O Tag – 4
Eyewear tags -4 WC blog 19
Retail anti-theft devices-4
Retail Anti-Theft Device Solutions for Difficult To Protect Merchandise
There are times in retail you come across some things that seem to be beyond the ability of a store to adequately protect. How does a retailer prevent the theft of merchandise like sunglasses or a golf club? The method I have seen used most often is EAS source tagging in UPC tags. The problem with these retail anti-theft devices is that the tags can usually be removed with little effort. Alpha hard tags have developed a number of products that can prevent shoplifting of items that can be difficult to protect, among these the O tag and the Eyewear tags.
I worked in a store that served a tourist community that visited for primarily one of two reasons, to visit the beach or to golf. Because we are a destination for beach goers, we carried a large selection of sunglasses, some of which were quite pricey. Our displays for the glasses were a wall fixture and the standing glasses fixtures which can turn. To prevent shoplifting we had EAS source tagging for the majority of our glasses. For those that were not source tagged we manually tagged them ourselves. The issue we ran into was that shoplifters would just tear off the hang tags and wear the glasses out of the store, or place them in a purse or bag.
Alpha hard tags have created an eyewear tag to specifically prevent shoplifting of sunglasses, and standard reading glasses. These retail anti-theft devices fit on the arm of a pair of glasses and while they allow a customer to try on the glasses, they also provide a deterrent to theft. The hard tag is large enough to be a visual deterrent to theft and comes with either RF or AM alarm capability to work with an EAS system. Looking at the devices, it appears any attempt at tampering with the eyewear tag will result in breaking the glasses.
As I mentioned, golf is a significant tourist draw for our area and thus, golf club theft in our store tended to be a problem. Much like the sunglasses, they proved to be difficult to protect and the retail anti-theft devices we generally employed were EAS tags and security tape on the boxed clubs. Unless it was an attempted rollout, the problem we were faced with was box stuffing. Thieves would take single clubs and add them to a boxed set, or switch out clubs from a boxed set and put more expensive individual clubs in the box. If cashiers were not paying attention to the broken seal on the box or looking for re-taped boxes, (the thief would put clear tape over the box since they did not have access to our security tape) a box stuffer would get away with their crime.
The O tag is an Alpha hard tag designed to protect difficult to secure items with a tubular design. The beauty of the device is that it comes in two sizes, the smaller which allows it to be placed on something as thin as golf club. The larger device can be fitted to an item with the thickness of a baseball bat handle. In our situation, trying to protect golf clubs, the O tag would have made box switching of clubs more difficult. The device would have made it hard to fill the box and the fact it would alarm at the doors would have provided a deterrent. The thief would have also faced the challenge of removing the tags, even if they had gotten them past the doors.
Alpha Hard Tags can take the challenge out of trying to protect those difficult items in your store. Don’t leave yourself vulnerable to thieves because you can’t think of a way to protect your merchandise. Retail anti- theft devices like eyewear tags and O tags are just a sample of the strategies Alpha Hard Tags can offer you.
For more information on Retail Anti-Theft Devices contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
There are times in retail you come across some things that seem to be beyond the ability of a store to adequately protect. How does a retailer prevent the theft of merchandise like sunglasses or a golf club? The method I have seen used most often is EAS source tagging in UPC tags. The problem with these retail anti-theft devices is that the tags can usually be removed with little effort. Alpha hard tags have developed a number of products that can prevent shoplifting of items that can be difficult to protect, among these the O tag and the Eyewear tags.
I worked in a store that served a tourist community that visited for primarily one of two reasons, to visit the beach or to golf. Because we are a destination for beach goers, we carried a large selection of sunglasses, some of which were quite pricey. Our displays for the glasses were a wall fixture and the standing glasses fixtures which can turn. To prevent shoplifting we had EAS source tagging for the majority of our glasses. For those that were not source tagged we manually tagged them ourselves. The issue we ran into was that shoplifters would just tear off the hang tags and wear the glasses out of the store, or place them in a purse or bag.
Alpha hard tags have created an eyewear tag to specifically prevent shoplifting of sunglasses, and standard reading glasses. These retail anti-theft devices fit on the arm of a pair of glasses and while they allow a customer to try on the glasses, they also provide a deterrent to theft. The hard tag is large enough to be a visual deterrent to theft and comes with either RF or AM alarm capability to work with an EAS system. Looking at the devices, it appears any attempt at tampering with the eyewear tag will result in breaking the glasses.
As I mentioned, golf is a significant tourist draw for our area and thus, golf club theft in our store tended to be a problem. Much like the sunglasses, they proved to be difficult to protect and the retail anti-theft devices we generally employed were EAS tags and security tape on the boxed clubs. Unless it was an attempted rollout, the problem we were faced with was box stuffing. Thieves would take single clubs and add them to a boxed set, or switch out clubs from a boxed set and put more expensive individual clubs in the box. If cashiers were not paying attention to the broken seal on the box or looking for re-taped boxes, (the thief would put clear tape over the box since they did not have access to our security tape) a box stuffer would get away with their crime.
The O tag is an Alpha hard tag designed to protect difficult to secure items with a tubular design. The beauty of the device is that it comes in two sizes, the smaller which allows it to be placed on something as thin as golf club. The larger device can be fitted to an item with the thickness of a baseball bat handle. In our situation, trying to protect golf clubs, the O tag would have made box switching of clubs more difficult. The device would have made it hard to fill the box and the fact it would alarm at the doors would have provided a deterrent. The thief would have also faced the challenge of removing the tags, even if they had gotten them past the doors.
Alpha Hard Tags can take the challenge out of trying to protect those difficult items in your store. Don’t leave yourself vulnerable to thieves because you can’t think of a way to protect your merchandise. Retail anti- theft devices like eyewear tags and O tags are just a sample of the strategies Alpha Hard Tags can offer you.
For more information on Retail Anti-Theft Devices contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Alpha Shark Tags-3 , Return Fraud-3 , Wardrobing-4
The Real Cost Of Return Fraud
How much do you think retailers really lose on return fraud every year? In most surveys, the amount reported ranges from nine billion to fourteen billion. It is not only the loss of money either; there are several other factors involved. For one, the problem causes retailers to raise their prices in order to recover their losses. Many businesses work some of this into their budgets, but as shrink rises, something has to offset it. It also forces retailers to implement difficult and restricting return policies. Many stores have set up a “no receipt/no return” policy. Others have decided on time limits, like thirty to ninety days for returns. Some retailers have even invested in huge databases that track returns by license number, frequency, purchase amount, etc.
While those policy changes can help deter some return fraud, they do not stop wardrobing. This is the practice of people buying things they have zero intention to keep. Unfortunately with the recent recession, this type of return fraud has been on the rise. The person may purchase an expensive dress or accessory for a special occasion. Or they may buy the newest and greatest video camera for a wedding, graduation, or other special event. Then they wear or use the merchandise and bring it back for a full refund. These people justify this by telling themselves they’ve not caused the store any harm. They feel like they are just renting or borrowing what they need for when they need it, and the store is getting the stuff back. The flaw in the wardrobing ideology is that the store cannot resell the item for full price again in most cases. If the person waits to return the item, it may be out of season when they bring it back. This results in the store being forced to mark the item down and put it on a clearance rack. Or they may bring back something like lingerie or other things that must be simply discarded due to health reasons. Add the time wasted for your staff to restock the items to the sales floor, and you have lost a lot more than just the profits from the original sale.
Whether it be a brick and mortar building or an online only retailer, there is a simple effective solution to stop wardrobing. Three words: Alpha Shark Tags. Theses are simple gadgets that can put a stop to the “free rent” nonsense. Clip Alpha Shark Tags onto your inventory and you will take a serious bite out of return fraud. They snap right onto a garment or can be attached via lanyard. You can even attach a copy of your store’s return policy to the item with the tag. They are designed to be removed at home, by the customer, with a pair of household scissors. Once removed, the item is theirs to keep. These things are great because they can be clipped on at any time: delivery, before placing on sale display or even at point of purchase. Either way, they are quick and easy for your staff to utilize, and the customer is responsible for taking them off, so very little time is invested for such a great return.
The real cost of dealing with wardrobing is monumental. And allowing customers to just borrow your inventory and return it for full price is just not a working business model. Alpha Shark Tags are a reasonable solution to the problem.
For more information on Alpha Shark Tags, contact us or call: 1.770.426.0547 or Clothingsecurity.net
How much do you think retailers really lose on return fraud every year? In most surveys, the amount reported ranges from nine billion to fourteen billion. It is not only the loss of money either; there are several other factors involved. For one, the problem causes retailers to raise their prices in order to recover their losses. Many businesses work some of this into their budgets, but as shrink rises, something has to offset it. It also forces retailers to implement difficult and restricting return policies. Many stores have set up a “no receipt/no return” policy. Others have decided on time limits, like thirty to ninety days for returns. Some retailers have even invested in huge databases that track returns by license number, frequency, purchase amount, etc.
While those policy changes can help deter some return fraud, they do not stop wardrobing. This is the practice of people buying things they have zero intention to keep. Unfortunately with the recent recession, this type of return fraud has been on the rise. The person may purchase an expensive dress or accessory for a special occasion. Or they may buy the newest and greatest video camera for a wedding, graduation, or other special event. Then they wear or use the merchandise and bring it back for a full refund. These people justify this by telling themselves they’ve not caused the store any harm. They feel like they are just renting or borrowing what they need for when they need it, and the store is getting the stuff back. The flaw in the wardrobing ideology is that the store cannot resell the item for full price again in most cases. If the person waits to return the item, it may be out of season when they bring it back. This results in the store being forced to mark the item down and put it on a clearance rack. Or they may bring back something like lingerie or other things that must be simply discarded due to health reasons. Add the time wasted for your staff to restock the items to the sales floor, and you have lost a lot more than just the profits from the original sale.
Whether it be a brick and mortar building or an online only retailer, there is a simple effective solution to stop wardrobing. Three words: Alpha Shark Tags. Theses are simple gadgets that can put a stop to the “free rent” nonsense. Clip Alpha Shark Tags onto your inventory and you will take a serious bite out of return fraud. They snap right onto a garment or can be attached via lanyard. You can even attach a copy of your store’s return policy to the item with the tag. They are designed to be removed at home, by the customer, with a pair of household scissors. Once removed, the item is theirs to keep.These things are great because they can be clipped on at any time: delivery, before placing on sale display or even at point of purchase. Either way, they are quick and easy for your staff to utilize, and the customer is responsible for taking them off, so very little time is invested for such a great return.
The real cost of dealing with wardrobing is monumental. And allowing customers to just borrow your inventory and return it for full price is just not a working business model. Alpha Shark Tags are a reasonable solution to the problem.
For more information on Alpha Shark Tags, contact us or call: 1.770.426.0547
Alpha Security – 3 WC blog 10
Retail anti-theft devices-4
Alpha Cable Locks -3
Alpha Security Products Can Lock Out Thieves And Lock In Profits
Theft comes in all forms and businesses have to constantly be on guard to protect against it. It can be the grandmotherly shopper who steals from you or an employee pilfering from your stockroom. Since theft can hit you from any number of directions, the best decision you can make is to use retail anti-theft devices to protect your merchandise. Alpha Security products offer stores the ability to deter theft, whether it is an internal or an external threat.
Because of the versatility of Alpha Security devices, they can be used by retailers of any size to protect product. Do you sell sporting goods? Alpha cable locks can be wrapped through the webbing of a baseball glove without restricting a customer from trying it on or walking through your store with the item in their cart. Do you specialize in selling purses or wallets? Alpha cable locks can benefit your business as well, being strung through a zipper ring or around a purse strap. The customer can try on the purse, open pouches and compartments of wallets and see all the selling points but the security device remains on the product and deters theft. The Alpha cable lock comes in a 2 alarm or 3 alarm model so the retailer can choose the level of security they want to enjoy. The 2 alarm device will sound an audible alarm from the device if a customer attempts to tamper with and remove it from the product. The second protection is that it will activate the alarm antenna at the front of the store if someone attempts to shoplift the merchandise with the device on it. The added level of security with a 3 alarm device is that if a thief finds a way to get the retail anti-theft device out of the store without the door alarm sounding, once they get a certain distance from the store, the alarm self- activates!
I mentioned earlier that thieves can come into your store and you never know who it may be, and sometimes it will surprise you. I once had a woman in our store with her young daughter and they were walking through our handbag department. We were experiencing a lot of theft in this department at that particular time and it became a focus for our Loss Prevention team. Since the mother and daughter were in the area, I began watching them on our closed circuit television system. It didn’t take long for the mother to begin removing the paper stuffing from the purse and pulling off the price tags. I expected the woman to put the purse on her shoulder and walk out of the store. To my shock (and anger I might add) the mother walked with the young girl towards the exit. As they neared the door, the mother placed the purse on her daughter’s shoulder and began to leave the store! When I stopped the woman and confronted her she began admonishing her daughter for “trying to steal the purse”. Well, the incident didn’t result well for the mother as I recall and the police were called. There are two points to this story. First, you can’t profile who will and won’t steal from your business. Second, this situation might not have even taken place if we had access to a retail anti-theft device such as the Alpha cable locks, which were not available at that time.
Today, if the same scenario took place and the store was using a 2 alarm or 3 alarm Alpha cable lock, the flashing red light of the device would have alerted the woman that the purse was protected. Even if she had decided to walk out the door, the alarm activation would have alerted an associate that something was amiss. She might not have even considered attempting to shoplift and saved herself a lot of grief in the process.
What is theft and pilferage costing your company? Have you taken all the steps you can to protect your assets? Do you think you have merchandise that can’t be protected do to design or size? Consider looking into what Alpha Security products may be able to do for your company. There may be retail anti-theft devices available that you never considered before, investigate all the options available to increase your profits.
For more information about Alpha Security contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Theft comes in all forms and businesses have to constantly be on guard to protect against it. It can be the grandmotherly shopper who steals from you or an employee pilfering from your stockroom. ince theft can hit you from any number of directions, the best decision you can make is to use retail anti-theft devices to protect your merchandise. Alpha Security products offer stores the ability to deter theft, whether it is an internal or an external threat.
Because of the versatility of Alpha Security devices, they can be used by retailers of any size to protect product. Do you sell sporting goods? Alpha cable locks can be wrapped through the webbing of a baseball glove without restricting a customer from trying it on or walking through your store with the item in their cart. Do you specialize in selling purses or wallets? Alpha cable locks can benefit your business as well, being strung through a zipper ring or around a purse strap. The customer can try on the purse, open pouches and compartments of wallets and see all the selling points but the security device remains on the product and deters theft. The Alpha cable lock comes in a 2 alarm or 3 alarm model so the retailer can choose the level of security they want to enjoy. The 2 alarm device will sound an audible alarm from the device if a customer attempts to tamper with and remove it from the product. The second protection is that it will activate the alarm antenna at the front of the store if someone attempts to shoplift the merchandise with the device on it. The added level of security with a 3 alarm device is that if a thief finds a way to get the retail anti-theft device out of the store without the door alarm sounding, once they get a certain distance from the store, the alarm self- activates!
I mentioned earlier that thieves can come into your store and you never know who it may be, and sometimes it will surprise you. I once had a woman in our store with her young daughter and they were walking through our handbag department. We were experiencing a lot of theft in this department at that particular time and it became a focus for our Loss Prevention team. Since the mother and daughter were in the area, I began watching them on our closed circuit television system. It didn’t take long for the mother to begin removing the paper stuffing from the purse and pulling off the price tags. I expected the woman to put the purse on her shoulder and walk out of the store. To my shock (and anger I might add) the mother walked with the young girl towards the exit. As they neared the door, the mother placed the purse on her daughter’s shoulder and began to leave the store! When I stopped the woman and confronted her she began admonishing her daughter for “trying to steal the purse”. Well, the incident didn’t result well for the mother as I recall and the police were called. There are two points to this story. First, you can’t profile who will and won’t steal from your business. Second, this situation might not have even taken place if we had access to a retail anti-theft device such as the Alpha cable locks, which were not available at that time.
Today, if the same scenario took place and the store was using a 2 alarm or 3 alarm Alpha cable lock, the flashing red light of the device would have alerted the woman that the purse was protected. Even if she had decided to walk out the door, the alarm activation would have alerted an associate that something was amiss. She might not have even considered attempting to shoplift and saved herself a lot of grief in the process.
What is theft and pilferage costing your company? Have you taken all the steps you can to protect your assets? Do you think you have merchandise that can’t be protected do to design or size? Consider looking into what Alpha Security products may be able to do for your company. There may be retail anti-theft devices available that you never considered before, investigate all the options available to increase your profits.
For more information about Alpha Security, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
