FDid you know that the average median pay of a small business owner is $59,243 a year? According to the website www.payscale.com , “Experience has a moderate effect on income for this job”. Even with moderate effects being taken into consideration, this certainly means that small business owners must be careful in how they invest in their business in order to make it grow. Money can’t be wasted or invested in products or services that are not value added. Small business owners of retail stores must consider whether it is worth investing in anti-theft devices for the business(es) they own. Can they afford to protect their merchandise against theft and pilferage? How much money would it cost just to determine if investing in electronic article surveillance (EAS) equipment is feasible? What if I told you that there is a Free Loss Prevention Calculator that can help you determine the cost of investing in EAS products and the Return On Investment?
Loss Prevention Systems Inc. now offers a Free Loss Prevention Calculator that can help you see the cost of investing in Checkpoint EAS products. Based on your annual sales and estimated merchandise shrinkage, along with the cost of equipment, you will see how many months it will take for you to see your Return On Investment. Using the Loss Prevention ROI calculator, the business owner inputs a few simple numbers and can get an immediate estimate of how long it will take for the equipment to pay for itself through reduction in theft and even accidental loss.
Does using anti-theft devices make a significant difference in shortage reduction? Let’s take a look at information from the 2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer Report. According to the reporting information for North America, the following retailers saw inventory shrinkage deteriorate from the 2013-2014 reporting period:
- Apparel Specialist Retailers 0.60% in 2013-2014 to 2.28% in 2014-2015
- Other Non-Grocery retailers 1.70% in 2013-2014 to 1.90% in 2014-2015
- Pharmacies/Drugstores 1.00% in 2013-2014 to 2.25% in 2014-2015
Of these three retail categories, Apparel Specialist Retailers decreased their spending on Loss Prevention as a percent of total sales from .39% in 2013-2014 to .24% in 2014-2015. Other Non-Grocery Retailers reduced their spending from 1.00% in 2013-2014 to .75% in 2014-2015. While Pharmacies/Drugstores did increase their spending on Loss Prevention from .14% in 2013-2014 to .50% in 2014-2015 and they did see an increase in shrinkage, the report points out on page 53 that, “Shoplifting continues to plague the retail industry due to escalating problem of ORC (organized retail crime), easy sale of stolen merchandise through online sites, reduced sales floor coverage and, the general perception of shoplifting as a “low-risk/non-offensive” crime. On the other hand, it is also noteworthy that the report shows that Sporting Goods Stores, where the most spending on Loss Prevention took place, (1.41% of total sales) ranked 6th best in shortage results in North America at only 1.21% Shrinkage. The worst performance being 13th ranked Drugstores/Pharmacies at 2.25%, a full percentage point difference.
The Loss Prevention ROI calculator will help the small business owner determine what an investment in EAS equipment would provide as an estimated reduction in shortage and how fast the investment will pay for itself. It is easy to see initial costs for investing in a new system as purely an expense to the bottom line without looking at the big picture and realizing that the investment may pay for itself down the road. One additional factor you may want to consider when using the Free Loss Prevention Calculator is that the 2014-2015 GRTB reported that not all retailers who protected their merchandise with EAS protected every SKU in their inventory. “48% of respondents protected more than 50% of their high-risk SKUs with EAS, while 38% of the respondents protected 10-50% of their high-risk SKUs; only 14% of the respondents protected less than 10% of their high-risk SKUs with EAS.” You have the ability with the calculator to try out various amounts you may consider investing to see what the ROI will turn out to be. For those on a tight budget but needing protection, this free tool will aid in the decision making process.
Theft and fraud are difficult issues to deal with especially for the small shop owner who may not know what resources are available or affordable to stop merchandise shrinkage. The Loss Prevention ROI Calculator is a fantastic resource to consult, free of charge. You may be surprised at just how affordable protection can be and how quickly it will pay for itself.
Need more information on the Free Loss Prevention Calculator? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
