacket in a location such as a lapel, the customer is unable to wear the jacket with the tag in place. If the customer removes the tag to wear it to the interview the ability to return the jacket is voided.
Some people argue that wardrobing is not return fraud because they are staying within the return policies set by the stores themselves. If stores establish guidelines such as accepting returns within a set number of days as long as the patron has the receipt, and that is what they as the customer are doing, they see no issue. Often the merchandise returned has stains or odors on them from being worn. While I worked as a Loss Prevention Officer for a large department store I saw clothing returned with make-up stains, food stains, deodorant stains, perfume smells and cigarette odors. Because of the loose return policies, receipted returns were accepted, even with these blemishes. The store damaged the merchandise out and took the loss because the merchandise was not in a sellable condition. Because we tracked refund slips at that time, we knew that there were regular offenders, but we weren’t able to do anything about it.
Alpha Shark Tags are unobtrusive so they don’t interfere with trying on a garment. They allow a customer to purchase an item and take it home to try it on or give it as a gift. As long as the tag remains intact the merchandise can be returned with a receipt. Start using Alpha Shark Tags and boost profits by eliminating wardrobing and return fraud.
Return Fraud is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
50 PRODUCTS THAT SHOULD BE PROTECTED WITH CHECKPOINT LABELS – PT7
When I started this list, I thought, hey, this would be easy. I could think of 50 items throughout my store that need to be secured. Well, I’ll tell you this… it’s not as easy as I thought it would be. Trying not to be redundant is the hardest part! It’s all for the best though. If I can inspire just one change in your product protection strategy, and save you a few dollars in shrink, I’ve done my job. So without further delay, let’s continue our list of products that should be protected with Checkpoint Labels.
26. CD/DVD
These probably should have been at the top of the list. Since their inception years ago, these items have ranked consistently in the top 10 most commonly shoplifted items (at least in my stores). Whether it’s opportunistic thieves, teenagers out of school, or the professional ORC group, high shrink here can really cost you. My advice is to place the EAS label in a visible location on the rear of the packaging. It only helps if your have your store information printed on the label, as this discourages resale and provides a visible deterrent.
27. Spray Paint
Yes, spray paint. I’m including this one on the list because I had a case last year where one guy stole nearly $5,000 in spray paint from me. He simply loaded a buggy and pushed it out. It didn’t sound the alarm and no one batted an eye. Turns out, he was using it to spray graffiti all over town. Now, to prevent an easy push-out, I use Checkpoint Labels to help deter this activity.
28. Pocket Knives
Does anyone actually sell these? I find more empty packages of pocket knives than I care to say. While it’s difficult to protect these items with just one measure, I find a combination of Checkpoint Labels and a locking peg seem to slow down the theft. While I haven’t found a solution to completely eliminate theft here, this dual combination sure has reduced my losses by more than half.
29. Motor Oil
This is another item I’m only including here due to a recent case I worked. I had a group of guys stealing motor oil from me constantly. They were literally wiping out my shelves, placing them in a plastic tub and walking out the doors. No alarm sounded, no one paying attention. We started putting EAS labels that were printed with our store name on them and eventually they turned up at a corner oil change shop with the shop owner called our store and inquired if we sold to any third party suppliers. Turns out, the shop owner was buying the oil from someone representing themselves as a reputable dealer, but was just a ring leader to a criminal ORC group.
30. Windshield Wipers
If we are going on the automotive categories, why not include wipers. Have you actually looked at prices recently? You can easily spend $50 on a pair of wipers if you’re not careful. Granted, I don’t want my wipers to fly off in a torrential downpour, but at some point, the pricing here is just excessive. The packaging makes a great fit for an EAS label and will provide a visible deterrent to any would-be thief.
For more information about Checkpoint Labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
When I started this list, I thought, hey, this would be easy. I could think of 50 items throughout my store that need to be secured. Well, I’ll tell you this… it’s not as easy as I thought it would be. Trying not to be redundant is the hardest part! It’s all for the best though. If I can inspire just one change in your product protection strategy, and save you a few dollars in shrink, I’ve done my job. So without further delay, let’s continue our list of products that should be protected with Checkpoint Labels.
26. CD/DVD
These probably should have been at the top of the list. Since their inception years ago, these items have ranked consistently in the top 10 most commonly shoplifted items (at least in my stores). Whether it’s opportunistic thieves, teenagers out of school, or the professional ORC group, high shrink here can really cost you. My advice is to place the EAS label in a visible location on the rear of the packaging. It only helps if your have your store information printed on the label, as this discourages resale and provides a visible deterrent.
27. Spray Paint
Yes, spray paint. I’m including this one on the list because I had a case last year where one guy stole nearly $5,000 in spray paint from me. He simply loaded a buggy and pushed it out. It didn’t sound the alarm and no one batted an eye. Turns out, he was using it to spray graffiti all over town. Now, to prevent an easy push-out, I use Checkpoint Labels to help deter this activity.
28. Pocket Knives
Does anyone actually sell these? I find more empty packages of pocket knives than I care to say. While it’s difficult to protect these items with just one measure, I find a combination of Checkpoint Labels and a locking peg seem to slow down the theft. While I haven’t found a solution to completely eliminate theft here, this dual combination sure has reduced my losses by more than half.
29. Motor Oil
This is another item I’m only including here due to a recent case I worked. I had a group of guys stealing motor oil from me constantly. They were literally wiping out my shelves, placing them in a plastic tub and walking out the doors. No alarm sounded, no one paying attention. We started putting EAS labels that were printed with our store name on them and eventually they turned up at a corner oil change shop with the shop owner called our store and inquired if we sold to any third party suppliers. Turns out, the shop owner was buying the oil from someone representing themselves as a reputable dealer, but was just a ring leader to a criminal ORC group.
30. Windshield Wipers
If we are going on the automotive categories, why not include wipers. Have you actually looked at prices recently? You can easily spend $50 on a pair of wipers if you’re not careful. Granted, I don’t want my wipers to fly off in a torrential downpour, but at some point, the pricing here is just excessive. The packaging makes a great fit for an EAS label and will provide a visible deterrent to any would-be thief.
For more information about Checkpoint Labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
