There are moments where we are considering investing in something and wish there was something like the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator available to help us decide if it is worth the investment. For example, several years ago I bought a printer from the store I work at and a new ink program from the manufacturer had just rolled out. I had to decide if the investment in signing up for the new program was worth it. I had two sons in college so I knew the printer was going to get a lot of use. The problem was I didn’t know how much printing would be done and trying to calculate that and how many prints I would get from an ink cartridge was difficult. I finally came to the conclusion it was “probably” worth the $10 a month to sign up for the ink program ($120 a year) vs. the guestimated amount of printing all the college papers would require. Well, the investment was worth it in the end and after the boys graduated I was able to drop to the next lower pricing scale of $5 a month. Retail owners have to make similar decisions when they are evaluating store inventory shortage numbers. Do they continue to take financial losses due to theft and operational errors or invest in a retail security system? If only there were a tool that would help make that determination in regards to return on investment.
The truth of the matter is, such a tool does exist. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) is a company which helps retailer owners stop theft and shrinkage in stores, especially small and medium sized businesses. They provide information and training on shortage reduction but clients were asking about Retail Security Systems and if it was worth the investment or if they could even afford to purchase a system. LPSI created the Free Loss Prevention Calculator to address the issue. The link to calculator is found on the top of the LPSI webpage. The owner or manager only needs to key in their estimated annual sales and how much money they can spend on a Sensormatic security system. The calculator uses a flat estimated shrink of 1.2% (the average losses of a retail store in a year) and an assumed reduction to .65% (a conservative estimate of how much a business will reduce shortage by installing a system). The Loss Prevention ROI Calculator then shows how long it will take for the business to recoup their investment in the Sensormatic system. The bottom line is a Retail Security System will pay for itself over time.
I do want to clarify that a security system is not a one-time investment. There will be ongoing purchases of tags and labels to make. The electronic article surveillance towers and deactivation pads and some of the other accessories are one time purchases (not taking into account any upgrades a retailer may choose to add such as a people counting sensor if it is not included in the initial purchase package). The Free Loss Prevention Calculator will not take these into consideration. On the other hand the folks at LPSI would be happy to discuss what those costs may be and the options available to owners. For example EAS labels are cheaper than hard tags but may be more affordable in the short-term. Hard tags are more expensive but can be used over and over again. This reduces the need to continually buy new tags and can be a good long-term strategy. A mix of the two types of tags may be in order depending on the type of merchandise your store sells. I would suggest adding a couple thousand dollars into your estimates as you start to try out the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator.
That brings me to another feature of the Free Loss Prevention Calculator there is no tracking or registration required. That’s right, go straight to the tab and begin plugging in numbers. You can change figures to see what option would suit you best. You can print the results you like best but no one will be contacting you just by playing around with the calculator. If you do find a result you like you can then contact LPSI and discuss your options and what you need to do to start saving money on reduced shortage.
I took a chance on my printer and ink plan. With no resources available I had to decide if it was a good value or not. You can get a new retail security system with no risk simply by using the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator. Try it out and see how much you can save in reduced shortage, why wait to start saving money?
The Loss Prevention Calculator is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
When it comes to store efforts to stop shoplifting has it ever crossed your mind that store associates can be biased? How frequently do we look at someone and assume they will NOT steal from the store? The kind of bias I am talking about is making a snap judgement about people who may have a physical disability or a child with them when they enter a store. We may look at the way they dress, wearing a suit or dress or we may see a couple carrying a baby and decide there is no way someone with an infant would ever shoplift. I came across a news article about a pair of shoplifters who had shoplifted hundreds of dollars in merchandise from a cosmetics store. Nothing is different about this case from any other shoplifting incident except in this case one of the women has only one leg and is pushed in her wheelchair by her partner. The women were in a store that specializes in cosmetics, fragrances and skincare products. Somehow they were able to steal hundreds of dollars in merchandise and leave. The report even says the pair and a man had stolen from the same store a couple of months prior to this. How do I know that biases can influence associate interactions with potential shoplifters? I know because I have allowed it in my own career.
It was not intentional but I recall a shoplifting incident in which a person in a wheelchair was rolling around a high theft area of my store. This person had a bag on the back of the chair and I intentionally talked myself out of watching this shopper. I was uncomfortable with the idea of watching someone bound to a wheelchair. Instead of watching this person as I would anyone else in a high theft department I began looking for other suspicious people. For some reason I eventually decided I was not watching the customer simply because they were in a wheelchair. I went back to my observation of this person and wouldn’t you know it they did start placing merchandise in the bag! I nearly failed to stop shoplifting because I chose to focus on the person and not the area they were in. When I did stop the suspect I also had the benefit of Sensormatic labels setting off the electronic article pedestals. The alarm gave me confirmation a theft took place when I was still in somewhat of a state of disbelief.
As I read through the article and watched the attached video clip I was interested to see that the store had electronic article surveillance pedestals at the doors. As the two exited I did not see any lights flashing from the towers or note any signals that alarms were sounding that would have indicated merchandise with Sensormatic labels or any security tags was being taken (krqe.com, “Shoplifting suspects grab hundreds of dollars in merchandise from Ulta”, Jackie Kent, Sep. 23, 2018). I can only take an educated guess based off of my own experiences but assuming the electronic article surveillance equipment is working there are three possibilities. The merchandise the suspects took was not tagged, the merchandise was removed from the packaging or the suspects were using booster bags to steal. Booster bags are foil lined bags that are intended to defeat some security systems. It is important to point out that acousto-magnetic Sensormatic labels are not affected by foil lined bags and are an outstanding deterrent to professional shoplifters. I do not know this retailer’s security procedures and what they do or don’t tag. I do know that many major retailers will not tag every item in the store focusing only on high shrink merchandise. To stop shoplifting a comprehensive tagging program must be in place and as many items as possible should be protected.
While store employees and yes, even Loss Prevention Associates may slip and make unintentional, biased judgements electronic article surveillance labels don’t judge. People may assume someone “looks” honest, or wouldn’t steal because of a perceived disability it happens. It could be the shopper reminds the associate of their grandfather and grandfathers would never steal. I even once briefly stopped watching a young lady who was pregnant because I was sure a pregnant woman wouldn’t take anything. After a few moments I watched again when she entered a high shrinkage clothing department. You guessed it, she was shoplifting. Put Sensormatic labels on all of your merchandise and shoplifters who choose to try to steal from your store will set off your security system regardless of age, height, disability or if they have a child with them.
Get more information on Sensormatic labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Retail Theft Prevention-3 WC Blog 676
Stop Shoplifting – 4
Want To Stop Shoplifting? Then Don’t Take Half Measures In Your Security Strategy
When it comes to retail theft prevention there are some things that just drive this old L.P. guy bananas!
• Walking into a store, touring the entire floor and never being acknowledged
• Getting a sigh when I ask for assistance
• Dirty or Broken Public View monitors when I walk into a business
• Electronic Article Surveillance pedestals that are in obvious disrepair
• Merchandise in cardboard packages with lightweight plastic hang tabs on locking peghooks
• Employees who remove an item from a locking showcase and allow you to walk around the store with it
• Inconsistent merchandise tagging or use of anti-theft devices
• Fitting rooms with empty hangers, clothing tags and worn out clothes left in them
• Inconsistent merchandise tagging or use of anti-theft devices
I bring this up because my wife and I were shopping in a clothing store today and while she was looking at the purses I was looking at the security tags on the handbags. First, I didn’t recognize the tags or the symbols on them so I had NO idea what company they are using for anti-theft devices. Second, some bags were tagged and others were not. Being curious I thought that perhaps the store was tagging based on price point. It is a strategy I disagree with vehemently but I understand the thought process. In this instance price point was not the factor, purses could have tags and the same price point of another style was not protected. I shook my head and just followed my wife as she shopped. I have seen similar situations in the store I work at. We sell ink cartridges for printers and some are in protective plastic cases and others are not, even though the price points may be the same. It bugs me if you couldn’t tell.
What is it that influences one retailer to only take half measures in terms of retail theft prevention while another seems to go all out to stop shoplifting and theft? Having been involved in Loss Prevention for as long as I have been I know that cost can influence theft prevention strategies. The money spent on payroll to tag nearly every piece of merchandise a store carries can seem to be too expensive. Then there is the cost of electronic article surveillance tags and protective devices that are used. What is not always considered is that many devices such as the Sensormatic Flexible Safer are reusable over and over and over again. They are made of strong plastics that are intended to get extensive use. An expensive item such as an ink cartridge can be stored inside them so customers can look at the merchandise but cannot open the package. It takes a cashier with a Sensormatic detachment device to remove the merchandise and the Safer is stored until it is needed for the next load of freight that comes in. As far as the tagging and application of security devices it requires some time but if merchandise is protected as it gets on the floor and over time employees can get quick at the tasks. The other thing many store owners don’t consider is that as they stop shoplifting with a focused tagging program the shortage dollars go down and offset any addition money being spent on tagging efforts.
You may not be aware of this but I’m not the only one that goes into stores and makes judgements of how seriously that store’s management takes security. While it may sound like and oxymoron criminals can be very good at their craft. They evaluate your store the way I do and they look at the condition of equipment. They look at things like Sensormatic Flexible Safers and how they are used. If there are certain items not being tagged or protected in a Safer those are the pieces they will steal. Your retail theft prevention strategy will only stop shoplifting if an item is tagged or stored in a retail anti-theft device.
There are things that drive this old Loss Prevention Manager nuts and half measures in retail security strategies are on the top of my list. If you want to avoid being on my list or simply want help to improve your shortage reduction strategy talk to the folks at Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. Their boss, Bill Bregar is a former Retail Loss Prevention Director for national retail chains. He can give you tips to stop shoplifting and improve your profit line. His business is helping YOUR business make more money and that is what you want too.
Get more information on retail theft prevention, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
When it comes to retail theft prevention there are some things that just drive this old L.P. guy bananas!
• Walking into a store, touring the entire floor and never being acknowledged
• Getting a sigh when I ask for assistance
• Dirty or Broken Public View monitors when I walk into a business
• Electronic Article Surveillance pedestals that are in obvious disrepair
• Merchandise in cardboard packages with lightweight plastic hang tabs on locking peghooks
• Employees who remove an item from a locking showcase and allow you to walk around the store with it
• Inconsistent merchandise tagging or use of anti-theft devices
• Fitting rooms with empty hangers, clothing tags and worn out clothes left in them
• Inconsistent merchandise tagging or use of anti-theft devices
I bring this up because my wife and I were shopping in a clothing store today and while she was looking at the purses I was looking at the security tags on the handbags. First, I didn’t recognize the tags or the symbols on them so I had NO idea what company they are using for anti-theft devices. Second, some bags were tagged and others were not. Being curious I thought that perhaps the store was tagging based on price point. It is a strategy I disagree with vehemently but I understand the thought process. In this instance price point was not the factor, purses could have tags and the same price point of another style was not protected. I shook my head and just followed my wife as she shopped. I have seen similar situations in the store I work at. We sell ink cartridges for printers and some are in protective plastic cases and others are not, even though the price points may be the same. It bugs me if you couldn’t tell.
What is it that influences one retailer to only take half measures in terms of retail theft prevention while another seems to go all out to stop shoplifting and theft? Having been involved in Loss Prevention for as long as I have been I know that cost can influence theft prevention strategies. The money spent on payroll to tag nearly every piece of merchandise a store carries can seem to be too expensive. Then there is the cost of electronic article surveillance tags and protective devices that are used. What is not always considered is that many devices such as the Sensormatic Flexible Safer are reusable over and over and over again. They are made of strong plastics that are intended to get extensive use. An expensive item such as an ink cartridge can be stored inside them so customers can look at the merchandise but cannot open the package. It takes a cashier with a Sensormatic detachment device to remove the merchandise and the Safer is stored until it is needed for the next load of freight that comes in. As far as the tagging and application of security devices it requires some time but if merchandise is protected as it gets on the floor and over time employees can get quick at the tasks. The other thing many store owners don’t consider is that as they stop shoplifting with a focused tagging program the shortage dollars go down and offset any addition money being spent on tagging efforts.
You may not be aware of this but I’m not the only one that goes into stores and makes judgements of how seriously that store’s management takes security. While it may sound like and oxymoron criminals can be very good at their craft. They evaluate your store the way I do and they look at the condition of equipment. They look at things like Sensormatic Flexible Safers and how they are used. If there are certain items not being tagged or protected in a Safer those are the pieces they will steal. Your retail theft prevention strategy will only stop shoplifting if an item is tagged or stored in a retail anti-theft device.
There are things that drive this old Loss Prevention Manager nuts and half measures in retail security strategies are on the top of my list. If you want to avoid being on my list or simply want help to improve your shortage reduction strategy talk to the folks at Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. Their boss, Bill Bregar is a former Retail Loss Prevention Director for national retail chains. He can give you tips to stop shoplifting and improve your profit line. His business is helping YOUR business make more money and that is what you want too.
Get more information on retail theft prevention, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
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.
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.
