Understanding The Unspoken Crime Of Underwear Theft And How Checkpoint Tags Can Undercut The Shoplifting Underworld

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the following are slang or alternative words that refer to underwear; cutty sark (a term formed from the outdated words “cutty” meaning short and “sark” for shirt describing a short nightgown which they say inspired a famous ship name and that name inspired the brand of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.