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.
For many years I was a Retail Loss Prevention Manager and actively used Electronic Article Surveillance anti-theft devices to protect many high theft items. Two departments that we had an incredible amount of theft in were fragrances and skin care products. We tagged the boxes with security labels but found that we still were experiencing theft issues. The problem plagued most of the stores in the company and eventually Corporate Loss Prevention reviewed their strategy and worked with manufacturers to put the fragrances in blister packages. The packages were source tagged with security labels to stop shoplifting. The hard-nosed criminal didn’t want to fool with any kind of security device unfortunately they weren’t averse to using a knife or razor blade to circumvent the blister package to remove the product. Eventually individual security boxes became available to us to protect the merchandise. The boxes worked really well for the higher priced items. We were able to put more products on the shelf rather than limit the numbers on display. We also had the protection of electronic article surveillance with the security of a lock up showcase. A detachment key at the checkout lanes was required to open the boxes up in order to remove the product. So what could possibly be improved upon if we were seeing improvement in shortage numbers?
There is one area in which improvements could be made and it is an opportunity most people would not think about in a discussion on electronic article surveillance devices. The opportunity I am thinking of is flexibility of protection hardware. There are many different sized protection devices that help stop shoplifting but I have found that one size does not fit all. I have seen small packs of razor blades safely tucked away in a box that was also used for a large perfume bottle. I have personally had to use electronic article surveillance labels of one size to protect a compact disc and a label from the same roll to protect a box of medicine. It is a pain in the neck and if you take merchandise protection seriously it requires the purchase of a lot of different sized containers, wraps and labels to do it properly. Using a security box that is too large for the item being protected takes up unnecessary shelf space. This can limit the number of shelves or peg hooks you can use for merchandise displays and that cuts down on facings or varieties of products available to customers. Sensormatic has developed Adjustable Multi-Purpose Safers to make it easier to keep goods safe from criminals. These Safers give retailers more flexibility in the variety of devices that need to be purchased. One device can now protect a wider range of merchandise without requiring a planogram change to accommodate a bigger box than necessary.
The Adjustible Multi-Purpose Safers Can be raised and lowered to fit the height of the item you want to keep safe from criminals. Going back to my fragrance problem, I had to work with perfumes and cologne boxes of varying heights. Today’s merchants have the ability to stop shoplifting without having to buy nearly as many different anti-theft protection boxes as they once would have done. If you are one of those store owners who believes that locking or alarming display cases are the best protection for high theft items I have something for you to consider. I know that the perception is that lock-up cases are a guarantee against theft. Having worked in retail for over 28 years and over 17 of those years in Loss Prevention I know the problems showcases cause. They require an available associate to respond and unlock a case when a customer wants to look at an item. That isn’t even a sure sale. That employee is tied to that display case until the customer decides if they do or don’t want an item. IF the customer wants the item the employee has to take it to the checklane and ring it up or have a cashier hold it until the customer comes up to make the purchase. Safers allow customers to view a product and carry it around the store until they are ready to proceed to checkout. Managers get all of the security of a showcase and none of the hassle.
If you haven’t considered how you can save money through theft reduction and the use of electronic article surveillance equipment contact Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. If you are using Sensormatic equipment but need to find ways to save money or planogram changes due to protection devices talk to Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. about the Adjustable Multi-Purpose Safers from Sensormatic.
Electronic Article Surveillance is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
What does a Loss Prevention Calculator do? Does it keep track of the payroll a store spends on Loss Prevention Staff? Does it help keep count of the amount of merchandise being stolen from your store? Does a Loss Prevention Calculator tabulate the costs of installing anti-theft equipment? Perhaps you have never even heard of such a device. Device is not really an accurate description as it is more like an application than hardware. It isn’t something that you will go into a store and purchase. It is an online tool. As a matter of fact after you use the calculator you will be asking the question, “Can Loss Prevention Be Free?”
I know you have to be wondering if this article is some type of spoof. How serious can someone be if they are raising the question, “Can Loss Prevention Be Free?” It makes no sense, a video camera system costs money. Certainly hiring a Loss Prevention Associate in ANY capacity is going to require a paycheck. So how does this proposal sound intelligible at all? To begin with what we are talking about is the return on investment that a Loss Prevention System is going to put back to your store in savings. No, you won’t be winning a raffle and getting free equipment and set-up. But what I can guarantee is you will make an investment that is going to start reducing inventory shortage caused by theft, fraud and even some operational errors from day one. A Loss Prevention System from Sensormatic with electronic article surveillance towers, tags and deactivation pads can conservatively reduce your shortage by 30%. How do I know this? Well, I think after more than 17 years in the retail loss prevention field as both an Associate and a Manager I am well-qualified to speak on the subject. I have worked with a variety of theft prevention strategies and have kept shrink below 1% consistently. One of my best and most successful tools was the use of a Sensormatic system with a heavy emphasis on merchandise tagging procedures.
However, I am fully aware that people are going to be somewhat skeptical. Short of taking a blind risk and installing some kind of theft prevention system purchased on the internet on the cheap (and possibly getting burned in the process) how can you verify what I am saying? Go to the Loss Prevention Systems Inc. website and look on the top of the page for the ROI Calculator. Click on here (go ahead, it’s free and no one is going to start filling your inbox with unwanted spam) and you will see the calculator with a couple of fields of information to complete. You will notice you are not asked for personal information or any email or business name. Fill in the two boxes and the result is an estimate of how long it will take for a new Sensormatic system to pay for itself through the return on investment. Change the information you enter as much as you like it’s FREE, remember?! The Loss Prevention Calculator can give a good idea of what you can save over time.
Have I seen tangible evidence I can point to that a Loss Prevention System saved money for a store? I will give you a specific situation from a department store I worked for. We had a major shoplifting problem with a high end brand of shirts we sold. The shirts were displayed folded on a table display near a cash register. Despite the proximity to an employee the shirts were being stolen at an alarming rate. We finally started tagging the shirts with hard tags and the theft dropped significantly. The huge empty holes on the tables from stolen product of this brand began to fill back in and we again had product to sell. I saw the impact electronic article surveillance made in our store. I really believe the Free Loss Prevention Calculator will give an accurate (if not understated) idea of the impact a retail loss prevention system would have in your store(s).
“Can Loss Prevention be free?” Unequivocally yes it can be. It is not going to be free out of the box but you will have such an improvement in your inventory results that you will have no doubts. Calculate for yourself what theft, fraud and operational errors are costing you and look at the results of the ROI calculator. Then take time to calculate how you would use that savings to improve your business. The answers are a click away so what are you waiting for?
The Free Loss Prevention Calculator is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk
There are plenty of reasons for store owners to use Sensormatic labels on merchandise and I experienced one of those reasons at my retail job last night. I was working on the salesfloor putting out merchandise, providing assistance to customers and jumping on a register as a back-up cashier. I had just completed a transaction at the register and the Manager on Duty called me on the radio. I responded to her request to meet her in the middle of the building. She told me of a suspicious customer in the store that she has dealt with before regarding questionable returns without receipts. She told me the woman was in the store and had a large handbag on her shoulder and thought the woman had taken something out of the bag. As a former Loss prevention Manager I assured the M.O.D. I would watch the customer so she could attend to other matters. I first went to the customer, greeted her and offered her assistance. I also used the moment to assess what she was holding, what she was looking at and to see if I could identify any obvious stolen goods. She only had a notebook in her hand and quickly refused my gracious offer to help her. She immediately left the aisle we were on and went down several more aisles near the front of the store. I pretended to put away merchandise but using my Loss Prevention skills, I positioned myself so I could observe her without being seen by her. The customer picked up a small box of laminating sheets, looked around and placed them under the notebook but she did not conceal them in a purse or bag. She walked past me as I continued to pretend I was working and she stopped at a table behind me. I positioned myself so I could continue to watch her without being obvious. The woman was mumbling to herself about prices then turned to walk out the door. She walked past the electronic article surveillance towers but no alarm sounded. I did know she still had the laminating pouches in her hand and called to her that she had forgotten to pay for the item. She initially acted like she could not hear but when I called to her again in a more forceful manner she turned, stepped back in quickly and handed the merchandise to me and left muttering a barely audible, “I forgot” as she scampered off to a waiting car.
The value of the recovered merchandise in this little box was $24! In the bigger scheme of things this doesn’t sound like a lot. But there is more to this story. The store manager called our sister stores in the area and alerted them that the suspect and a male who was driving the car she got into may have other stolen items. The M.O.D. wanted them to turn down non-receipted refunds from the couple. Sure enough, only a matter of minutes passed before she got a call from one of those stores. The woman had label maker tape and two other items she tried to return for a cash refund but no receipt. They turned her down. That merchandise was valued at an additional $30 or more. Not one of these items had an electronic article surveillance tag on them and therefore no alarm was sounded to deter her and/or provide me or the manager an opportunity to ask her about merchandise inside her handbag. To make the whole episode more incredible our store HAS Sensormatic pedestals at the entry/exit doors. The fact that the company only protects a limited number of SKU’s baffles me. The expenditure of a few more dollars to place Sensormatic labels on merchandise could have prevented the theft that did appear to have taken place.
Electronic Article Surveillance equipment when used to the fullest potential can significantly reduce merchandise shrinkage. It is so effective if used properly and employees are trained on proper alarm response that a system can pay for itself over time. Loss Prevention Systems, Inc., a leader in retail shortage reduction and helping stores increase profits, is so confident in the impact a Sensormatic system can have in shortage reduction they estimate a system can potentially reduce shrinkage by almost half (a conservative estimation in my professional opinion). They even offer a free Return On Investment Calculator to show how long it would take for a system to pay for itself.
Invest in Sensormatic labels and an electronic article surveillance and begin to reap immediate rewards. Just do me one favor. Put labels on everything! The results on your store profit line will make you glad you did.
Sensormatic labels are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.915.0547 and let’s talk.
As a Loss Prevention Manager it can be terribly frustrating to recognize you have to stop shoplifting of a specific product but recognize there are few adequate anti-shoplifting devices for the item(s) in question. I think back to issues I had with pseudoephedrine products before they were placed behind pharmacy counters. I recall boxes of cold medicines designed for persons with high blood pressure that were being stolen for the effects they could give to drug abusers. Sure, we could tag them with electronic article surveillance labels but the crooks could still open the boxes and remove the contents. The other possibility was to keep them off of the shelf and put up signs for customers to ask for the product at the checklanes or pharmacy. That isn’t convenient for anyone. The legitimate customer has to go back to the front lanes to see if there is even any product in the store. If there is product a manager has to get it from a lock-up cabinet or stockroom. The only benefit is that the shoplifter is prevented from stealing merchandise.
There is a better solution for hard to protect products that preclude locking them up in a secure display case or removing them from shelves altogether. The Sensormatic Flexible Safer is the answer that retailers look for that balances customer accessibility with electronic article surveillance protection. Built of strong plastics, these cases are reusable and yet secure. Sensormatic detachers are required to get a Safer open and therefore stop shoplifting criminals who would otherwise tear open a package and conceal the contents circumventing security devices. An additional feature of these cases is the slim design that has minimal impact on the amount of merchandise that can be displayed. Filling shelves is one important strategy in driving sales. Running out of a popular product and not catching it in a timely manner can cost a retailer money. There is also a shortage prevention technique of intentionally limiting quantities of high theft goods to minimize the damage thieves can do to them in a single hit. Again, this can lead to limiting sales if product runs out for the paying customer who isn’t going to look for an associate to help find more product. The Flexible Safer allows merchants to fill shelves with confidence.
As if the benefits I have already written about aren’t enough to convince you on the merits of using Safers here are some other things to consider. Safers allow merchandise to be hung on peg hooks. Consider that traditional shelving means spacing between shelves has to be high enough to allow stocking of shelves. It also means the spacing is determined by the tallest item on the shelf. Shelving also gathers a lot of dust and dirt. Safers on peghooks can be uniform in placement and make stocking easier. Peghooks don’t accumulate dust and spilled drinks on them either making them easier for planogram changes. As a Loss Prevention Manager I also liked to use anti-theft peghooks that only allowed one item at a time to be removed. This was a great way to stop shoplifting by people trying to sweep peghooks for quick theft.
There are products that electronic article surveillance labels and tags work well on. If we were to focus on health and beauty products alone since we are already talking about cold medicines then I would be happy to use a label or tag on toothpaste. From a Loss Prevention standpoint I would tag as many items as possible not considered high theft. Lip balms, store brand medicines, disposable razors and so on would be on my list. Safers would be my go to for merchandise that cannot be protected with electronic article surveillance tags or protective wraps. Make Sensormatic Flexible Safers YOUR go to device to keep your merchandise safe from criminals.
Need information on electronic article surveillance? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 today.
