I was covering my cashier for her break this past weekend, when this guy came up to buy three six-packs of beer. When he sat them down I noticed one of them was missing three bottles. The guy said he hadn’t seen it when he picked it up. I told him I would sell it to him for half price since it would take an act of congress to get the beer guy to give me credit for the package. That meant losing the profit I would have made from it too. I can justify it to myself since my beer section is a paltry two door reach in cooler, and we don’t really sell a lot of it anyway. I pay a lot more attention to my larger and more expensive wine selection. Bottle security in that section is paramount because it has more potential sales for my store. We have security cameras all around the store and the aisles are set up so that the wine section is close to the checkout so the cashiers can monitor the shoppers over there.
I have seen some other bottle security options used at stores that could be helpful. Some stores use empty bottles for place holders on the shelves. They place the price labels on the shelves just as they would if the real bottles were there. The customer takes that bottle up to the cashier and they retrieve the actual bottle that the customer wants to purchase. Another store used a similar approach. They took wood planks and laid them down end to end on the shelves and adhere pictures of the products to the boards. The customer takes the picture down and brings that to the front counter for the cashier. The biggest problem with both of these ideas is that there has to be a whole separate place for storage for the actual wine and spirits bottles. I manage a small retail pharmacy and we happen to sell wine, but do not have that kind of space. Another issue is that if there is only one clerk on duty, they have to leave the cash register unattended in order to get the customer’s selections for them. Some stores hire security guards if they have major theft issues. They’re not cheap though, so that’s is going to cost you. That could ultimately take payroll dollars away from your other employees.
If you don’t have that kind of space or extra money to drop, take a look at a bottle security option offered by Alpha Security. Bottle locks could be the answer. They are easy to apply and remove right at the checkout. The customer gets to browse your selection of wine and spirits on the shelf. They can pick up the bottles and compare them without the bottle locks impeding them. They don’t have to come to the checkout with some token and wait on the clerk to find the right choice. Alpha Security brought these to the table so you don’t have to worry about your valuable inventory being on display. Bottle locks fit over almost any size bottle and they are completely reusable. They offer a visible deterrent to the potential shoplifter. There is also the complete benefit denial for the rare times that you do suffer a loss. If someone gets brave enough to run out with a bottle that is still protected by a bottle lock, the bottle will shatter before they get the cap off. When you get your theft solutions from Alpha Security you are also getting peace of mind.
Bottle security is important and we can help. Contact us or call today 1.770.426.0547
