PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN TO THEFT WITH ALPHA INK TAGS
It’s my job to prevent shoplifting; No, it’s my calling. I wake up every day of the week, get dressed and walk in the absolute best job I’ve ever had. I get to catch criminals, I get to weed out dishonest employees and I get to help my company see measurable success as reducing losses and improving profits. There’s no other job that I would ever want to do. Often, it requires some really “out of the box” type thinking. I always need to stay one step ahead of the thieves.
Not long ago, I was assigned a project to reduce external theft losses of our 5 highest shrinking styles of footwear. These 5 styles accounted for nearly 45% of all footwear losses. From our research, we were able to determine that the vast majority of this loss came from external theft. While we did have dishonest employees and vendor issues, it was evident that it I was going to reduce shrink, I needed to first prevent shoplifting.
Footwear is pretty tricky. First, you have to work in an “open sell” environment. I don’t have limitless payroll, so the stock needs to be out and accessible to the customer. I have to display every shoe, even the ones that are shrinking more than they are selling. I also need to incorporate a security device that does not interfere with the customer’s ability to try the product on before they buy it (incredibly important when selling a shoe). I was left with very little choices in hard tags. I needed something that was going to not only stop a career thief, but would serve as a deterrent for those opportunistic thieves. Cue the Alpha Ink Tag.
There are two EAS tags that I couldn’t live without; spider wraps and of course Alpha Ink Tags. After trying out about a dozen other hard tags, I settled on the ink tags; here’s why. For starters, I was able to prominently display the tag on the tongue of the shoe. This made it quite clear to any potential thief that there was one heck of a tag on the shoe. Second, it did not interfere with the customer’s ability to try the shoe on, nor did it negatively impact my ability to effectively merchandise the shoe on my wall. Finally, it was a show-stopper for the thief. They knew that if they tried to tamper with the tag, it would ruin their newly stolen product, and who wants to walk around with ink stained shoes?
Once in place, the results were pretty dramatic. This simple tool had single handedly allowed me to prevent shoplifting on my highest shrinking shoes. While normally associated with apparel items, I found that this seemed to be a unique way of using the Alpha Ink Tag. After reaching out to several industry peers, I found out that I was the only one using them in this way; but that soon changed. When I tell you that my shrink virtually stopped, I’m not exaggerating. I went from losing 20-30 pairs of shoes a day between my 10 stores to losing no more than 10 combined in a month’s time.
Before long, as a company we were using Alpha Ink Tags on all of our shoes that retail over $79. This lead to a 84% reduction in footwear shrink all thanks to a little outside thinking and use of a tag not really intended for shoes. If you are a seller of shoes and you find that too many are simply walking out of the door, give the Alpha Ink Tag a shot at helping you to keep those sales. I guarantee that this shoe will fit.
Alpha Hard Tags important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
It’s my job to prevent shoplifting; No, it’s my calling. I wake up every day of the week, get dressed and walk in the absolute best job I’ve ever had. I get to catch criminals, I get to weed out dishonest employees and I get to help my company see measurable success as reducing losses and improving profits. There’s no other job that I would ever want to do. Often, it requires some really “out of the box” type thinking. I always need to stay one step ahead of the thieves.
Not long ago, I was assigned a project to reduce external theft losses of our 5 highest shrinking styles of footwear. These 5 styles accounted for nearly 45% of all footwear losses. From our research, we were able to determine that the vast majority of this loss came from external theft. While we did have dishonest employees and vendor issues, it was evident that it I was going to reduce shrink, I needed to first prevent shoplifting.
Footwear is pretty tricky. First, you have to work in an “open sell” environment. I don’t have limitless payroll, so the stock needs to be out and accessible to the customer. I have to display every shoe, even the ones that are shrinking more than they are selling. I also need to incorporate a security device that does not interfere with the customer’s ability to try the product on before they buy it (incredibly important when selling a shoe). I was left with very little choices in hard tags. I needed something that was going to not only stop a career thief, but would serve as a deterrent for those opportunistic thieves. Cue the Alpha Ink Tag.
There are two EAS tags that I couldn’t live without; spider wraps and of course Alpha Ink Tags. After trying out about a dozen other hard tags, I settled on the ink tags; here’s why. For starters, I was able to prominently display the tag on the tongue of the shoe. This made it quite clear to any potential thief that there was one heck of a tag on the shoe. Second, it did not interfere with the customer’s ability to try the shoe on, nor did it negatively impact my ability to effectively merchandise the shoe on my wall. Finally, it was a show-stopper for the thief. They knew that if they tried to tamper with the tag, it would ruin their newly stolen product, and who wants to walk around with ink stained shoes?
Once in place, the results were pretty dramatic. This simple tool had single handedly allowed me to prevent shoplifting on my highest shrinking shoes. While normally associated with apparel items, I found that this seemed to be a unique way of using the Alpha Ink Tag. After reaching out to several industry peers, I found out that I was the only one using them in this way; but that soon changed. When I tell you that my shrink virtually stopped, I’m not exaggerating. I went from losing 20-30 pairs of shoes a day between my 10 stores to losing no more than 10 combined in a month’s time.
Before long, as a company we were using Alpha Ink Tags on all of our shoes that retail over $79. This lead to a 84% reduction in footwear shrink all thanks to a little outside thinking and use of a tag not really intended for shoes. If you are a seller of shoes and you find that too many are simply walking out of the door, give the Alpha Ink Tag a shot at helping you to keep those sales. I guarantee that this shoe will fit.
Alpha Hard Tags important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
AA Blog 13
Checkpoint labels: 5
Retail Theft Prevention: 3
Checkpoint Systems: 3
Checkpoint Labels Provide An Innovative Way To Protect All Your Products
Do you ever feel like you are struggling to stay relevant in the loss prevention community? Do you struggle to prevent shoplifting and increase profit? As a member of the Loss Prevention Community, I have done my fair share of research on the topic and the products available to mitigate my risk. I have come to realize that our economy has a direct correlation with our shoplifting rates. According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, there are approximately 27 million shoplifters in our Nation and more than ten million shoplifters have been caught in the last 5 years. More than likely these statistics are based on arrest records, and considering shoplifters acknowledge that they are only caught 1 out 48 times and only prosecuted 50% of the time, that number is probably not an accurate representation of the true problem facing our Nation. As our economy suffers, it increases the need for retail theft prevention, in order to detect this type of activity. Desperate people are more likely to steal out of necessity and will take anything that is essential to improving their personal situation. This results in the theft of items you wouldn’t normally see as high risk such as: medicine, food, or personal hygiene items. That is why it is so important for those of us in loss prevention to adapt to market changes and trends so we can continue to expand our loss prevention programs, through the use of innovative products. Checkpoint Labels can provide the added security you need for a reasonable price.
If you want to enhance your retail theft prevention program Checkpoint labels are a convenient way to protect all of your products. Checkpoint Systems have created Enhanced Performance Labels that serve multiple purposes and can provide coverage for any item regardless of type or size. Checkpoint labels have EAS integration and are designed to improve your detection capability. They offer round labels for your medicine, vitamins, cosmetics and hygiene products; or small square or rectangular labels as small as a postage stamp, to cover any size item. In our retail store we use these labels on everything. We started using these on our vitamins and high end medicine after we had a large influx of theft of these products. Checkpoint Systems also produce a clear label that can be affixed directly over the product’s barcode. The clear labels can be easily affixed without obscuring the product while maintaining a level of discretion for better detection capability. We use the clear labels on our cosmetics because they are difficult to detect by the average shoplifter and provide the added security we need. The Enhanced Performance labels are printer ready so you can customize them with your specific business logo or pricing barcode. This allows for a multifaceted label that can serve all your needs in one product. We specifically like the printing capability because it saves us money to print them ourselves and allows us to customize them to meet our business needs. So do yourself a favor do some research of your own so you can better prepare yourself and your business for the escalating theft plaguing our society.
Checkpoint Systems provide various options when it comes to retail theft prevention, all of which can help reduce shrinkage, and increase profit. I know in our store, Checkpoint labels are an integral part of our loss prevention program. I have seen the results first hand. Our fluctuating economy will continue to impact our industry and how we do business, which is why our knowledge of how to mitigate our risk is equally important. Technology is ever-changing, and requires continuous education on the resources available, so we can protect our businesses and improve customer satisfaction.
Need information on Checkpoint Labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Do you ever feel like you are struggling to stay relevant in the loss prevention community? Do you struggle to prevent shoplifting and increase profit? As a member of the Loss Prevention Community, I have done my fair share of research on the topic and the products available to mitigate my risk. I have come to realize that our economy has a direct correlation with our shoplifting rates. According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, there are approximately 27 million shoplifters in our Nation and more than ten million shoplifters have been caught in the last 5 years. More than likely these statistics are based on arrest records, and considering shoplifters acknowledge that they are only caught 1 out 48 times and only prosecuted 50% of the time, that number is probably not an accurate representation of the true problem facing our Nation. As our economy suffers, it increases the need for retail theft prevention, in order to detect this type of activity. Desperate people are more likely to steal out of necessity and will take anything that is essential to improving their personal situation. This results in the theft of items you wouldn’t normally see as high risk such as: medicine, food, or personal hygiene items. That is why it is so important for those of us in loss prevention to adapt to market changes and trends so we can continue to expand our loss prevention programs, through the use of innovative products. Checkpoint Labels can provide the added security you need for a reasonable price.
If you want to enhance your retail theft prevention program Checkpoint labels are a convenient way to protect all of your products. Checkpoint Systems have created Enhanced Performance Labels that serve multiple purposes and can provide coverage for any item regardless of type or size. Checkpoint labels have EAS integration and are designed to improve your detection capability. They offer round labels for your medicine, vitamins, cosmetics and hygiene products; or small square or rectangular labels as small as a postage stamp, to cover any size item. In our retail store we use these labels on everything. We started using these on our vitamins and high end medicine after we had a large influx of theft of these products. Checkpoint Systems also produce a clear label that can be affixed directly over the product’s barcode. The clear labels can be easily affixed without obscuring the product while maintaining a level of discretion for better detection capability. We use the clear labels on our cosmetics because they are difficult to detect by the average shoplifter and provide the added security we need. The Enhanced Performance labels are printer ready so you can customize them with your specific business logo or pricing barcode. This allows for a multifaceted label that can serve all your needs in one product. We specifically like the printing capability because it saves us money to print them ourselves and allows us to customize them to meet our business needs. So do yourself a favor do some research of your own so you can better prepare yourself and your business for the escalating theft plaguing our society.
Checkpoint Systems provide various options when it comes to retail theft prevention, all of which can help reduce shrinkage, and increase profit. I know in our store, Checkpoint labels are an integral part of our loss prevention program. I have seen the results first hand. Our fluctuating economy will continue to impact our industry and how we do business, which is why our knowledge of how to mitigate our risk is equally important. Technology is ever-changing, and requires continuous education on the resources available, so we can protect our businesses and improve customer satisfaction.
Need information on Checkpoint Labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Retail traffic counting companies-4 WC blog 281
Door counting sensor-4
Customer counting device-3
Don’t Let Traffic Jams And Front End Slow Downs Hurt Sales; Find Out How Retail Traffic Counting Companies Can Drive Profits
Do you ever watch your morning traffic report before you go to work? Sometimes the information we get from those reports can be useful, we learn where an accident has taken place and we can find an alternate route if necessary. We may find out road construction is tying up traffic causing delays. We even get a heads up that school buses are out so expect slow- downs stops and buses pick up children. Retail traffic counting companies can provide store owners with valuable information that can be useful for improving sales and customer service issues using reporting information from a customer counting device or door counting sensor. Much like the traffic reporter it can give the information that can help ensure you take a better, more efficient route to your destination which is running a successful and profitable business.
A door counting sensor placed at the entrance(s) of a store can provide data on how many people have entered the business during the day. Reporting can provide hourly breakdowns so an owner or manager can see when the peak periods of that day were. If a store has an electronic article surveillance system the door counting sensor can be tied into it. For stores that have taken steps to prevent theft with an electronic article surveillance system, a customer counting device can report how many alarm activations took place during the day and what times those alarms happened. In a sense, retail traffic counting companies provide valuable information that can help shop owners prepare for future traffic patterns, whether it is how many people will visit the store and may need sales advice or assistance or how many people will wait in checkout lines wanting to buy merchandise. If properly prepared, a manager may have extra sales floor help or extra cashiers that may keep customers from walking out empty handed.
Think about retail counting companies like your local traffic report in this sense, if you know in advance what to expect you can better prepare for it. If the reports you receive demonstrate you have increases in customer traffic on Friday afternoons you can evaluate your staffing model and adjust it so you have more employees working during that peak time. Conversely, if Monday mornings are particularly slow, reduce the number of employees at that time of the day. Adjust payroll to fit the traffic patterns of the store. Do you ever look at snarled and backed up lines at the registers and wonder what happened? Do you ever think to yourself, “I wish I had an extra cashier right now!”? This is one of the advantages a door counting sensor can provide. You can look at past trends and make schedules that ensure you have the right people to meet customer demand.
A customer counting device does also provide reporting data on the number of electronic article surveillance alarms a store is receiving. If the store has faulty equipment a repair ticket can quickly be submitted for a repair. If excess alarms are taking place a store owner will have a more accurate picture of it than what employees are reporting. It means quicker service calls can be placed or there may be a requirement for trying to stop a shoplifting ring or individual hitting the store on a certain day. It could also help owners identify training needs for associates on how to respond to an alarm.
By using retail traffic counting companies you can prevent those ugly lines backing up at the checkout lanes. Unfortunately for you, the only detour your customers tend to make as opposed to the driver on the road is a one-way trek out your doors without a purchase. Abandoned shopping carts of merchandise that translate to lost sales can be avoided. Customers waiting for sales floor help that never arrives can be a thing of the past. No one enjoys a traffic jam and they don’t enjoy waiting to make purchases. See how much you can improve your sales and customer service performance by finding out what retail traffic counting companies can do for you.
Need information on Retail Traffic Counting Companies? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Do you ever watch your morning traffic report before you go to work? Sometimes the information we get from those reports can be useful, we learn where an accident has taken place and we can find an alternate route if necessary. We may find out road construction is tying up traffic causing delays. We even get a heads up that school buses are out so expect slow- downs stops and buses pick up children. Retail traffic counting companies can provide store owners with valuable information that can be useful for improving sales and customer service issues using reporting information from a customer counting device or door counting sensor. Much like the traffic reporter it can give the information that can help ensure you take a better, more efficient route to your destination which is running a successful and profitable business.
A door counting sensor placed at the entrance(s) of a store can provide data on how many people have entered the business during the day. Reporting can provide hourly breakdowns so an owner or manager can see when the peak periods of that day were. If a store has an electronic article surveillance system the door counting sensor can be tied into it. For stores that have taken steps to prevent theft with an electronic article surveillance system, a customer counting device can report how many alarm activations took place during the day and what times those alarms happened. In a sense, retail traffic counting companies provide valuable information that can help shop owners prepare for future traffic patterns, whether it is how many people will visit the store and may need sales advice or assistance or how many people will wait in checkout lines wanting to buy merchandise. If properly prepared, a manager may have extra sales floor help or extra cashiers that may keep customers from walking out empty handed.
Think about retail counting companies like your local traffic report in this sense, if you know in advance what to expect you can better prepare for it. If the reports you receive demonstrate you have increases in customer traffic on Friday afternoons you can evaluate your staffing model and adjust it so you have more employees working during that peak time. Conversely, if Monday mornings are particularly slow, reduce the number of employees at that time of the day. Adjust payroll to fit the traffic patterns of the store. Do you ever look at snarled and backed up lines at the registers and wonder what happened? Do you ever think to yourself, “I wish I had an extra cashier right now!”? This is one of the advantages a door counting sensor can provide. You can look at past trends and make schedules that ensure you have the right people to meet customer demand.
A customer counting device does also provide reporting data on the number of electronic article surveillance alarms a store is receiving. If the store has faulty equipment a repair ticket can quickly be submitted for a repair. If excess alarms are taking place a store owner will have a more accurate picture of it than what employees are reporting. It means quicker service calls can be placed or there may be a requirement for trying to stop a shoplifting ring or individual hitting the store on a certain day. It could also help owners identify training needs for associates on how to respond to an alarm.
By using retail traffic counting companies you can prevent those ugly lines backing up at the checkout lanes. Unfortunately for you, the only detour your customers tend to make as opposed to the driver on the road is a one-way trek out your doors without a purchase. Abandoned shopping carts of merchandise that translate to lost sales can be avoided. Customers waiting for sales floor help that never arrives can be a thing of the past. No one enjoys a traffic jam and they don’t enjoy waiting to make purchases. See how much you can improve your sales and customer service performance by finding out what retail traffic counting companies can do for you.
Need information on Retail Traffic Counting Companies? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Clothing Security Tags – 3 WC blog 346
Security Tags on Clothes-5
Recognizing Employees For Consistent Performance Such As Clothing Security Tag Placement Does Improve Productivity And Shrink
My daughter is getting her feet wet as a department manager in training for a clothing retailer and has been coming home telling me stories of the challenges she is facing. Employee call-outs and no one willing to come in to work those shifts, freight not getting completely processed and pushed out in a timely manner are points of frustration for her. She has also told me about clothing security tags not being placed on merchandise properly according to their company standards. These are all those challenges many of us can relate to. Of course as her father I give her advice, but I also know she is going to have to learn to be creative and find her own solutions to these problems. One attempt she has made on her own is to try to provide incentives for her team and while I admire what she seeks to accomplish I have kept my thoughts to myself. Sometimes people learn best when they learn from the results of their own actions. Recognition is a great motivator and can impact shortage but it has to be done properly.
As I said, one of the issues that her store has struggled with is the placement of security tags on clothes or the lack of any clothing security tags on merchandise that is on the salesfloor. Security tags are an anti-theft strategy used by stores to prevent theft both by shoplifters and employees. They have electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology built in that works with EAS towers. The towers pick up radio frequency signals specific to the tags and when merchandise with clothing security tags on them are carried close enough the towers sound a loud alert signal. Most towers have flashing lights as well so there is no problem with attracting the attention of store employees to a potential theft. Trained staff members respond to these alarms and through receipt checks and customer-friendly interactions recover merchandise that was not paid for. When stores are inconsistent in the placement of tags or security tags on clothes aren’t put on at all, issues arise. Inconsistency leads to cashiers failing to detach tags and not putting them on at all leads to theft. It is easy to see why this would be a big problem for my daughter to address.
Being new, my manager in training thought it would be a good idea to bring food in for her freight team to “motivate” them to work faster and complete all their tasks. Well, the team took a break and they did eat the food but no, the work did not all get done. Security tags on clothes were still missing and freight still didn’t all get worked to the floor. She was somewhat surprised that her gifts did not bear the fruit she was expecting. We discussed her dilemma, she wanted to motivate people but I let her know the reward should come AFTER the results were evident. The idea was good it was the execution where the error occurred.
I am a firm believer in reward and recognition programs, especially when it comes to stock shortage, but I think it applicable in almost any situation. When your team goes above and beyond expectations, there is nothing wrong with rewarding that behavior. It lets people know you care about what they have done. Recognition can be a thank you card or a mention in public setting like a pre-opening huddle. Something tangible like a card is best because it is something the employee can hold onto. When I was a Loss Prevention Manager, if an employee prevented a theft I made a point of giving them a recognition card. Our company also had a theft hotline that a few of our employees used to give tips on suspected employee theft that resulted in financial reward when I closed the cases. The key is not to give undue recognition for doing what is supposed to be done. If a fitting room attendant separated clothes and found hidden merchandise, I gave verbal recognition. If that same employee suspected patrons were tampering with security tags on clothes by examining the clothes closely and reported it to security I gave a recognition thank-you card.
Recognize your employees for outstanding performance. Find what motivates them, food, gift cards, thank-you cards, etc. but reward them for going above and beyond expectations. That said you owe it to your staff to thank them daily for working for you and being part of the team. A team that feels valued will be take pride in even the small things like ensuring security tags on clothes are properly placed.
Get more information on clothing security tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
My daughter is getting her feet wet as a department manager in training for a clothing retailer and has been coming home telling me stories of the challenges she is facing. Employee call-outs and no one willing to come in to work those shifts, freight not getting completely processed and pushed out in a timely manner are points of frustration for her. She has also told me about clothing security tags not being placed on merchandise properly according to their company standards. These are all those challenges many of us can relate to. Of course as her father I give her advice, but I also know she is going to have to learn to be creative and find her own solutions to these problems. One attempt she has made on her own is to try to provide incentives for her team and while I admire what she seeks to accomplish I have kept my thoughts to myself. Sometimes people learn best when they learn from the results of their own actions. Recognition is a great motivator and can impact shortage but it has to be done properly.
As I said, one of the issues that her store has struggled with is the placement of security tags on clothes or the lack of any clothing security tags on merchandise that is on the salesfloor. Security tags are an anti-theft strategy used by stores to prevent theft both by shoplifters and employees. They have electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology built in that works with EAS towers. The towers pick up radio frequency signals specific to the tags and when merchandise with clothing security tags on them are carried close enough the towers sound a loud alert signal. Most towers have flashing lights as well so there is no problem with attracting the attention of store employees to a potential theft. Trained staff members respond to these alarms and through receipt checks and customer-friendly interactions recover merchandise that was not paid for. When stores are inconsistent in the placement of tags or security tags on clothes aren’t put on at all, issues arise. Inconsistency leads to cashiers failing to detach tags and not putting them on at all leads to theft. It is easy to see why this would be a big problem for my daughter to address.
Being new, my manager in training thought it would be a good idea to bring food in for her freight team to “motivate” them to work faster and complete all their tasks. Well, the team took a break and they did eat the food but no, the work did not all get done. Security tags on clothes were still missing and freight still didn’t all get worked to the floor. She was somewhat surprised that her gifts did not bear the fruit she was expecting. We discussed her dilemma, she wanted to motivate people but I let her know the reward should come AFTER the results were evident. The idea was good, it was the execution where the error occurred.
I am a firm believer in reward and recognition programs, especially when it comes to stock shortage, but I think it applicable in almost any situation. When your team goes above and beyond expectations, there is nothing wrong with rewarding that behavior. It lets people know you care about what they have done. Recognition can be a thank you card or a mention in public setting like a pre-opening huddle. Something tangible like a card is best because it is something the employee can hold onto. When I was a Loss Prevention Manager, if an employee prevented a theft I made a point of giving them a recognition card. Our company also had a theft hotline that a few of our employees used to give tips on suspected employee theft that resulted in financial reward when I closed the cases. The key is not to give undue recognition for doing what is supposed to be done. If a fitting room attendant separated clothes and found hidden merchandise, I gave verbal recognition. If that same employee suspected patrons were tampering with security tags on clothes by examining the clothes closely and reported it to security I gave a recognition thank-you card.
Recognize your employees for outstanding performance. Find what motivates them, food, gift cards, thank-you cards, etc. but reward them for going above and beyond expectations. That said you owe it to your staff to thank them daily for working for you and being part of the team. A team that feels valued will be take pride in even the small things like ensuring security tags on clothes are properly placed.
Get more information on clothing security tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
AA Blog 45
Alpha Keepers: 5
Prevent Shoplifting: 3
Inventory Control: 3
Alpha Keepers Will Solve All Of Your Inventory Control Problems
Do you have inventory control problems? Are you routinely trying to locate product that should be on the shelves, but is nowhere to be found? I think anyone who is in the business of sales, regardless of the market, has at one time or another had inventory issues. I went through these same issues myself in my store. We typically do a full inventory quarterly, which involves the majority of my staff, going through every item. This includes our storage items and those on the shelf. It is such a time consuming process and nobody enjoys it. I end up paying overtime and buying pizza just to bribe my employees into being upbeat about the process. I spend days trying to track down items, verify sales, and account for product before I accept the fact that I have a serious shrinkage issue. Over the period of a year, I noticed a huge loss rate in our electronics/entertainment section to include: Video games, music CDs, Movies, and various other electronics and accessories. I knew we had a serious problem, but I wasn’t sure how to prevent shoplifting and reduce my losses. I ranted to a friend of mine who is also in the retail industry, and he suggested I use Alpha keepers, to secure my higher valued items in my areas of concern. So I did some research and decided to take his advice and try them out.
I learned very quickly that Alpha keepers come in a wide variety of options, which allow me to utilize them in more areas than I ever thought possible. They have collapsible keepers, which provide maximized shelf space, media keepers, and a multi-use keeper that can accommodate various types of products. These products are made of a durable plastic, and encase the item completely, preventing the removal of the item from the packaging. The keepers are bulky and make concealment difficult, without limiting the customers’ visibility and handling of the product. The Alpha keepers are re-useable, which makes them a sound investment. Associates simply remove the keeper from the product, at the time of sale, and use them again on other products. The media keepers come with an alarm and LED light that provide a visual and audible deterrent in the event of tampering. Some keepers come equipped with hang tags, for those small items you want to display. These items provide a viable means to prevent shoplifting in your store, improve inventory control, and increase profit.
The Alpha keepers have significantly improved my inventory control and my ability to monitor and manage my shrinkage rates. I have reduced my loss by 20% on the items protected by the keepers, which reduces my headache during inventory and increases my profits. I strongly believe that the added protection has increased our theft deterrence storewide. If you want to stop shoplifting, I suggest you look at your options and better protect yourself against theft. I know it has improved my business and the moral of both myself and my employees.
For more information on Alpha Keepers contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Do you have inventory control problems? Are you routinely trying to locate product that should be on the shelves, but is nowhere to be found? I think anyone who is in the business of sales, regardless of the market, has at one time or another had inventory issues. I went through these same issues myself in my store. We typically do a full inventory quarterly, which involves the majority of my staff, going through every item. This includes our storage items and those on the shelf. It is such a time consuming process and nobody enjoys it. I end up paying overtime and buying pizza just to bribe my employees into being upbeat about the process. I spend days trying to track down items, verify sales, and account for product before I accept the fact that I have a serious shrinkage issue. Over the period of a year, I noticed a huge loss rate in our electronics/entertainment section to include: Video games, music CDs, Movies, and various other electronics and accessories. I knew we had a serious problem, but I wasn’t sure how to prevent shoplifting and reduce my losses. I ranted to a friend of mine who is also in the retail industry, and he suggested I use Alpha keepers, to secure my higher valued items in my areas of concern. So I did some research and decided to take his advice and try them out.
I learned very quickly that Alpha keepers come in a wide variety of options, which allow me to utilize them in more areas than I ever thought possible. They have collapsible keepers, which provide maximized shelf space, media keepers, and a multi-use keeper that can accommodate various types of products. These products are made of a durable plastic, and encase the item completely, preventing the removal of the item from the packaging. The keepers are bulky and make concealment difficult, without limiting the customers’ visibility and handling of the product. The Alpha keepers are re-useable, which makes them a sound investment. Associates simply remove the keeper from the product, at the time of sale, and use them again on other products. The media keepers come with an alarm and LED light that provide a visual and audible deterrent in the event of tampering. Some keepers come equipped with hang tags, for those small items you want to display. These items provide a viable means to prevent shoplifting in your store, improve inventory control, and increase profit.
The Alpha keepers have significantly improved my inventory control and my ability to monitor and manage my shrinkage rates. I have reduced my loss by 20% on the items protected by the keepers, which reduces my headache during inventory and increases my profits. I strongly believe that the added protection has increased our theft deterrence storewide. If you want to stop shoplifting, I suggest you look at your options and better protect yourself against theft. I know it has improved my business and the moral of both myself and my employees.
For more information on Alpha Keepers, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Checkpoint hard tags-5 WC Blog 336
Stop shoplifting-4
Balancing Efforts To Stop Shoplifting And Use Loss Prevention Resources Wisely – Part 1
To stop or not stop shoplifters is a question that has been asked even before I started working in Loss Prevention nearly 27 years ago. It popped up again when I was reading an article in LP INSIDER magazine, “To Stop or Not to Stop the Shoplifter: Is This Still a Question?” by Johnny Custer, LPC, CPI, March 14, 2017. I found some points I agreed with and others points I found myself shaking my head in disagreement over. The one side of the argument is that catching shoplifters reduces shortage and the writer of the article notes that this was the focus of shortage reduction when Loss Prevention departments were created. The writer goes on to pose the question, “Does shoplifting have the kind of impact on shrink that we once thought?” A few lines later he references a 2012 report that indicates shoplifting accounts for approximately 24% of annual shrink. Well, my rebuttal to that statistic at least is that according to the 2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer Report, shoplifting in North America accounted for approximately 36% of retail shrinkage. The report compares that number to the prior year which placed shrinkage due to shoplifting at 37% (pg. 53). It does not seem realistic that shortage from shoplifting jumped 13% in two years so someone’s numbers are off. My stance is that shoplifting does have a significant part to play in retail shortage and it must be addressed. I will touch on a few other points in a moment. What I do want to strongly point out is that one way or another external theft must be a focus for shortage reduction even if it is through deterrence and Checkpoint hard tags are one way a store can stop shoplifting.
By protecting merchandise with electronic article surveillance (EAS) retail anti-theft devices such as Checkpoint Hard Tags, criminals are confronted with two problems. First, the tags themselves are placed in a visible location so there is no question the merchandise is going to sound an alarm at the doors when EAS pedestals pick up the radio frequency wave emitted by the tags. The alarm is going to tip off nearby employees a theft attempt is taking place. Staff will see who the shoplifter is and they also have a chance to conduct a receipt check and recover merchandise. The second problem the criminal has is how secure the tags are on a garment or other merchandise. Attempts to pry or force Checkpoint Hard Tags off of most items will result in damaged product. This is not what the shoplifter is bargaining for when they come in to steal. Clearly deterrence and detection properties of these retail anti-theft devices can stop shoplifting and send the bad guys to another store to commit their crimes.
One of the arguments the writer makes is that too many resources are focused on trying to stop shoplifting which he says is only causing 24% of shrink and not enough on the other causes, be they operational or internal theft related. The article also discusses the dangers associated with confronting a shoplifter, especially if the Loss Prevention Agent is by him or herself. I agree that operational shortage should be a component of the Loss Prevention department but I don’t believe it should be a major focus point. I believe it is incumbent on the store management team to understand and address operational shortage. I saw a period in my LP Management career where the company I worked for did shift the focus more towards operational involvement for a time. We were even looking at department productivity opportunities, were best practices being followed? We were to become more knowledgeable on the backroom and product return and check-in procedures. I didn’t balk at having to learn more, I balked at the idea the store was paying a stockroom/freight manager a lot of money to run the department, why not make THAT person ensure best practiced were followed?
In part 2 of this article I will continue with my thoughts on the topic of whether we should stop shoplifting by focusing efforts on external theft or re-think the role of Loss Prevention in the stores. Regardless of which side of the argument you find yourself after reading about all points of view, one thing that cannot be argued is that Checkpoint Hard Tags are an effective tool in the fight to keep shortage low.
Get more information on Checkpoint Hard Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
To stop or not stop shoplifters is a question that has been asked even before I started working in Loss Prevention nearly 27 years ago. It popped up again when I was reading an article in LP INSIDER magazine, “To Stop or Not to Stop the Shoplifter: Is This Still a Question?” by Johnny Custer, LPC, CPI, March 14, 2017. I found some points I agreed with and others points I found myself shaking my head in disagreement over. The one side of the argument is that catching shoplifters reduces shortage and the writer of the article notes that this was the focus of shortage reduction when Loss Prevention departments were created. The writer goes on to pose the question, “Does shoplifting have the kind of impact on shrink that we once thought?” A few lines later he references a 2012 report that indicates shoplifting accounts for approximately 24% of annual shrink. Well, my rebuttal to that statistic at least is that according to the 2014-2015 Global Retail Theft Barometer Report, shoplifting in North America accounted for approximately 36% of retail shrinkage. The report compares that number to the prior year which placed shrinkage due to shoplifting at 37% (pg. 53). It does not seem realistic that shortage from shoplifting jumped 13% in two years so someone’s numbers are off. My stance is that shoplifting does have a significant part to play in retail shortage and it must be addressed. I will touch on a few other points in a moment. What I do want to strongly point out is that one way or another external theft must be a focus for shortage reduction even if it is through deterrence and Checkpoint hard tags are one way a store can stop shoplifting.
By protecting merchandise with electronic article surveillance (EAS) retail anti-theft devices such as Checkpoint Hard Tags, criminals are confronted with two problems. First, the tags themselves are placed in a visible location so there is no question the merchandise is going to sound an alarm at the doors when EAS pedestals pick up the radio frequency wave emitted by the tags. The alarm is going to tip off nearby employees a theft attempt is taking place. Staff will see who the shoplifter is and they also have a chance to conduct a receipt check and recover merchandise. The second problem the criminal has is how secure the tags are on a garment or other merchandise. Attempts to pry or force Checkpoint Hard Tags off of most items will result in damaged product. This is not what the shoplifter is bargaining for when they come in to steal. Clearly deterrence and detection properties of these retail anti-theft devices can stop shoplifting and send the bad guys to another store to commit their crimes.
One of the arguments the writer makes is that too many resources are focused on trying to stop shoplifting which he says is only causing 24% of shrink and not enough on the other causes, be they operational or internal theft related. The article also discusses the dangers associated with confronting a shoplifter, especially if the Loss Prevention Agent is by him or herself. I agree that operational shortage should be a component of the Loss Prevention department but I don’t believe it should be a major focus point. I believe it is incumbent on the store management team to understand and address operational shortage. I saw a period in my LP Management career where the company I worked for did shift the focus more towards operational involvement for a time. We were even looking at department productivity opportunities, were best practices being followed? We were to become more knowledgeable on the backroom and product return and check-in procedures. I didn’t balk at having to learn more, I balked at the idea the store was paying a stockroom/freight manager a lot of money to run the department, why not make THAT person ensure best practiced were followed?
In part 2 of this article I will continue with my thoughts on the topic of whether we should stop shoplifting by focusing efforts on external theft or re-think the role of Loss Prevention in the stores. Regardless of which side of the argument you find yourself after reading about all points of view, one thing that cannot be argued is that Checkpoint Hard Tags are an effective tool in the fight to keep shortage low.
Get more information on Checkpoint Hard Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
