Retail Traffic Counting System –3 WC Blog 683
Door Counting Sensor-3
Visual Merchandising Enhanced With A Door Counting Sensor Part 1
I walked into my favorite grocery store today and saw the new weekly sales displayed at the front of the store and it started my mind churning about a retail traffic counting system. I began thinking about the role that customer counting has in relationship to visual merchandising and advertising. This store puts out a weekly flyer on Wednesdays and has weekend sales specials they advertise in it. Now I recognize that there is a certain customer base that will always come in. You have the loyal customers, the customers on the way home from work and then the shopper who responds to advertising and merchandising. The goal of every store owner, regardless of what you sell should be to increase foot traffic and in the process increase sales. To do that you can’t depend on just your loyal customer and the customer making a quick stop for a specific item (although if you merchandise properly you could turn this customer into a new “regular” shopper). IF the goal of advertising and visual merchandising is to draw in people, doesn’t it only make sense to measure/count the number of people coming to the store? A door counting sensor makes customer tracking easy for any retailer.
The Integrated EAS Traffic Counter from Sensormatic can be placed on the Sensormatic electronic article surveillance pedestals. This retail traffic counting system tracks people entering AND exiting the store and is not affected by shadows or weather. That means your counts are going to be accurate. It also means that you will have real numbers to use in assessing and interpreting sales activity. Is your store without an EAS system? Are you interested in preventing shoplifting, reducing shortage, improving profits and increasing sales? Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can help you do ALL of these things with the installation of a Sensormatic system and yes, track customers as well.
Before we go further you might want to know why visual merchandising is so important to your store. I used to think it was annoying when the stores I worked in would rearrange planograms or move merchandise around. Sure, a new endcap display made sense to me but other aspects seemed counter-intuitive. Don’t customers like to go directly to where they know merchandise is located in a business? Some may, but here are some other points to consider when it comes to merchandising. Here are some tips from snapretail.com, “11 Visual Merchandising Tactics To Increase Sales”:
1. Window Displays Make First Impression – They suggest making a story out of the window display, even giving the illusion of movement.
2. Appeal to Desires – “Display nearest the entrance should feature solely desires” (as opposed to needs).
3. Create a Connection – The idea they want conveyed is to put items together to show what it may look like as part of a set. The writer mentions having a scarf displayed as part of an outfit or a Stand mixer on a counter with baking goods.
4. Keep it Fresh – They suggest changing displays every two weeks and keep the seasons in mind. Don’t leave holiday displays up after the holiday is over.
5. Regularly Update POS Displays – “Your regular customers will remember what’s on display as they check out and are more likely to grab an extra item if the display is fresh.”
These are my top favorites from the website’s article but I encourage readers to review it for the other tips they offer. What I will add is that this can be very time and labor intensive. How do you know if that window display was worth the effort you and your team put into it? Did sales increase? If they did was it only because your regular customer came in and happened to purchase an item that was displayed? Sales data won’t give you that information. A door counting sensor can provide more insight into the people flowing into your shop.
Assuming you can now see the advantage a retail traffic counting system can have in assessing your sales data you may still be wondering if you really need a Sensormatic EAS system. You could increase your sales with the displays and bring in more people but if some of those people intend to steal from you they will look for signs of a merchandise protection. The first sign is the Sensormatic EAS pedestals at the front doors. In Part 2 of this article I want to talk more about the correlation a door counting sensor, visual merchandising and marketing have with each other and how they can improve sales.
Get more information on retail traffic counting systems contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
I walked into my favorite grocery store today and saw the new weekly sales displayed at the front of the store and it started my mind churning about a retail traffic counting system. I began thinking about the role that customer counting has in relationship to visual merchandising and advertising. This store puts out a weekly flyer on Wednesdays and has weekend sales specials they advertise in it. Now I recognize that there is a certain customer base that will always come in. You have the loyal customers, the customers on the way home from work and then the shopper who responds to advertising and merchandising. The goal of every store owner, regardless of what you sell should be to increase foot traffic and in the process increase sales. To do that you can’t depend on just your loyal customer and the customer making a quick stop for a specific item (although if you merchandise properly you could turn this customer into a new “regular” shopper). IF the goal of advertising and visual merchandising is to draw in people, doesn’t it only make sense to measure/count the number of people coming to the store? A door counting sensor makes customer tracking easy for any retailer.
The Integrated EAS Traffic Counter from Sensormatic can be placed on the Sensormatic electronic article surveillance pedestals. This retail traffic counting system tracks people entering AND exiting the store and is not affected by shadows or weather. That means your counts are going to be accurate. It also means that you will have real numbers to use in assessing and interpreting sales activity. Is your store without an EAS system? Are you interested in preventing shoplifting, reducing shortage, improving profits and increasing sales? Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can help you do ALL of these things with the installation of a Sensormatic system and yes, track customers as well.
Before we go further you might want to know why visual merchandising is so important to your store. I used to think it was annoying when the stores I worked in would rearrange planograms or move merchandise around. Sure, a new endcap display made sense to me but other aspects seemed counter-intuitive. Don’t customers like to go directly to where they know merchandise is located in a business? Some may, but here are some other points to consider when it comes to merchandising. Here are some tips from snapretail.com, “11 Visual Merchandising Tactics To Increase Sales”:
1. Window Displays Make First Impression – They suggest making a story out of the window display, even giving the illusion of movement.
2. Appeal to Desires – “Display nearest the entrance should feature solely desires” (as opposed to needs).
3. Create a Connection – The idea they want conveyed is to put items together to show what it may look like as part of a set. The writer mentions having a scarf displayed as part of an outfit or a Stand mixer on a counter with baking goods.
4. Keep it Fresh – They suggest changing displays every two weeks and keep the seasons in mind. Don’t leave holiday displays up after the holiday is over.
5. Regularly Update POS Displays – “Your regular customers will remember what’s on display as they check out and are more likely to grab an extra item if the display is fresh.”
These are my top favorites from the website’s article but I encourage readers to review it for the other tips they offer. What I will add is that this can be very time and labor intensive. How do you know if that window display was worth the effort you and your team put into it? Did sales increase? If they did was it only because your regular customer came in and happened to purchase an item that was displayed? Sales data won’t give you that information. A door counting sensor can provide more insight into the people flowing into your shop.
Assuming you can now see the advantage a retail traffic counting system can have in assessing your sales data you may still be wondering if you really need a Sensormatic EAS system. You could increase your sales with the displays and bring in more people but if some of those people intend to steal from you they will look for signs of a merchandise protection. The first sign is the Sensormatic EAS pedestals at the front doors. In Part 2 of this article I want to talk more about the correlation a door counting sensor, visual merchandising and marketing have with each other and how they can improve sales.
Get more information on retail traffic counting systems contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
A free Loss Prevention Calculator helps store owners see what the return on an investment in a Retail Loss Prevention System would be without spending anything to look into it. Shoplifting costs stores money through stolen merchandise and the loss of business when a customer can’t locate the goods they came into the store to purchase. It also takes an additional toll when a shoplifter picks up an item and then returns it for cash or a gift card. Nothing like paying for your own stuff is there? Is there a risk in spending money on a Sensormatic System? Is it a good idea for a business owner to take a risk in investing in something without assurance it will pay off? I know of one example of a calculated risk taken that has paid off.
About three years ago, my Alma Mater, Coastal Carolina University, made what appeared to be an unusual investment for a school, they sponsored a NASCAR driver in the truck racing series. There was no equivalent to the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator for the University to refer to before attempting this venture. Not many schools would make such a partnership but the deal has been beneficial to the driver, Brandon Brown (a Coastal student and alumni), his team and Coastal Carolina. The sponsorship helps the driver and his team cover the expenses of travel, salaries and vehicle maintenance. The return on investment for the school is the national recognition the school receives every time Mr. Brown, his truck and now Xfinity series race car are viewed on television. In a feature page on Coastal’s website in a story by Brent Reser, “In The Fast Lane”, Bill Plate, CCU’s Vice President for University Communications, pointed out the benefit of the sponsorship for Coastal with the school’s Chanticleer logo prominently displayed. “It is no different than a billboard except this billboard moves up and down moves up and down I-95”, Plate says referring to the trailer marked with Coastal insignia that transports Brown’s vehicle”…Plate goes on to say, “Then on race day it is a billboard that goes 180 mph…” NASCAR is a hugely popular sport and is watched all across the nation so the attention garnered aids in recruiting new students. It is also helpful to the CCU athletics teams in recruiting efforts to make the school competitive on the highest levels. It was a risky move that has turned out well for the University.
The Loss Prevention ROI Calculator gives retailers the ability to see how adding Loss Prevention system to their store will add security that reduces shrink without taking a risk. Click on the ROI calculator on the top of the Loss Prevention Systems Inc. home page and enter two key pieces of information, your estimated annual sales and the amount you would spend on a Sensormatic system. The calculator has a built in shortage reduction factor so it will give you the estimated number of months it would take for a system to pay for itself. In other words Loss Prevention can pay for itself. The Loss Prevention ROI Calculator removes any and all risks a store owner takes in the purchase of a Sensormatic security system by showing the benefits it will provide.
As a former Loss Prevention Manager with over 27 years of retail experience I have first-hand knowledge that Checkpoint systems work. I have seen top theft departments drastically improve in shortage performance after Sensormatic tags and labels were used on merchandise. I have complete confidence that after using the Free Loss Prevention Calculator you will see that your business can see similar shortage improvement.
Adding a school logo to a racing truck and car was a calculated risk for CCU. There was no way to measure what the impact would be prior to sponsoring the team. Adding a Sensormatic security system to your store doesn’t need to be a risk. The Free Loss Prevention Calculator gives a realistic expectation of how much store owners will save in reduced inventory shrinkage. Decreased shrink means more profit and merchandise in the store for customers to purchase and THAT is something to crow about!
For more information on the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Does the way you manage your employees have an effect on how much they try to stop shoplifting in your store or how they perform their jobs for that matter? Do poor work habits ever carry over from a previous employer they had that don’t work in your store? Sometimes we recruit and hire a new worker based on the experience they bring from working for another retailer. It seems like a good idea, they won’t need a lot of training and if the other employer didn’t fire them they must be a good worker. I was talking with one of my sons the other day about his work and he was relating about issues they are having with a co-worker. This employee came from a big box retail store that sells groceries among everything else a customer may need. It seems some of the “tricks of the trade” grocery stockers used there are showing up in my son’s grocery store, tricks that they do not permit in this company. Cases of canned goods are left in the boxes and placed on the shelf. If there is overstock merchandise rather than sending it to the stockroom it is being shoved on top of other merchandise or facings are adjusted to accommodate them. My son says that the department manager has talked to the new employee about this and my son has tried to point out what he is doing wrong but he is not improving. Managers, do you have “talks” with your employees or do you spend time training them and coaching? How about your anti-theft procedures? Are you taking time to actually train your employees on how to respond to a Sensormatic security system alarm? Do you show them how to tag merchandise with security labels or hard tags to prevent theft? Talk is cheap so the saying goes. Training and coaching is not, it is time-consuming and it can be tedious but if done correctly the rewards are tremendous.
Can training relate to theft prevention and store operations? Absolutely it can, just as shortage, store operations and profits are all directly tied to each other. Try running a store where shortage related to theft, operational errors and vendor mistakes is left unchecked. Store shelves go empty, replenishment of products is slow and inconsistent if it happens at all and sales dry up as shoppers leave for lack of products or variety of products. Training of new employees must not be a quick 10 minute lesson on the cash register or salesfloor. It has to be a detailed, comprehensive list of job responsibilities that someone has to spend time on demonstrating and then letting the worker go hands on. AFTER a training checklist has been completed supervisors then have to monitor performance and provide feedback as the employee begins to do the job solo. Is merchandise being placed on shelves or hung up according to YOUR expectations? Do you want clothes hung up and sized? Do you have a height level you are allowing canned goods to be stacked? Do you want Sensormatic security system tags placed on a uniform location on clothing? All of these things are important to how the store operates.
Stacking cans too high or “making space” on the shelf for overstock can impact how much other product is placed on the shelf or impede a customer’s ability to take a can from a shelf. Clothing not sized or grouped properly may throw off your ability to order more of a certain size of product. It could also bleed over to sloppy habits and racks becoming unshoppable or sloppy. Customers may be turned off or frustrated having to search through fixtures and choose to leave rather than buy a new item. Inconsistent placement of security tags can lead to a reduction in theft deterrence (crooks tend to leave merchandise alone when they see tags) and an increase in false electronic article surveillance alarms. If cashiers don’t know where tags are or don’t see them they may forget to remove them or deactivate them. Too many false alarms and employees get complacent with alarm responses and the alarms no longer stop shoplifting.
When time is taken to properly train and teach, employees are more confident in what they are doing and it makes them happier. Happier employees take pride in their work they understand the impact of what they are doing and take a real interest in how to stop shoplifting and how the Sensormatic security system works. They care about product placement and appearance. While they own much of their success you and your management are responsible for it too. Do it right and watch your store grow and keep turnover low.
Need information on Sensormatic security systems? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 today.
You’ve invested thousands of dollars in all the new whiz-bang anti-theft products on the market and you still see shoplifting losses hit your P+L weekly. Could it be that the products just don’t work? Probably not. More than likely, your staff, specifically your managers, could use some training to get the most return out of our loss prevention investments. So, what do you do and how do you train your managers to Stop Shoplifting?
The first step really is more philosophical than anything tangible you can do, or purchase. It’s building a culture in your business that theft, whether it be customer theft, or Employee Theft, is something that is not tolerated. Your managers must be promoting loss prevention awareness topics daily, just as they discuss your sales goals and store promotions. Loss prevention has to be finely woven in the fabric of your company for any physical controls to be effective.
This is something, that as an owner, you have to make important. All too often, I see store teams treat loss prevention as “something extra” they have to do. That’s simply just not the case. If you want to Stop Shoplifting and reduce Employee Theft, I’d start with a few simple suggestions.
1. Be open and have frank discussions with your teams about the consequences of stealing from your store. They should be aware of the bleak outcome of any employee that is caught stealing.
2. Never go easy or turn a blind eye to a thief. Not only will this make you and your store a soft target, it will start a snowball effect that you’ll never recover from. If employees know that they can give a sob story to you after you catch them stealing money, you’ll find that you’ll be making loans for years to come…
3. Prosecute everyone, no matter what. This is how you really slow down Employee Theft. Everyone has to understand there are consequences for their actions. The same goes for every shoplifter that you encounter.
4. Conduct routine training with your managers at least once a month to refresh them on your expectations, their responsibilities and to discuss any trends in the store.
5. Put together training material that can be easily referenced by your managers.
While there will never be a secret recipe to completely Stop Shoplifting and Employee Theft, a small investment in training on your part can pay off in large dividends down the road. Remember, if you treat your managers and employees with respect, make your expectations regarding loss prevention clear, and operate your business with loss prevention practices on the “front burner”, you will see that losses by theft will not be an issue.
For more information about Employee Theft, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
How is it that a pair of shoplifters can enter a store, remove EAS tags from clothing and in the process fill up an entire shopping cart? I read an article on winknews.com, by Derrick Shaw, September 7, 2018, “Cape Coral Police ask for help Identifying two Burlington theft suspects” and according to the report this is exactly what happened. The pair left with $600 in merchandise and an exterior video camera captured a picture of the suspect’s car in the parking lot. As I looked at the picture of the dynamic duo entering the store and the picture posted of the car and parking lot a couple of things stood out to me that piqued my Loss Prevention curiosity. First, there are electronic article surveillance antennas at the doors and a closed circuit television camera was used to gather pictures so security is a priority in some fashion. I also noted it was night time and the parking lot was devoid of cars. I can only see two vehicles in the entire parking lot and one is believed to belong to the criminals. This leads me to believe there were very few shoppers in the store and these two should have stood out. Why were they able to remove EAS tags from $600 worth of clothing without being noticed by associates?
I am going to take an educated guess and say that if this crime took place in early September as the report indicates and it was as dark as the pictures indicate then it was most likely getting close to closing time. In my 27 years plus in retail I feel safe in assuming employees were more concerned with recovering the store from the activity earlier in the day. Clothing racks needed to be sized and straightened, garments on tables folded and placed back where they were supposed to go. I have no idea how many workers would have been in the store but if I had to take a stab at it I would guess anywhere from 3 – 5 people were working, a manager, a cashier, and a couple of salesfloor associates. There seems to have been a breakdown in priorities or training for employees on how to stop shoplifting needs to be reviewed. It does seem from my searching the internet that the stores do employ store level Loss Prevention Associates but I could not determine if every store has them or if they are in the store at all times. I know that in my years as a Loss Prevention Manager for a big box retailer with a Loss Prevention team we did not have the staff to cover the store from open to close. We relied on our store associates to provide exceptional customer service to help deter shoplifters and report suspicious activity in our absence.
Store managers and owners, many of you with smaller stores have to contend with theft issues with no support of a Loss Prevention professional. What do YOUR store employees do to deter crime? Have they been trained on the importance of providing customer service both to improve sales but also to stop shoplifting from taking place? Are you using EAS tags on your merchandise? Congratulations if you are using a Sensormatic security system and tags however, as we see in the case of the $600 clothing caper it does little good if there is no customer service to support it. A balanced approach to theft prevention requires the installation of an anti-theft system and training employees on how they deter criminals by offering help. They must also be trained on recognizing the signs someone intends to steal and steps to intervene appropriately. While awareness of activity at all times of the day or night is important there are indicators that shoplifters give off. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. provides training that will give you AND your associates the information and tools necessary to stop shoplifting and still get the daily tasks completed that keep a store running.
Small stores are going to have fewer employees at any given time than a national chain store. This makes it more crucial for your employees to be knowledgeable of how criminals operate and how to give service that will stop them. Placing EAS tags on merchandise is a deterrent to criminal activity but effectiveness is only as good as the people who are trained in how they work and how to respond to alarms. Let Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. give you all the information you need on Sensormatic systems and tags and how your employees can be an integral part of your merchandise protection strategy.
Need information on EAS tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
