Retail traffic counting -3 wc blog 673
Customer Counting Device-4
Effective Payroll Management With The Help Of A Customer Counting Device
Retail traffic counting is important when store managers are trying to maintain profitable stores. It is no easy task to balance payroll, staffing and how many and when to schedule employees to work. Do you assign a person to cashier AND work the salesfloor? Do you assign one person to the salesfloor and merchandise stocking? What time of the day should you have an extra person come in to work? Is it easiest to simply make a schedule that is recycled every week except during holidays, such as during a Black Friday event? You can choose the easy way and just make a set schedule but you are probably doing yourself a disservice in the long run. A cut and paste schedule does not take into account when customers are in the store shopping. If foot traffic is heaviest at specific times of the day and specific days of the week your system of scheduling employees may not be serving the needs of the customers OR the financial interests of the business.
Store sales can be increased through improved scheduling and that doesn’t mean just throwing more dollars at the payroll dart board hoping to hit a bullseye. In order to have a more effective payroll management strategy a customer counting device installed in an electronic article surveillance tower is a must. The Integrated EAS Traffic Counter from Sensormatic can be installed in compatable Sensormatic pedestals allowing merchants to continue to reap the benefits of merchandise protection while tracking customers as they enter and leave the store. Data obtained from a retail counting device can include the time of day and the day of the week of activity taking place. Think about the implications that can have for your sales and how you staff your store. Knowledge is power so the saying goes and knowing your customer shopping trends is power!
For those who may not see the correlation between the customer counting device and payroll allocation think about the reporting tools you will have available. You can see the times customers are in your store and it takes the guessing out of the equation. If shoppers tend to come in to your establishment at noon and then again around 6:00pm those will be the times you want to have the most salesfloor coverage and cashiers available. It is going to drive your sales if you have employees available to assist your customers. Not only will they help the customers find what they need but it provides the opportunity for suggestive selling. As a side note, if you are not training your staff on this skill you need to make it a focus but that is a topic for another discussion. The addition of cashiers when foot traffic is highest will help speed up the checkout process which will increase customer satisfaction and ultimately customer loyalty.
You can also use the numbers generated from a customer counting device to plan for other work projects. You don’t want to stock merchandise or set new planograms and displays when most of your customers are shopping. Customers must always be the priority for your business. Using the information from a retail traffic counting system you can strategize when it will be best to get tasks completed. You may choose to have stockers in the store from 8am-11am and transition to a client oriented service from 11am until your next slow period. You may also determine that Saturdays are better for project completions than a Monday or Tuesday. All of these factors can play a part in improving payroll allocation.
Retail traffic counting can help improve scheduling effectiveness and in turn increase income for stores. If your business doesn’t have a Sensormatic security system, invest in one and get it with the customer counting device included. You’ll improve profits through increased sales AND decreased theft.
Retail traffic counting is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Retail traffic counting is important when store managers are trying to maintain profitable stores. It is no easy task to balance payroll, staffing and how many and when to schedule employees to work. Do you assign a person to cashier AND work the salesfloor? Do you assign one person to the salesfloor and merchandise stocking? What time of the day should you have an extra person come in to work? Is it easiest to simply make a schedule that is recycled every week except during holidays, such as during a Black Friday event? You can choose the easy way and just make a set schedule but you are probably doing yourself a disservice in the long run. A cut and paste schedule does not take into account when customers are in the store shopping. If foot traffic is heaviest at specific times of the day and specific days of the week your system of scheduling employees may not be serving the needs of the customers OR the financial interests of the business.
Store sales can be increased through improved scheduling and that doesn’t mean just throwing more dollars at the payroll dart board hoping to hit a bullseye. In order to have a more effective payroll management strategy a customer counting device installed in an electronic article surveillance tower is a must. The Integrated EAS Traffic Counter from Sensormatic can be installed in compatable Sensormatic pedestals allowing merchants to continue to reap the benefits of merchandise protection while tracking customers as they enter and leave the store. Data obtained from a retail counting device can include the time of day and the day of the week of activity taking place. Think about the implications that can have for your sales and how you staff your store. Knowledge is power so the saying goes and knowing your customer shopping trends is power!
For those who may not see the correlation between the customer counting device and payroll allocation think about the reporting tools you will have available. You can see the times customers are in your store and it takes the guessing out of the equation. If shoppers tend to come in to your establishment at noon and then again around 6:00pm those will be the times you want to have the most salesfloor coverage and cashiers available. It is going to drive your sales if you have employees available to assist your customers. Not only will they help the customers find what they need but it provides the opportunity for suggestive selling. As a side note, if you are not training your staff on this skill you need to make it a focus but that is a topic for another discussion. The addition of cashiers when foot traffic is highest will help speed up the checkout process which will increase customer satisfaction and ultimately customer loyalty.
You can also use the numbers generated from a customer counting device to plan for other work projects. You don’t want to stock merchandise or set new planograms and displays when most of your customers are shopping. Customers must always be the priority for your business. Using the information from a retail traffic counting system you can strategize when it will be best to get tasks completed. You may choose to have stockers in the store from 8am-11am and transition to a client oriented service from 11am until your next slow period. You may also determine that Saturdays are better for project completions than a Monday or Tuesday. All of these factors can play a part in improving payroll allocation.
Retail traffic counting can help improve scheduling effectiveness and in turn increase income for stores. If your business doesn’t have a Sensormatic security system, invest in one and get it with the customer counting device included. You’ll improve profits through increased sales AND decreased theft.
Retail traffic counting is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Free Loss Prevention Calculator-4 WC Blog 585
Can Loss Prevention Be Free?-3
The Free Loss Prevention Calculator Shows How To Stop Shrink
How many times do you see a “Free with purchase” offer to get you to buy a product? It can make you kind of numb to real offers like the Free Loss Prevention Calculator from Loss Prevention Inc. It is not uncommon to see things like a free tire rotation with an oil change from an automotive maintenance company. The car tire rotation may be free but I’ll be darned if it doesn’t seem like every rotation I get I am given the dire warning of how my tires are worn and should be replaced. Also, I paid how much for that oil change? No, this is not a tirade against automotive repair businesses. I know they are in business to make money but free doesn’t seem so free if you are pushing me to get new tires or strongly suggest I replace my brakes that are ready to go out on me tomorrow and throw me into a ditch or worse yet, kill me. Maybe more free is the $10 company issued giftcard with purchase when you by $75 in ink from a store. Of course the catch there is you are buying $75 in ink and you will be coming back to use that giftcard. And let’s be honest, with that $10 giftcard how many people are really going to look for just $10 in merchandise? It is a great marketing tool but it does make the “free” offer feel a little less free. Since I focus much of my attention on Loss Prevention issues it seems that there should be a question posed to companies that sell retail anti-theft systems. Can Loss Prevention be free? How many are going to say, “Yes it can be.” There is one company that says it can be and that is Loss Prevention Systems Inc.
Now I know it is going to sound ridiculous to most of you. In fact some are probably wanting to know when I’m going to pronounce that the brakes are shot on this car after you get your oil change. No, there are no surprises or catches. Can Loss Prevention be free? You bet it can be. The fact of the matter is a new Checkpoint system is going to save you money by theft reduction. The installation of new electronic article surveillance pedestals and application of retail anti-theft devices on each piece of merchandise carried in your store is going to deter criminals from stealing. For those few who will be foolish enough to attempt to steal anyways, the pedestals are going to be set off when tagged items are carried near the doors. Pedestal alarms will alert employees that someone is going to try to steal. Merchandise is then recovered in the receipt check that follows. Every time a crook walks out empty handed or a recovery is made money is added back to the store profit line and offsets a portion of the cost of a new antitheft system. How can I be so sure? I have extensive experience as a Loss Prevention Manager and I know how effective Checkpoint Systems products are. I have also tested the Free Loss Prevention Calculator and find it to be an accurate measurement tool.
Free to use for anyone, the calculator gives a store owner the ability to enter variables such as annual sales information and how much they would consider spending on a Loss Prevention system. The calculator assumes a standard annual shrink rate of 1.2% (slightly less than the current national average) and a modest shortage reduction resulting from a newly installed system to .65% annually. The final calculation is the estimated number of months it would take for a system to pay for itself through shortage reduction savings. And the best part is that there is no catch. No sign up or registration required to use the Free Loss Prevention Calculator. It’s kind of like getting that oil change and tire rotation and no pressure to buy a couple of new tires.
Can Loss Prevention be free? It can be in the amount it saves in shortage due to theft. Can a system really save this much money for a store? There is no question it can especially with a well-trained group of employees who know the best methods for alarm resolutions. Visit the Loss Prevention Systems Inc. website and give the free Loss Prevention Calculator a try. No oily sales staff here, just professionals who want to help your business save money and reduce theft.
Get more information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today
How many times do you see a “Free with purchase” offer to get you to buy a product? It can make you kind of numb to real offers like the Free Loss Prevention Calculator from Loss Prevention Inc. It is not uncommon to see things like a free tire rotation with an oil change from an automotive maintenance company. The car tire rotation may be free but I’ll be darned if it doesn’t seem like every rotation I get I am given the dire warning of how my tires are worn and should be replaced. Also, I paid how much for that oil change? No, this is not a tirade against automotive repair businesses. I know they are in business to make money but free doesn’t seem so free if you are pushing me to get new tires or strongly suggest I replace my brakes that are ready to go out on me tomorrow and throw me into a ditch or worse yet, kill me. Maybe more free is the $10 company issued giftcard with purchase when you by $75 in ink from a store. Of course the catch there is you are buying $75 in ink and you will be coming back to use that giftcard. And let’s be honest, with that $10 giftcard how many people are really going to look for just $10 in merchandise? It is a great marketing tool but it does make the “free” offer feel a little less free. Since I focus much of my attention on Loss Prevention issues it seems that there should be a question posed to companies that sell retail anti-theft systems. Can Loss Prevention be free? How many are going to say, “Yes it can be.” There is one company that says it can be and that is Loss Prevention Systems Inc.
Now I know it is going to sound ridiculous to most of you. In fact some are probably wanting to know when I’m going to pronounce that the brakes are shot on this car after you get your oil change. No, there are no surprises or catches. Can Loss Prevention be free? You bet it can be. The fact of the matter is a new electronic article surveillance system is going to save you money by theft reduction. The installation of new electronic article surveillance (EAS) pedestals and application of retail anti-theft devices on each piece of merchandise carried in your store is going to deter criminals from stealing. For those few who will be foolish enough to attempt to steal anyways, the pedestals are going to be set off when tagged items are carried near the doors. Pedestal alarms will alert employees that someone is going to try to steal. Merchandise is then recovered in the receipt check that follows. Every time a crook walks out empty handed or a recovery is made money is added back to the store profit line and offsets a portion of the cost of a new antitheft system. How can I be so sure? I have extensive experience as a Loss Prevention Manager and I know how effective EAS products are. I have also tested the Free Loss Prevention Calculator and find it to be an accurate measurement tool.
Free to use for anyone, the calculator gives a store owner the ability to enter variables such as annual sales information and how much they would consider spending on a Loss Prevention system. The calculator assumes a standard annual shrink rate of 1.2% (slightly less than the current national average) and a modest shortage reduction resulting from a newly installed system to .65% annually. The final calculation is the estimated number of months it would take for a system to pay for itself through shortage reduction savings. And the best part is that there is no catch. No sign up or registration required to use the Free Loss Prevention Calculator. It’s kind of like getting that oil change and tire rotation and no pressure to buy a couple of new tires.
Can Loss Prevention be free? It can be in the amount it saves in shortage due to theft. Can a system really save this much money for a store? There is no question it can especially with a well-trained group of employees who know the best methods for alarm resolutions. Visit the Loss Prevention Systems Inc. website and give the free Loss Prevention Calculator a try. No oily sales staff here, just professionals who want to help your business save money and reduce theft.
Get more information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today
I work in a retail store as a sales associate and I often use my experiences as a Loss Prevention Associate and Manager to stop shoplifting and prevent shortage in the store where I now work. A recent experience made me recall that not all shortage is theft related, some is operational and some we cannot determine which it falls under but it can still be prevented. I was working the cash register and being the back to school season patrons were buying lots of supplies for their students/children. I had one young woman purchasing pencils, paper, a binder, folders and a few other items. When I got to the binder I scanned the barcode and as I started to place it to the side to scan the next item I realized something was in the binder. I opened it up and there were three 3-hole punched poly dividers that had been inserted inside. I looked at them to ensure they were not a part of the binder and found barcodes on each one. I scanned them and they were about $2.50 each. The customer said she meant to take them out and forgot to do so. It may not sound like a lot but by catching it I was able to prevent $7.50 in shortage or did I stop $7.50 in shoplifting? Either way, money was saved and THAT contributes to store profitability.
Similarly Sensormatic systems can reduce shortage through theft prevention and detecting operational errors. In terms of theft prevention tagged merchandise can be hidden inside a purse, satchel bag, under clothing, etc. and the tags will be detected at the door pedestals. As a retail manager you need to be aware that another method of theft utilized by the bad guys is to conceal merchandise inside other merchandise. In Loss Prevention we use an acronym, L.I.S.A. short for Look InSide Always. It is a method we use to remind cashiers to look inside of places where goods can be hidden. Examples may include, zipper binders, trash cans with lids, storage containers with lids, luggage and so on. If something can be hidden in it a cashier should be looking inside as it is rung up. Think about purses or comforters. Both items are popular for concealing merchandise in and attempting to buy the item and avoiding paying for the hidden merchandise. There are instances where merchandise is simply overlooked because it is on the bottom of a shopping basket. Cases of drinks, bulky paper towels and bags of dog food are items often placed here due to the amount of space they take up in a cart. Unless the shopper and/or the cashier is paying attention they can be missed and go out the door as unpaid merchandise. Of course if a store is using Sensormatic systems and all goods are tagged then the pedestals will alarm and remind the patron that something was missed. The customer and the employee have an opportunity to react and have the item properly processed at the point of sale.
The situation I described above is not the first time I have encountered hidden merchandise whether it was done intentionally or by someone else. As a Loss Prevention Manager I have seen shoppers come to a register with a blouse and dress jacket on a hanger that looked like they could be sold as a single item. After alerting the cashier to look at both pieces it was found there was a second price tag. The customer changed her mind. Did we stop shoplifting or prevent an honest mistake? I don’t have that answer. What I do know is we prevented the shortage of the blouse if I had not alerted the cashier to look.
As a Loss Prevention professional what I like about Sensormatic systems is that they are not a one-trick pony. They do stop shoplifting but they also impact employee theft and operational shortage. They also help keep vendors honest. I have seen cosmetic and jewelry vendors start to leave after a visit and set off electronic article surveillance alarms. The merchandise was recovered but it could not be determined if the vendor intended to steal or made an honest mistake. Shrink isn’t the result of theft alone and Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can show you how Sensormatic systems can play a role in reducing all of it.
Need information on Sensormatic systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
