I don’t normally go into vision wear stores to shop but recently my wife had an eye checkup and the result was a new eyeglass prescription. Because she is not one to spend money on herself, she also was badly in need of a new pair of frames for her glasses. We went to three different stores shopping for frames and I was hit by sticker shock when I saw the prices on many of the frames, not including what it would cost to make the new lenses. On the low end there were glasses in the $40.00 range, but on the higher end frames were near $200.00! I was surprised that I saw no retail anti-theft devices in use to prevent shoplifting. In one store there were three employees but there were also quite a few shoppers and I had the impression that a knowledgeable thief could have gotten away with several pair of frames if they were so inclined. It seemed to me the store should have placed an Alpha Eyewear Tag on each pair of frames to ensure none would be stolen.
Alpha Eyewear tags are electronic article surveillance (EAS) protected retail anti-theft devices that attach to the arm of a pair of glasses. The tags are unobtrusive, allowing a shopper to try on a pair of glasses without the tag interfering with the function. The tags prevent shoplifting in two ways. First, they are almost impossible to remove without a detachment key and if someone were to attempt to force a tag off the arm of the frames the arm will break off. Second, if a store is set up with EAS antennas at the doors and a shoplifting is attempted, the tag on a protected pair of glasses will activate the antennas, sounding an alarm. In the event of an activation, store personnel are able to respond to the alarm and recover the merchandise being stolen. Tags also alarm on merchandise a customer may have inadvertently walked off with, still allowing the opportunity to recover the item.
If you have a business that sells eye wear, either glasses frames or sunglasses you may be wondering if there is really a need to protect your merchandise. In case you question whether or not you need to find a way to prevent shoplifting in your store, here are a couple of examples that may make you seriously consider using retail anti-theft devices.
- News4jax.com reporter Nicole Snyder posted a story on April 13, 2016, about a couple in Jacksonville who shoplifted $3,000 worth of merchandise from a vision store. The optical sales rep of the store was quoted as saying, “…And then you have to play a game of do we lock everything up and make it inaccessible to people or do we leave it open so people can try it on and come here and have a great experience?”
- April 18, 2016, wtvr.com reported on thieves who were repeatedly stealing from a Richmond, Virginia LensCrafters store. The thieves were stealing designer eyeglass frames. No dollar amount was reported.
- March 16, 2015 losangeles.cbslocal.com reported that a Glendale, California store owner reported the theft of $200,000 worth of designer eyewear.
Shoplifting occurs in nearly every retail business and eyeglass shops are not exempt. Protecting product is necessary to stay in business. A business cannot sustain significant losses over a prolonged period of time.
I would also point out that the optical sales rep in the Jacksonville story gave only two options for a store, lock up merchandise to prevent theft or leave it accessible and risk losing it. Alpha eyewear tags provide a third and better option. Using the tags on eyeglass frames and sunglasses can be accessible and still protected. Thieves are not going to want to risk setting off alarms or damaging merchandise they cannot resell. Provide great customer service and still protect your product. Use Alpha eyewear tags and prevent shoplifting while still giving shoppers the ability to try on and buy your products. And as for that pair of frames for my wife? We’re still looking.
Get more information on Alpha eyewear tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
