Clothing Security Tags-5 WC Blog 483
Checkpoint Tags-3
Clothing Security Tags Deter Most Thieves
Clothing security tags are really good at deterring and preventing shoplifting. There are times in the world of Retail Loss Prevention when you see someone steal clothing regardless of whether or not merchandise is tagged. It isn’t too surprising that people will do a lot of dumb things but what can be surprising is who we see stealing and sometimes what people are stealing. Checkpoint tags on clothes are effective but it just so happens there are a few people that don’t worry themselves over them. I want to share about two such shoplifters I dealt with in my Loss Prevention Career.
I should take a break from my story about odd shoplifters I have encountered and discuss what clothing security tags are. These aren’t the clothing hang tags from the manufacturer (although soft Checkpoint tags can be embedded in them) I am referring to a hard tag that is attached to a garment. These tags are placed in a prominent location on a clothing item and most of the time will deter a criminal who sees them. The tags are nearly impossible to remove from clothing without damaging the product. When clothes are damaged it renders it useless to the criminal. The tags also have the ability to activate Checkpoint pedestals when carried too close to them. Even when concealed in a bag or being worn by a would-be thief merchandise that is tagged sets off an alarm and lights in a pedestal. Associates respond, conduct receipt checks and using training they have received recover merchandise. So, deterrence and detection can save a store a vast amount of money in reduced shortage.
But like I was alluding to in the beginning of my article not everyone is necessarily concerned about clothing security tags or even Retail Loss Prevention people for that matter. These can turn into odd shoplifting cases. One case I had was as a Loss Prevention Associate in a department store. It was a slow night and I was in the camera room looking for activity. I noticed an older woman walking through departments and she seemed to be browsing. I casually observed her since there was no other activity and she had a large purse in her shopping cart. I thought I noticed her pick up an item without paying much attention to it and place it in her purse. I admit I was shocked as this woman could have been my grandmother! A few more minutes and she did it again. I reviewed my videotape to be sure I saw what I thought I saw. Sure enough she had concealed the item. At that time our store did not use clothing security tags on everything so I was not sure she would set off any alarms when she would eventually leave. Eventually my 72 year old shopper did leave the store without paying for the merchandise. I did stop her and contacted the police. She was released by them to her husband who apparently had to deal with this on a regular basis.
Another odd shoplifter I encountered was when I was a Loss Prevention Manager. I had a male shopper in our lingerie department. I had other experiences like this that were less than pleasant to deal with. The guy was standing behind fixtures and appeared to be looking at female shoppers nearby. I began watching him anticipating that I would have to go and intervene. It wasn’t long before I saw him pick up a piece of lingerie and hide it under his shirt. That was NOT what I was expecting. A few more lingerie items were concealed and he walked towards the doors. In this instance one or more of the items had Checkpoint tags on them and the pedestals alarmed as I stopped him. We returned to the security office and I recovered the merchandise from the blushing blunderer. I’m still not sure if he was blushing for being caught or for what he was stealing. He did get a one-way ride to the city jail where he could share his exploits with the fellas.
Clothing security tags are an effective means of preventing theft and deterring crime. Two things must be remembered. The best protection is when everything is tagged and when you understand that there are a few people who will disregard those tags and steal anyways. Be ready to respond to pedestal alarms and don’t be shocked if it turns out to be someone’s grandmother who is trying to rip you off.
Clothing security tags are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Clothing security tags are really good at deterring and preventing shoplifting. There are times in the world of Retail Loss Prevention when you see someone steal clothing regardless of whether or not merchandise is tagged. It isn’t too surprising that people will do a lot of dumb things but what can be surprising is who we see stealing and sometimes what people are stealing. Checkpoint tags on clothes are effective but it just so happens there are a few people that don’t worry themselves over them. I want to share about two such shoplifters I dealt with in my Loss Prevention Career.
I should take a break from my story about odd shoplifters I have encountered and discuss what clothing security tags are. These aren’t the clothing hang tags from the manufacturer (although soft Checkpoint tags can be embedded in them) I am referring to a hard tag that is attached to a garment. These tags are placed in a prominent location on a clothing item and most of the time will deter a criminal who sees them. The tags are nearly impossible to remove from clothing without damaging the product. When clothes are damaged it renders it useless to the criminal. The tags also have the ability to activate Checkpoint pedestals when carried too close to them. Even when concealed in a bag or being worn by a would-be thief merchandise that is tagged sets off an alarm and lights in a pedestal. Associates respond, conduct receipt checks and using training they have received recover merchandise. So, deterrence and detection can save a store a vast amount of money in reduced shortage.
But like I was alluding to in the beginning of my article not everyone is necessarily concerned about clothing security tags or even Retail Loss Prevention people for that matter. These can turn into odd shoplifting cases. One case I had was as a Loss Prevention Associate in a department store. It was a slow night and I was in the camera room looking for activity. I noticed an older woman walking through departments and she seemed to be browsing. I casually observed her since there was no other activity and she had a large purse in her shopping cart. I thought I noticed her pick up an item without paying much attention to it and place it in her purse. I admit I was shocked as this woman could have been my grandmother! A few more minutes and she did it again. I reviewed my videotape to be sure I saw what I thought I saw. Sure enough she had concealed the item. At that time our store did not use clothing security tags on everything so I was not sure she would set off any alarms when she would eventually leave. Eventually my 72 year old shopper did leave the store without paying for the merchandise. I did stop her and contacted the police. She was released by them to her husband who apparently had to deal with this on a regular basis.
Another odd shoplifter I encountered was when I was a Loss Prevention Manager. I had a male shopper in our lingerie department. I had other experiences like this that were less than pleasant to deal with. The guy was standing behind fixtures and appeared to be looking at female shoppers nearby. I began watching him anticipating that I would have to go and intervene. It wasn’t long before I saw him pick up a piece of lingerie and hide it under his shirt. That was NOT what I was expecting. A few more lingerie items were concealed and he walked towards the doors. In this instance one or more of the items had Checkpoint tags on them and the pedestals alarmed as I stopped him. We returned to the security office and I recovered the merchandise from the blushing blunderer. I’m still not sure if he was blushing for being caught or for what he was stealing. He did get a one-way ride to the city jail where he could share his exploits with the fellas.
Clothing security tags are an effective means of preventing theft and deterring crime. Two things must be remembered. The best protection is when everything is tagged and when you understand that there are a few people who will disregard those tags and steal anyways. Be ready to respond to pedestal alarms and don’t be shocked if it turns out to be someone’s grandmother who is trying to rip you off.
Clothing security tags are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
BOOSTERS LEAVE RETAILER EMPTY HANDED, AFTER ATTEMPTING TO STEAL HIGH DOLLAR ITEMS SECURED WITH CLOTHING SECURITY TAGS!
Clothing Security Tags -4 ML Blog 25
Security tags on clothes – 3
Boosters drive Loss Prevention teams absolute CRAZY. They wipe out shelves within minutes, killing your sales and shrink numbers. There are several incidents while I am just at lunch, and boosters were in and out of my location! My store had a policy at the time, to not utilize security devices on certain items we sold. Stores struggle on the decision of utilizing security devices on products or not. A lot of retailers worry about the cost versus seeing the return on investment from using merchandise protection standards. However, these were the “hot” items that the boosters wanted currently. Instead of being frustrated daily, I took it upon myself to do a Best Practice Security Device Program. I wrote up an action plan up on why I was going to go above and beyond with tagging standards. I ordered clothing security tags to deter the thieves and to prove how this program can really work. You learn truly by experimenting with different devices, figuring out what actually deters merchandise from leaving the building. Normally this will send boosters to your competitors, keeping your items on your shelves to sell. Why not invest your money on what has been proven to stop shoplifting in other retailers?! I personally like to invest in security tags on clothes, in order to reduce their amount of loss each year. I have had several, crazy experiences to prove this method.
It’s 5:00pm on a Saturday, and the store is packed with customers on this busy weekend. The store team is running around helping shoppers, while I am scanning CCTV cameras looking for boosters. I am waiting for 2 subjects that target my store once a month on specific weekend days. I was able to develop their trend, and knew they were going to hit my store at some point that weekend. I kept my cameras pointed on the highly targeted woman’s shirts and played the waiting game. Finally by 7:30pm, I see the familiar subjects that I know all too well. They were scoping the store suspiciously for cameras, then quickly headed for the woman’s department. I keep CCTV on the subjects and within minutes of seeing their strange behaviors, both subjects walk right up to the woman’s shirts they have targeted previously. Just 2 weeks ago, I received my new clothing security tags in and I had the store team place them on this entire fixture. Subject 1, quickly goes up to the rack and grabs a stack of the shirts priced at $49.99 per piece. Subject 2 scopes the area, and then signals for Subject 1 to go to the fitting room. They both go into the fitting room and stay in there for 10 minutes. I watch them exit the fitting room, and see them come out with the stack of shirts, dumping them on a random fixture. I run to check the fixture to make sure they didn’t take any. I check the shirts and literally start jumping in the air for joy! All of the associates in the area looked at me like I was crazy, but I was extremely pumped! I was able to see that they dumped everything because they couldn’t get the clothing security tags off of the products! Finally, I was able to put a stop to these boosters! After dumping the clothes, they exited the building quickly and you could actually see them frowning and upset! A HUGE win for our store! They left my store and never came back. I never spotted them again, which shows the deterrent tag method really worked. I ended up totaling up how much these boosters would have left my store with, if I did not have the security devices present: a grand total of $499.90! Within minutes it went from close to $500.00 going right out the door, to the boosters leaving immediately with NOTHING. However, think about how much they got away with previously or when I was not there to observe? I was lucky that I figured out who they were and when they were coming in. This investigation led us to take action by placing security tags on clothes. It is such a small task, for such a big prevention. In this day and age, it is not realistic for associate awareness on the sales floor to be enough in deterring the thieves. Retailers have to use more advanced protection devices that really deters the thieves from coming into the store. I’ve learned that associates including myself cannot observe everything that is going on every day. Even an entire Loss Prevention team cannot observe everything that is going on every single day. So what are you going to do to stop the booster craziness?!
In my several years of being an Asset Protection Manager, I see a massive amount of these same incidents happening on camera due to security tags on clothes. The boosters panicking leaving all items behind, after seeing what tags we use. This is the route to go, if you are looking for an inexpensive fix that truly puts boosters to a stop!
For more information about Clothing Security Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Boosters drive Loss Prevention teams absolute CRAZY. They wipe out shelves within minutes, killing your sales and shrink numbers. There are several incidents while I am just at lunch, and boosters were in and out of my location! My store had a policy at the time, to not utilize security devices on certain items we sold. Stores struggle on the decision of utilizing security devices on products or not. A lot of retailers worry about the cost versus seeing the return on investment from using merchandise protection standards. However, these were the “hot” items that the boosters wanted currently. Instead of being frustrated daily, I took it upon myself to do a Best Practice Security Device Program. I wrote up an action plan up on why I was going to go above and beyond with tagging standards. I ordered clothing security tags to deter the thieves and to prove how this program can really work. You learn truly by experimenting with different devices, figuring out what actually deters merchandise from leaving the building. Normally this will send boosters to your competitors, keeping your items on your shelves to sell. Why not invest your money on what has been proven to stop shoplifting in other retailers?! I personally like to invest in security tags on clothes, in order to reduce their amount of loss each year. I have had several, crazy experiences to prove this method.
It’s 5:00pm on a Saturday, and the store is packed with customers on this busy weekend. The store team is running around helping shoppers, while I am scanning CCTV cameras looking for boosters. I am waiting for 2 subjects that target my store once a month on specific weekend days. I was able to develop their trend, and knew they were going to hit my store at some point that weekend. I kept my cameras pointed on the highly targeted woman’s shirts and played the waiting game. Finally by 7:30pm, I see the familiar subjects that I know all too well. They were scoping the store suspiciously for cameras, then quickly headed for the woman’s department. I keep CCTV on the subjects and within minutes of seeing their strange behaviors, both subjects walk right up to the woman’s shirts they have targeted previously. Just 2 weeks ago, I received my new clothing security tags in and I had the store team place them on this entire fixture. Subject 1, quickly goes up to the rack and grabs a stack of the shirts priced at $49.99 per piece. Subject 2 scopes the area, and then signals for Subject 1 to go to the fitting room. They both go into the fitting room and stay in there for 10 minutes. I watch them exit the fitting room, and see them come out with the stack of shirts, dumping them on a random fixture. I run to check the fixture to make sure they didn’t take any. I check the shirts and literally start jumping in the air for joy! All of the associates in the area looked at me like I was crazy, but I was extremely pumped! I was able to see that they dumped everything because they couldn’t get the clothing security tags off of the products! Finally, I was able to put a stop to these boosters! After dumping the clothes, they exited the building quickly and you could actually see them frowning and upset! A HUGE win for our store! They left my store and never came back. I never spotted them again, which shows the deterrent tag method really worked. I ended up totaling up how much these boosters would have left my store with, if I did not have the security devices present: a grand total of $499.90! Within minutes it went from close to $500.00 going right out the door, to the boosters leaving immediately with NOTHING. However, think about how much they got away with previously or when I was not there to observe? I was lucky that I figured out who they were and when they were coming in. This investigation led us to take action by placing security tags on clothes. It is such a small task, for such a big prevention. In this day and age, it is not realistic for associate awareness on the sales floor to be enough in deterring the thieves. Retailers have to use more advanced protection devices that really deters the thieves from coming into the store. I’ve learned that associates including myself cannot observe everything that is going on every day. Even an entire Loss Prevention team cannot observe everything that is going on every single day. So what are you going to do to stop the booster craziness?!
In my several years of being an Asset Protection Manager, I see a massive amount of these same incidents happening on camera due to security tags on clothes. The boosters panicking leaving all items behind, after seeing what tags we use. This is the route to go, if you are looking for an inexpensive fix that truly puts boosters to a stop!
For more information about Clothing Security Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
CLOTHING SECURITY TAGS WILL ENSURE YOUR HIGH END ITEMS ARE PROTECTED, NOT BOOSTED!
Clothing Security Tags-4 ML Blog 23
Security Tags on Clothes-4
When it comes to shoplifting in my store, I am always looking for the best protection for our high end merchandise. Luckily, there are high quality deterrent devices available that do not break the bank! As retailers, we have to outwit the thieves and make sure we are utilizing what really works. I’ve worked in several retail stores who at first, did not believe in using security tags on clothes. I would watch their high end items walk out of the store every single day, until they realized how big of a theft problem they were having. Shoplifters would leave racks empty, taking a huge toll on sales! Clothing security tags provide the ultimate protection for high theft merchandise, without effecting the customer experience.
As a Senior Loss Prevention Manager, I frequently use our CCTV cameras to analyze where our theft issues occur. I also pull weekly shrink reports to see where we stand each week in known loss. One retail location that I worked at, had trending shrink issues. I started to research to see what departments they were coming from. I noticed they were consistently shrinking out in men’s sportswear, so this was a high focus area for myself to review. I completed a floor walk, to notice none of their items priced at $70.00 and up had security tags on clothes. I was shocked! Why would you leave a shrinking out department without any protection, making a honey hole for thieves? I immediately implemented a plan to have any men’s sportswear clothing tagged with clothing security tags. It took us only 2 hours to get ALL of the items protected. Now that I executed a new plan, we needed to see if it really was working. I was scanning CCTV cameras one evening, and noticed a male and a female acting suspicious in that area. The female was carrying a large, empty purse. They both rapidly selected 10 high dollar items, priced at $79.99-$129.99 each item. After selecting the items, the male walks around the sales floor to lookout for store personnel. The female goes into a corner of the store and bends down to the ground, to load up her empty purse. As she is concealing, she stops and takes a quick look at one of the items. She realizes that the items she selected are protected now by clothing security tags! She pauses in a panic, and calls the male subject over. She shows him the tags, and she pulls the items she already concealed out of her purse. She hands all of the merchandise to the male, and he tries to break the tags off. He realizes that the task was too difficult, and drops the merchandise on the floor. Luckily, the tags are built with technology that provides tamper resistant security! He starts looking for the exit, and hand signals for the female to follow him out. They exit into the parking lot, with no merchandise! They didn’t realize my store now places security tags on clothes. Luckily, if the shoplifters decided to be bold by stealing with the tags on, they would set off the security system as they approach the exit. The security system would alert by making a massive noise and light up at the same time. This would place all eyes on them and allow the associates to react in time. This showed my store team the importance of ensuring that we are utilizing the clothing security tags. These 2 subjects could have absconded close to $800 in only one instance. Think of how many times they have visited this store in the past? Keeping security tags on merchandise works as a deterrent in more ways than retailers can imagine. We keep the shoplifters leaving empty handed, due to our tough merchandise protection standards. I’ve seen several of these same scenarios at retailers, not realizing how important the tags are. After 2 months of utilizing the new plan, we saw a massive decrease in our known theft numbers. For that specific department, we cut our known loss by 70%. I’ve personally seen this plan work at each store I have worked at. Another positive aspect of the tags, are how customer friendly they are. My store manager really likes that they are reusable and easy to remove at the point of sale. This allows customers to still be able to check out at the registers quickly.
Clothing is a high targeted theft item, and extremely easy to conceal for thieves. Decrease your shrink by simply placing security tags on clothes. Why not protect your assets with an easy, cost effective fix? Clothing security tags ensure that your high end clothing is protected, and not boosted.
Get more information on Clothing Security Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
When it comes to shoplifting in my store, I am always looking for the best protection for our high end merchandise. Luckily, there are high quality deterrent devices available that do not break the bank! As retailers, we have to outwit the thieves and make sure we are utilizing what really works. I’ve worked in several retail stores who at first, did not believe in using security tags on clothes. I would watch their high end items walk out of the store every single day, until they realized how big of a theft problem they were having. Shoplifters would leave racks empty, taking a huge toll on sales! Clothing security tags provide the ultimate protection for high theft merchandise, without affecting the customer experience.
As a Senior Loss Prevention Manager, I frequently use our CCTV cameras to analyze where our theft issues occur. I also pull weekly shrink reports to see where we stand each week in known loss. One retail location that I worked at, had trending shrink issues. I started to research to see what departments they were coming from. I noticed they were consistently shrinking out in men’s sportswear, so this was a high focus area for myself to review. I completed a floor walk, to notice none of their items priced at $70.00 and up had security tags on clothes. I was shocked! Why would you leave a shrinking out department without any protection, making a honey hole for thieves? I immediately implemented a plan to have any men’s sportswear clothing tagged with clothing security tags. It took us only 2 hours to get ALL of the items protected. Now that I executed a new plan, we needed to see if it really was working. I was scanning CCTV cameras one evening, and noticed a male and a female acting suspicious in that area. The female was carrying a large, empty purse. They both rapidly selected 10 high dollar items, priced at $79.99-$129.99 each item. After selecting the items, the male walks around the sales floor to lookout for store personnel. The female goes into a corner of the store and bends down to the ground, to load up her empty purse. As she is concealing, she stops and takes a quick look at one of the items. She realizes that the items she selected are protected now by clothing security tags! She pauses in a panic, and calls the male subject over. She shows him the tags, and she pulls the items she already concealed out of her purse. She hands all of the merchandise to the male, and he tries to break the tags off. He realizes that the task was too difficult, and drops the merchandise on the floor. Luckily, the tags are built with technology that provides tamper resistant security! He starts looking for the exit, and hand signals for the female to follow him out. They exit into the parking lot, with no merchandise! They didn’t realize my store now places security tags on clothes. Luckily, if the shoplifters decided to be bold by stealing with the tags on, they would set off the security system as they approach the exit. The security system would alert by making a massive noise and light up at the same time. This would place all eyes on them and allow the associates to react in time. This showed my store team the importance of ensuring that we are utilizing the clothing security tags. These 2 subjects could have absconded close to $800 in only one instance. Think of how many times they have visited this store in the past? Keeping security tags on merchandise works as a deterrent in more ways than retailers can imagine. We keep the shoplifters leaving empty handed, due to our tough merchandise protection standards. I’ve seen several of these same scenarios at retailers, not realizing how important the tags are. After 2 months of utilizing the new plan, we saw a massive decrease in our known theft numbers. For that specific department, we cut our known loss by 70%. I’ve personally seen this plan work at each store I have worked at. Another positive aspect of the tags, are how customer friendly they are. My store manager really likes that they are reusable and easy to remove at the point of sale. This allows customers to still be able to check out at the registers quickly.
Clothing is a high targeted theft item, and extremely easy to conceal for thieves. Decrease your shrink by simply placing security tags on clothes. Why not protect your assets with an easy, cost effective fix? Clothing security tags ensure that your high end clothing is protected, and not boosted.
Get more information on Clothing Security Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Checkpoint Tags-4 WC Blog 438
Clothing Security Tags-3
Pet Stores Profits Are On The Rise But Shoplifting Is Too – Prevent The Pilfering Of Puppy Apparel With Clothing Security Tags
Pets, we love them in the U.S. in fact we love them so much that according to SAGE Business Researcher in an article titled, “The Pet Industry”, by Janice Arenofsky, February 27, 2017, the writer states, “Spending on pets in the United States continued to increase even through the 2007-2009 recession and hit an estimated $62.75 billion in 2016.” http://businessresearcher.sagepub.com/sbr-1863-102160-2772364/20170227/the-pet-industry That is quite a sum of money to spend on our furry (and sometimes not-so-furry for all you reptile, bird and insect lovers) friends. Many employers even offer pet insurance now (it is offered at the locations where I work). Where it once was taboo to bring a pet into a store it has now become commonplace. I see them in pet carriers, sometimes on leashes and occasionally I have seen them in baby strollers (at least I hope that was a dog otherwise there are some really ugly babies with wet noses out there). Relax, I’m just kidding folks. I tried to get some facts on how much Americans spend on pet clothing alone but I was unable to locate that information. What I was able to find was in a 2016 article, “Last Year, the NRF (National Retail Federation) estimated that $350 million was spent on pet costumes…” according to a cnbc.com article, “More consumers are purchasing pet costumes for Halloween than ever before”, by Sarah Whitten, 29 Oct 2016. If we are spending more than $350 million for pet costumes you can imagine how much we are spending for pet clothing overall. How do retailers protect their pet clothes? Why not protect them like we protect human clothing? Clothing security tags don’t have to be on human clothes only.
When I’m discussing clothing security tags, I’m referring to Checkpoint tags specifically. These devices are designed to prevent shoplifting through deterrence and the use of electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology. The way the tags work is they are designed so that they transmit a radio wave of a specific frequency. EAS pedestals located near key points in a building such as entrances and exits detect this specific radio frequency. When a tagged item is carried too close to the detection field the pedestals have alarms that are triggered. Store workers respond to those alarms, conduct receipt checks and recover unpaid merchandise. Checkpoint tags also deter shoplifters because they are designed to be visible and it is apparent they could very well damage merchandise if pried at or tampered with. Many professional shoplifters already know what the tags are when they see them and prefer to find products that don’t appear to be protected.
So exactly how much do pet clothes run? One major pet retailer sells an “anxiety shirt” for $39.95 and sports team jerseys for up to $28.99. An online designer pet boutique store advertises a doggie hoodie for $64.99. I don’t spend $64.99 on a winter coat for me! The fact remains there are folks who will spend that kind of money to dress up a pet that already comes with a fur coat of its own. For traditional stores that carry these lines of merchandise it only makes sense that the merchandise should be protected from theft with clothing security tags.
Checkpoint tags can be applied to these clothing items in the same way they are attached to human clothes. The only difference is that the garments are smaller in size so the tags may appear to be bigger but the protection given is just as robust. Tiny clothing items stuffed in a purse will activate an EAS pedestal just as they would activate it if they were human clothes shoved into the same purse. While you are putting clothing security tags on doggie outerwear you should know you can use the same tags to protect other merchandise that may be of high value such as pet beds, collars and leashes. Shoplifting is made more difficult when merchants protect as many items as possible.
Pets and pet accessories are big business. Where there is a store making a profit there will be shoplifters to pilfer. Prevent petty (and not so petty) theft by using Checkpoint tags on your pet softlines goods.
For more information about clothing security tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Pets, we love them in the U.S. in fact we love them so much that according to SAGE Business Researcher in an article titled, “The Pet Industry”, by Janice Arenofsky, February 27, 2017, the writer states, “Spending on pets in the United States continued to increase even through the 2007-2009 recession and hit an estimated $62.75 billion in 2016.” http://businessresearcher.sagepub.com/sbr-1863-102160-2772364/20170227/the-pet-industry That is quite a sum of money to spend on our furry (and sometimes not-so-furry for all you reptile, bird and insect lovers) friends. Many employers even offer pet insurance now (it is offered at the locations where I work). Where it once was taboo to bring a pet into a store it has now become commonplace. I see them in pet carriers, sometimes on leashes and occasionally I have seen them in baby strollers (at least I hope that was a dog otherwise there are some really ugly babies with wet noses out there). Relax, I’m just kidding folks. I tried to get some facts on how much Americans spend on pet clothing alone but I was unable to locate that information. What I was able to find was in a 2016 article, “Last Year, the NRF (National Retail Federation) estimated that $350 million was spent on pet costumes…” according to a cnbc.com article, “More consumers are purchasing pet costumes for Halloween than ever before”, by Sarah Whitten, 29 Oct 2016. If we are spending more than $350 million for pet costumes you can imagine how much we are spending for pet clothing overall. How do retailers protect their pet clothes? Why not protect them like we protect human clothing? Clothing security tags don’t have to be on human clothes only.
When I’m discussing clothing security tags, I’m referring to Checkpoint tags specifically. These devices are designed to prevent shoplifting through deterrence and the use of electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology. The way the tags work is they are designed so that they transmit a radio wave of a specific frequency. EAS pedestals located near key points in a building such as entrances and exits detect this specific radio frequency. When a tagged item is carried too close to the detection field the pedestals have alarms that are triggered. Store workers respond to those alarms, conduct receipt checks and recover unpaid merchandise. Checkpoint tags also deter shoplifters because they are designed to be visible and it is apparent they could very well damage merchandise if pried at or tampered with. Many professional shoplifters already know what the tags are when they see them and prefer to find products that don’t appear to be protected.
So exactly how much do pet clothes run? One major pet retailer sells an “anxiety shirt” for $39.95 and sports team jerseys for up to $28.99. An online designer pet boutique store advertises a doggie hoodie for $64.99. I don’t spend $64.99 on a winter coat for me! The fact remains there are folks who will spend that kind of money to dress up a pet that already comes with a fur coat of its own. For traditional stores that carry these lines of merchandise it only makes sense that the merchandise should be protected from theft with clothing security tags.
Checkpoint tags can be applied to these clothing items in the same way they are attached to human clothes. The only difference is that the garments are smaller in size so the tags may appear to be bigger but the protection given is just as robust. Tiny clothing items stuffed in a purse will activate an EAS pedestal just as they would activate it if they were human clothes shoved into the same purse. While you are putting clothing security tags on doggie outerwear you should know you can use the same tags to protect other merchandise that may be of high value such as pet beds, collars and leashes. Shoplifting is made more difficult when merchants protect as many items as possible.
Pets and pet accessories are big business. Where there is a store making a profit there will be shoplifters to pilfer. Prevent petty (and not so petty) theft by using Checkpoint tags on your pet softlines goods.
For more information about clothing security tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Clothing security -4 WC Blog 388
Checkpoint Tags-3
Understanding The Unspoken Crime Of Underwear Theft And How Checkpoint Tags Can Undercut The Shoplifting Underworld
According to Merriam-Webster the following are slang or alternative words that refer to underwear; cutty sark (a term formed from the outdated words “cutty” meaning short and “sark” for shirt describing a short nightgown which they say inspired a famous ship name and that name inspired the brand of whiskey that goes by that name today). Knickers, a standard word for underwear mainly in Britain and a singlet another British term for a sleeveless undershirt. Other words include, tighty whities, underdrawers, unionsuit, unmentionables and pretties. I mention these little tidbits because to be honest I think it’s funny. Also, when we talk about clothing security I would guess that most of the time people tend to think of shirts, shoes, pants, dresses, skirts etc. I have caught thieves stealing all of these items. In addition to this list of stolen garments I have apprehended people stealing hats, socks, ties, purses, scarves and yes, underdrawers and all sorts of umentionables. It seems that when Checkpoint tags are used for clothing security to prevent shoplifting pretties and knickers are often overlooked for some reason.
Clothing security tags come equipped with electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology built into them. A radio frequency signal produced by Checkpoint tags is set to a specific frequency that can be picked up by EAS pedestals if they are carried into the detection field of the pedestals. This means a protected garment can be carried throughout the store by customers but if a crook decides to attempt to shoplift the item the tag will cause the pedestal alarms to activate and alert employees that a theft is taking place. Employees, in response to the alarm, go to the pedestals and conduct a receipt check and recover merchandise. In case you’re wondering why someone couldn’t just remove the tags and leave the store with the stolen merchandise, Checkpoint tags can only be removed with a Checkpoint detachment key. Attempts to pry the tags off or circumvent the security of the tags results in damaged merchandise and that defeats the reason the criminal is stealing in the first place.
Is it a big deal to protect underwear when you take the time to protect all the other clothing in your store? There are some statistics from The Adair Group that can potentially sway opinions one way or the other:
• According to their website, 15% of women own underwear that is five to ten years old. Ten percent of men have underwear that has seen over ten years of use. By these statistics it wouldn’t seem there is a lot of underwear being sold if it’s worn for so long.
• The website also says that the average British woman owns 34 pair of underwear while the average American woman owns 21. Based on this information it would seem there may be a market for underwear.
• Finally, they say that Euromonitor data for 2014 showed the global underwear market was worth over $110 billion dollars.
Of course it is this last piece of information that clears up any question as to why there needs to be clothing security for underwear. $110 billion dollars in underwear sales is a lot of money and therefore it is profitable enough to be a market for shoplifters.
Thieves will steal clothing if they can make money off of it through resale or if they can use it themselves. Don’t allow shoplifters to leave your shelves and racks naked due to theft. Use Checkpoint tags on all of your clothing, undergarments included and install EAS pedestals at the store entry/exit points. You will prevent shoplifting and see unmentionable increases in underwear sales.
Checkpoint Tags are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
According to Merriam-Webster the following are slang or alternative words that refer to underwear; cutty sark (a term formed from the outdated words “cutty” meaning short and “sark” for shirt describing a short nightgown which they say inspired a famous ship name and that name inspired the brand of whiskey that goes by that name today). Knickers, a standard word for underwear mainly in Britain and a singlet another British term for a sleeveless undershirt. Other words include, tighty whities, underdrawers, unionsuit, unmentionables and pretties. I mention these little tidbits because to be honest I think it’s funny. Also, when we talk about clothing security I would guess that most of the time people tend to think of shirts, shoes, pants, dresses, skirts etc. I have caught thieves stealing all of these items. In addition to this list of stolen garments I have apprehended people stealing hats, socks, ties, purses, scarves and yes, underdrawers and all sorts of umentionables. It seems that when Checkpoint tags are used for clothing security to prevent shoplifting pretties and knickers are often overlooked for some reason.
Clothing security tags come equipped with electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology built into them. A radio frequency signal produced by Checkpoint tags is set to a specific frequency that can be picked up by EAS pedestals if they are carried into the detection field of the pedestals. This means a protected garment can be carried throughout the store by customers but if a crook decides to attempt to shoplift the item the tag will cause the pedestal alarms to activate and alert employees that a theft is taking place. Employees, in response to the alarm, go to the pedestals and conduct a receipt check and recover merchandise. In case you’re wondering why someone couldn’t just remove the tags and leave the store with the stolen merchandise, Checkpoint tags can only be removed with a Checkpoint detachment key. Attempts to pry the tags off or circumvent the security of the tags results in damaged merchandise and that defeats the reason the criminal is stealing in the first place.
Is it a big deal to protect underwear when you take the time to protect all the other clothing in your store? There are some statistics from The Adair Group that can potentially sway opinions one way or the other:
• According to their website, 15% of women own underwear that is five to ten years old. Ten percent of men have underwear that has seen over ten years of use. By these statistics it wouldn’t seem there is a lot of underwear being sold if it’s worn for so long.
• The website also says that the average British woman owns 34 pair of underwear while the average American woman owns 21. Based on this information it would seem there may be a market for underwear.
• Finally, they say that Euromonitor data for 2014 showed the global underwear market was worth over $110 billion dollars.
Of course it is this last piece of information that clears up any question as to why there needs to be clothing security for underwear. $110 billion dollars in underwear sales is a lot of money and therefore it is profitable enough to be a market for shoplifters.
Thieves will steal clothing if they can make money off of it through resale or if they can use it themselves. Don’t allow shoplifters to leave your shelves and racks naked due to theft. Use Checkpoint tags on all of your clothing, undergarments included and install EAS pedestals at the store entry/exit points. You will prevent shoplifting and see unmentionable increases in underwear sales.
Checkpoint Tags are important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
