Clothing Security- 3 WC Blog 726
Sensormatic Tags-4
Eco-Friendly Bags Or Booster Bags? Clothing Security Depends On A Sensormatic System
I know recycled bags are an “in” thing now but I have to ask retailers, how do you address clothing security when customers are using these bags in your store? I can direct my question to any retailer but I ask about clothing retailers because of a suspicious person I saw the other night. As I was shopping with my wife yesterday I would have bet my bottom dollar I was going to see another shoplifter in action. We had just entered this store and I saw a woman with a very oversized tote bag and I told my wife that the woman was going to steal because she had a “shoplifter purse”. My wife glared at me and told me that we had to pick up some things and get home. She was not going to let me play store security that night. We picked up what we needed in health and beauty and went past the clothing department and I spotted the woman in the women’s clothing section and her bag looked a bit bigger. As far as I know this store does not use Sensormatic tags or any other anti-theft tag on clothing merchandise. They may use concealed electronic article surveillance (EAS) labels but not the hard tags. We continued our shopping in the grocery department and a few minutes later the woman walked by us with her and she had some merchandise in her hands. I pointed out to my wife that the bag looked even fuller than it had when I spotted her in the clothing department. I thought to myself that if she was filling that bag with clothes it wasn’t going to set off any electronic article surveillance towers. I watched as the woman placed the items that she was carrying into the bag, I just KNEW she was stealing now! The items went in and one of them stuck out the top of the bag and she made no attempt to zip the bag. Maybe I was wrong after all. It could be that this was one of these new recycled shopping bags to keep the environment cleaner.
In most instances had the woman in this story been stealing and concealing clothing in a recyclable bag or purse and clothing security tags were being used an EAS tower would detect the tagged goods. The promotion of recycled bags to reduce the need for shopping carts and single-use shopping bags would make sense in that case. The electronic article surveillance device protects the product against theft. On the other hand if a store is not utilizing anti-theft devices and is permitting the use of these types of bags that store is inviting shoplifting to take place. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. founder Bill Bregar knows how criminals think and how to thwart their activity. That is why he recommends that his clients use Sensormatic tags and surveillance towers to prevent clothing theft. It stops thieves from taking your product while allowing stores the choice of how they want their customers to be able to shop.
I have no idea whether the woman in this case stole anything. I stopped watching when she left the merchandise in the bag exposed for anyone to see. What I do know is that there are more and more people bringing “shopping bags” bags into stores and putting merchandise in them. There are professional shoplifters who use foil lined bags to try to defeat retailers who put Sensormatic tags on clothing and set up EAS pedestals. Now these thieves can blend in more easily with regular shoppers. That is why it is more important than ever to put a Sensormatic system in your store. Sensormatic offers an AMS9060 controller for some of their compatible towers and this controller can be upgraded with a “Metal-Foil Detection plug- in card”. The card enables towers to detect foil lined bags if they are brought into a store. You can be confident that the shoppers with bags are real shoppers and not professional criminals.
Going green by allowing reusable shopping bags in stores is making clothing security and merchandise protection more difficult. It can lead to an increase in theft and shortage and that drains store profits. Find that perfect balance between being eco-friendly and remaining financially solvent. Use a Sensormatic security system and keep everyone happy. Oh and one final point, Sensormatic tags are reusable many times over and THAT is good for the environment!
Clothing Security is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
I know recycled bags are an “in” thing now but I have to ask retailers, how do you address clothing security when customers are using these bags in your store? I can direct my question to any retailer but I ask about clothing retailers because of a suspicious person I saw the other night. As I was shopping with my wife yesterday I would have bet my bottom dollar I was going to see another shoplifter in action. We had just entered this store and I saw a woman with a very oversized tote bag and I told my wife that the woman was going to steal because she had a “shoplifter purse”. My wife glared at me and told me that we had to pick up some things and get home. She was not going to let me play store security that night. We picked up what we needed in health and beauty and went past the clothing department and I spotted the woman in the women’s clothing section and her bag looked a bit bigger. As far as I know this store does not use Sensormatic tags or any other anti-theft tag on clothing merchandise. They may use concealed electronic article surveillance (EAS) labels but not the hard tags. We continued our shopping in the grocery department and a few minutes later the woman walked by us with her and she had some merchandise in her hands. I pointed out to my wife that the bag looked even fuller than it had when I spotted her in the clothing department. I thought to myself that if she was filling that bag with clothes it wasn’t going to set off any electronic article surveillance towers. I watched as the woman placed the items that she was carrying into the bag, I just KNEW she was stealing now! The items went in and one of them stuck out the top of the bag and she made no attempt to zip the bag. Maybe I was wrong after all. It could be that this was one of these new recycled shopping bags to keep the environment cleaner.
In most instances had the woman in this story been stealing and concealing clothing in a recyclable bag or purse and clothing security tags were being used an EAS tower would detect the tagged goods. The promotion of recycled bags to reduce the need for shopping carts and single-use shopping bags would make sense in that case. The electronic article surveillance device protects the product against theft. On the other hand if a store is not utilizing anti-theft devices and is permitting the use of these types of bags that store is inviting shoplifting to take place. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. founder Bill Bregar knows how criminals think and how to thwart their activity. That is why he recommends that his clients use Sensormatic tags and surveillance towers to prevent clothing theft. It stops thieves from taking your product while allowing stores the choice of how they want their customers to be able to shop.
I have no idea whether the woman in this case stole anything. I stopped watching when she left the merchandise in the bag exposed for anyone to see. What I do know is that there are more and more people bringing “shopping bags” bags into stores and putting merchandise in them. There are professional shoplifters who use foil lined bags to try to defeat retailers who put Sensormatic tags on clothing and set up EAS pedestals. Now these thieves can blend in more easily with regular shoppers. That is why it is more important than ever to put a Sensormatic system in your store. Sensormatic offers an AMS9060 controller for some of their compatible towers and this controller can be upgraded with a “Metal-Foil Detection plug- in card”. The card enables towers to detect foil lined bags if they are brought into a store. You can be confident that the shoppers with bags are real shoppers and not professional criminals.
Going green by allowing reusable shopping bags in stores is making clothing security and merchandise protection more difficult. It can lead to an increase in theft and shortage and that drains store profits. Find that perfect balance between being eco-friendly and remaining financially solvent. Use a Sensormatic security system and keep everyone happy. Oh and one final point, Sensormatic tags are reusable many times over and THAT is good for the environment!
Clothing Security is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Retail traffic counting – 3 WC Blog 719
Door Counting Sensor -4
Score Big When You Use A Customer Counting Device – Part 2
Since you are here I am hopeful that you are interested in more information on how retail traffic counting can help build your sales as we started to explore in Part 1 of this series. For those who have missed Part 1, please continue reading because you can benefit too (and you can go back later and read part 1). In Part 1 we talked about how Bill Bregar the founder of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. sees a missed opportunity for sales when store owners and managers focus attention on transaction totals. There are customers who are invisible to them, the people who walked in but never bought anything so they don’t show up on the receipt tapes. Invisible customers equate to lost sales but Bill found the solution to the problem. Install a Sensormatic door counting sensor. Stores already equipped with a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance system may be able to have an existing system fitted with a sensor. When managers start to see that there are people in the store not making purchases they can begin to look for methods to capture those missed opportunities.
Before we turn to methods for capturing missed sales and using the data retrieved from a retail traffic counting system I want to talk about why the electronic article surveillance piece of this equation is so important. You do have people entering the store not being accounted for on a point of sale receipt tape but they are also not leaving empty-handed. These are shoplifters and employees who are stealing merchandise and causing you shortage. In fact if left unchecked they could be costing you 2% or even more in lost merchandise. An electronic article surveillance system can cut that shrinkage by half and can produce results almost immediately once installed. Purchase an electronic article surveillance system with a door counting sensor installed in it and you can kill two birds with one stone. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can help you with a Sensormatic system and if cost is a concern they can help with financing. You can also try their Free ROI Calculator to see how fast a system can pay for itself over time. I mention this because I don’t want people to focus on a system purchase and overlook all of the advantages a system can provide your business because of a misconception they cannot afford a Sensormatic system.
As mentioned the missed opportunities for sales can be corrected with the installation of a door counting sensor let’s examine how that can be accomplished.
• A sensor can provide data that includes the time of the day when shoppers are entering a store. Managers can begin to see trends based on the day of the week and the hours customers are coming in. Scheduling of employees can be focused on those particular hours to put more workers on the sales floor. More employees focused on helping customers translate to more sales.
• Just as you can focus scheduling based on foot traffic to add sales floor coverage, the same information can help to improve cashier scheduling as well. It is not uncommon for shoppers to leave without making a purchase if they perceive a wait time in line will be too long (I’ve done it myself). Having enough cashiers to improve checkout wait times will increase your overall sales.
• Effective ad campaigns are those that draw in more customers. How do you know if you are spending money on the right advertising platforms? I would argue that knowing how many people are already visiting your establishment and then monitoring the numbers after the initiation of the campaign would be the best way to do so. Rather than basing your determination on point of sale information which can fluctuate traffic counters give hard numbers. If you find you are not seeing increases in customer traffic after a reasonable time you can change your strategy and spend your money on another format.
• Finally, though it may not seem like it is related to increasing sales it does help in the long term. Adding a retail traffic counting sensor and staffing the salesfloor as I mentioned will deter shoplifting. The improved customer service (along with the Sensormatic towers and tags) will prevent theft which improves your merchandise in-stocks. In turn merchandise is now available to the paying customers.
Missed sales opportunities are often unseen. Install a door counting sensor and you can begin to see a whole group of customers you did not know existed. Meet THEIR needs and watch your sales truly take off.
Retail traffic counting is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Since you are here I am hopeful that you are interested in more information on how retail traffic counting can help build your sales as we started to explore in Part 1 of this series. For those who have missed Part 1, please continue reading because you can benefit too (and you can go back later and read part 1). In Part 1 we talked about how Bill Bregar the founder of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. sees a missed opportunity for sales when store owners and managers focus attention on transaction totals. There are customers who are invisible to them, the people who walked in but never bought anything so they don’t show up on the receipt tapes. Invisible customers equate to lost sales but Bill found the solution to the problem. Install a Sensormatic door counting sensor. Stores already equipped with a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance system may be able to have an existing system fitted with a sensor. When managers start to see that there are people in the store not making purchases they can begin to look for methods to capture those missed opportunities.
Before we turn to methods for capturing missed sales and using the data retrieved from a retail traffic counting system I want to talk about why the electronic article surveillance piece of this equation is so important. You do have people entering the store not being accounted for on a point of sale receipt tape but they are also not leaving empty-handed. These are shoplifters and employees who are stealing merchandise and causing you shortage. In fact if left unchecked they could be costing you 2% or even more in lost merchandise. An electronic article surveillance system can cut that shrinkage by half and can produce results almost immediately once installed. Purchase an electronic article surveillance system with a door counting sensor installed in it and you can kill two birds with one stone. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can help you with a Sensormatic system and if cost is a concern they can help with financing. You can also try their Free ROI Calculator to see how fast a system can pay for itself over time. I mention this because I don’t want people to focus on a system purchase and overlook all of the advantages a system can provide your business because of a misconception they cannot afford a Sensormatic system.
As mentioned the missed opportunities for sales can be corrected with the installation of a door counting sensor let’s examine how that can be accomplished.
• A sensor can provide data that includes the time of the day when shoppers are entering a store. Managers can begin to see trends based on the day of the week and the hours customers are coming in. Scheduling of employees can be focused on those particular hours to put more workers on the sales floor. More employees focused on helping customers translate to more sales.
• Just as you can focus scheduling based on foot traffic to add sales floor coverage, the same information can help to improve cashier scheduling as well. It is not uncommon for shoppers to leave without making a purchase if they perceive a wait time in line will be too long (I’ve done it myself). Having enough cashiers to improve checkout wait times will increase your overall sales.
• Effective ad campaigns are those that draw in more customers. How do you know if you are spending money on the right advertising platforms? I would argue that knowing how many people are already visiting your establishment and then monitoring the numbers after the initiation of the campaign would be the best way to do so. Rather than basing your determination on point of sale information which can fluctuate traffic counters give hard numbers. If you find you are not seeing increases in customer traffic after a reasonable time you can change your strategy and spend your money on another format.
• Finally, though it may not seem like it is related to increasing sales it does help in the long term. Adding a retail traffic counting sensor and staffing the salesfloor as I mentioned will deter shoplifting. The improved customer service (along with the Sensormatic towers and tags) will prevent theft which improves your merchandise in-stocks. In turn merchandise is now available to the paying customers.
Missed sales opportunities are often unseen. Install a door counting sensor and you can begin to see a whole group of customers you did not know existed. Meet THEIR needs and watch your sales truly take off.
Retail traffic counting is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Retail Theft Prevention – 3 WC Blog 710
Stop Shoplifting-3
Sensormatic Security System – 3
Retail Theft Prevention – Lessons For Those Considering A Career In Loss Prevention Part 1
How does retail theft prevention relate to store sales? What impact does a Sensormatic security system really have on stock shortage? What is stock shortage? How do I manage time, people, investigations, training and community outreach as a Loss Prevention Manager? How should I really look at my job as a Loss Prevention Associate, am I a security guard, a police officer or some type of a hybrid? When I DO stop shoplifting how should I interact with the offender? There are so many questions I wish I had asked or known to ask that could have helped me out earlier in my career in Loss Prevention and retail in general. Of course we often don’t know what questions to ask when we embark on something, especially when it comes to career options. My son was telling me how I ought to write about what I wished someone had told me before or shortly after entering my Loss Prevention position.
There were a lot of lessons I had to learn through trial and error. I had good mentors over the years but it did not all come together in one nice neat package. In some ways I had to piece things together taking a little from this manager and a bit from another manager to be the Loss Prevention professional I wanted to be. One manager taught me how to stop shoplifting when we had few policies governing our department. Another manager helped me learn that there is more to retail theft prevention than just catching a shoplifter. He showed me that dishonest employees can create more shortage than shoplifters. I even had peers when I became a Loss Prevention Manager who I admired and tried to emulate some of what they did. I even learned to take examples from a couple of supervisors and store managers and determine that they were who I did NOT want to mirror by example.
So what would I want to share with people who are considering a career in Loss Prevention or may be just starting out? There is a lot I could share but it would never be all-inclusive. Some things do have to come by trial and error. IF I could give some tips here is where I would start. First, if your goal is to be a police officer this is not a bad place to begin. Retail theft prevention is a good place to get your feet wet. Depending on the company you work for you may stop shoplifting by apprehending thieves. You may learn report writing, how to use closed circuit cameras and televisions and how to safely stop and detain someone. You might learn about how a Sensormatic security system works. There are daily tests that should be run on systems to make sure they are operating properly. There are a variety of Sensormatic security tags for different types of merchandise and you should be able to identify the right label or tag to use on a product. This does not make you a police officer and you need to understand your role as it relates to the store not to law enforcement. What I mean is this, depending on what your company allows you to do you may be catching criminals and putting them in jail. You are helping law enforcement through your efforts but you are not doing it for law enforcement. If you put a shoplifter in jail you do it to protect your store from incurring losses and you do so to hopefully prevent future repeat activity by the suspect. You do not carry a weapon even for personal protection and you may or may not even carry handcuffs. Your job is to try to keep theft from taking place. If you are really fortunate you may work for someone who at one time had law enforcement experience and can help give you the tools that will help prepare you for a future career as a law enforcement officer.
In part 2, I will cover more about what it means to stop shoplifting as a Loss Prevention Associate, the benefits of a Sensormatic security system and other tips that can aid you in future career decisions. The field can be rewarding and a step to bigger things but help from someone who has been there can make the road a lot easier to travel.
Get more information on retail theft prevention contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
How does retail theft prevention relate to store sales? What impact does a Sensormatic security system really have on stock shortage? What is stock shortage? How do I manage time, people, investigations, training and community outreach as a Loss Prevention Manager? How should I really look at my job as a Loss Prevention Associate, am I a security guard, a police officer or some type of a hybrid? When I DO stop shoplifting how should I interact with the offender? There are so many questions I wish I had asked or known to ask that could have helped me out earlier in my career in Loss Prevention and retail in general. Of course we often don’t know what questions to ask when we embark on something, especially when it comes to career options. My son was telling me how I ought to write about what I wished someone had told me before or shortly after entering my Loss Prevention position.
There were a lot of lessons I had to learn through trial and error. I had good mentors over the years but it did not all come together in one nice neat package. In some ways I had to piece things together taking a little from this manager and a bit from another manager to be the Loss Prevention professional I wanted to be. One manager taught me how to stop shoplifting when we had few policies governing our department. Another manager helped me learn that there is more to retail theft prevention than just catching a shoplifter. He showed me that dishonest employees can create more shortage than shoplifters. I even had peers when I became a Loss Prevention Manager who I admired and tried to emulate some of what they did. I even learned to take examples from a couple of supervisors and store managers and determine that they were who I did NOT want to mirror by example.
So what would I want to share with people who are considering a career in Loss Prevention or may be just starting out? There is a lot I could share but it would never be all-inclusive. Some things do have to come by trial and error. IF I could give some tips here is where I would start. First, if your goal is to be a police officer this is not a bad place to begin. Retail theft prevention is a good place to get your feet wet. Depending on the company you work for you may stop shoplifting by apprehending thieves. You may learn report writing, how to use closed circuit cameras and televisions and how to safely stop and detain someone. You might learn about how a Sensormatic security system works. There are daily tests that should be run on systems to make sure they are operating properly. There are a variety of Sensormatic security tags for different types of merchandise and you should be able to identify the right label or tag to use on a product. This does not make you a police officer and you need to understand your role as it relates to the store not to law enforcement. What I mean is this, depending on what your company allows you to do you may be catching criminals and putting them in jail. You are helping law enforcement through your efforts but you are not doing it for law enforcement. If you put a shoplifter in jail you do it to protect your store from incurring losses and you do so to hopefully prevent future repeat activity by the suspect. You do not carry a weapon even for personal protection and you may or may not even carry handcuffs. Your job is to try to keep theft from taking place. If you are really fortunate you may work for someone who at one time had law enforcement experience and can help give you the tools that will help prepare you for a future career as a law enforcement officer.
In part 2, I will cover more about what it means to stop shoplifting as a Loss Prevention Associate, the benefits of a Sensormatic security system and other tips that can aid you in future career decisions. The field can be rewarding and a step to bigger things but help from someone who has been there can make the road a lot easier to travel.
Get more information on retail theft prevention contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
