Customer counting device – 3 WC Blog 789
People counting system-4
Improve Store Efficiency And Sales With A Customer Counting Device-Part 2
If you read the first article in this two-part series you know that I began by discussing the poor planning of tasks and assignments for the student workers we had on duty considering the lack of patron traffic in our library on a given day. It was the last day of classes for the college students and our library was very slow yet we had not planned out things we could have used our student workers to do. For a college library it was not a big problem but having been in retail management I was very aware of the negative impact this could have had if we were in a store environment. A customer counting device for a retailer would have provided a picture of what prior year shopper traffic was like and a store manager could use that information to plan for a training day, cleaning projects, etc. I then started to get into some of the other benefits a store would get by using a people counting system one of which is the ability to improve customer conversion rates.
Daily sales reads from your point of sales system only tell you a total number of transactions and sales dollars. You can even get the average dollars per transaction from your register totals. What you don’t get is data on how many people actually walked into the store and walked out without buying anything. That is a store’s conversion rate and many large chains have been measuring this for years. If you haven’t been tracking your patron headcounts you can start to do so with a customer counting device from Sensormatic. If you already have a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance system they can frequently be integrated into the towers. If you are not using an electronic article surveillance system to deter shoplifting and help increase sales Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. is the go to place to get started. They can set you up with the towers and tags that will best suit your store. They have Sensormatic certified technicians to install the equipment and they offer free Loss Prevention Training for their clients who do purchase a Sensormatic system through them. I might add that if you are afraid a system would be outside your price range, Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can help you with getting financing for a new system. I will offer one more caveat if affordability is a concern check out the Free ROI Calculator on their website…you might be surprised to learn how fast a new system can pay for itself.
I don’t want to seem like I am digressing I just get very excited about the myriad of services offered by Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. Going back to my point however, you want to know if customers are making purchases. If you can identify the times of day and days of the week most shoppers are frequenting your store you can add more payroll to those days and times. Customers will leave a store for all kinds of reasons without making a purchase. There may not be a sales person to help them, lines at the registers are too long, employees are snippy because the store is understaffed and they don’t have enough support. A people counting system can aid a store manager in ensuring adequate coverage is in the store at these peak times. More employees means more opportunities to suggestive sell or keep cash register lines moving so people don’t abandon shopping baskets and walk out empty handed.
If conversion rates are low it could also be an indicator of other problems such as a lack of merchandise on the floor. If you start using a customer counting device and find a gross imbalance between the people entering and leaving and the number of transactions it is possible you have bare shelves of high demand items. If you sell medicine and people are not finding what they need the customer won’t necessarily say anything. You may start digging and find you have theft issues, stocking problems or replenishment problems from a distributor. A people counting system won’t tell you the problem but it can help identify a problem that if corrected can improve your sales.
Not being aware of what is impacting your sales growth potential is harmful in the long-term. Allowing Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. to help you install a people counting system and understand how it works to enhance your sales should be obvious by now. Count on Sensormatic and Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. to help your business grow.
A people counting system is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
If you read the first article in this two-part series you know that I began by discussing the poor planning of tasks and assignments for the student workers we had on duty considering the lack of patron traffic in our library on a given day. It was the last day of classes for the college students and our library was very slow yet we had not planned out things we could have used our student workers to do. For a college library it was not a big problem but having been in retail management I was very aware of the negative impact this could have had if we were in a store environment. A customer counting device for a retailer would have provided a picture of what prior year shopper traffic was like and a store manager could use that information to plan for a training day, cleaning projects, etc. I then started to get into some of the other benefits a store would get by using a people counting system one of which is the ability to improve customer conversion rates.
Daily sales reads from your point of sales system only tell you a total number of transactions and sales dollars. You can even get the average dollars per transaction from your register totals. What you don’t get is data on how many people actually walked into the store and walked out without buying anything. That is a store’s conversion rate and many large chains have been measuring this for years. If you haven’t been tracking your patron headcounts you can start to do so with a customer counting device from Sensormatic. If you already have a Sensormatic electronic article surveillance system they can frequently be integrated into the towers. If you are not using an electronic article surveillance system to deter shoplifting and help increase sales Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. is the go to place to get started. They can set you up with the towers and tags that will best suit your store. They have Sensormatic certified technicians to install the equipment and they offer free Loss Prevention Training for their clients who purchase a Sensormatic system through them. I might add that if you are afraid a system would be outside your price range, Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. can help you with getting financing for a new system. I will offer one more caveat if affordability is a concern check out the Free ROI Calculator on their website…you might be surprised to learn how fast a new system can pay for itself.
I don’t want to seem like I am digressing I just get very excited about the myriad of services offered by Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. Going back to my point however, you want to know if customers are making purchases. If you can identify the times of day and days of the week most shoppers are frequenting your store you can add more payroll to those days and times. Customers will leave a store for all kinds of reasons without making a purchase. There may not be a sales person to help them, lines at the registers are too long, employees are snippy because the store is understaffed and they don’t have enough support. A people counting system can aid a store manager in ensuring adequate coverage is in the store at these peak times. More employees means more opportunities to suggestive sell or keep cash register lines moving so people don’t abandon shopping baskets and walk out empty handed.
If conversion rates are low it could also be an indicator of other problems such as a lack of merchandise on the floor. If you start using a customer counting device and find a gross imbalance between the people entering and leaving and the number of transactions it is possible you have bare shelves of high demand items. If you sell medicine and people are not finding what they need the customer won’t necessarily say anything. You may start digging and find you have theft issues, stocking problems or replenishment problems from a distributor. A people counting system won’t tell you the problem but it can help identify a problem that if corrected can improve your sales.
Not being aware of what is impacting your sales growth potential is harmful in the long-term. Allowing Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. to help you install a people counting system and understand how it works to enhance your sales should be obvious by now. Count on Sensormatic and Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. to help your business grow.
A people counting system is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Stop Shoplifting –3 WC blog 812
Sensormatic System – 3
Use Caution When Responding To A Sensormatic System Alert
I believe it only makes sense for a store owner to try to stop shoplifting from happening in their store. The use of closed circuit television, public view monitors and a Sensormatic security system are the proper tools to do this. What does not make sense is asking employees to respond to electronic article surveillance (EAS) alarms and not train them first in how to do so properly. I make this observation after having just watched a video from a news story (wgno.com “How Many Times Can Shoplifters Target The Same Store In Just Two Weeks”, April 12, 2019) that showed employees trying to stop people attempting to exit their store with laundry detergent they did not pay for. The crooks can be seen walking through EAS towers at the front doors but at least in one instance an associate locked the doors so they could not exit. The lights in the tower flashed indicating the merchandise was tagged. The thieves are approached by store personnel but the approach and interaction made me nervous for the employees. As a former Loss Prevention Manager it looked ugly and it could have gotten uglier. Three different suspects all attempted to walk out with detergent. One suspect was approached by an employee who did not seem to do so safely. The video showed the employee was trying to talk the suspect into putting the detergent down but he also got into close proximity with the perpetrator and even followed him out of the store after the suspect put the merchandise down. There are times when an employee is better off calling police than putting themselves (or others) into a precarious position.
A Sensormatic system is going to deter the vast majority of your would-be shoplifters. These people come in and as soon as they see the detection towers they conclude that trying to steal from the store would be risky. Unfortunately there are other shoplifters, aggressive and potentially dangerous who steal as part of an organized crime ring or as part of a gang. It is very difficult to stop shoplifting by these criminals. In a normal situation anti-theft towers and tags deter theft and any trained employee can respond to an alarm and tactfully recover merchandise. The same is not the case with the aggressive shoplifter. It is not always clear who is going to be cooperative and who is going to become belligerent. As I watched the video clips I decided to give some quick tips on handling Sensormatic system alarms based on my training and experiences.
• When an alarm tower sounds the responding employee should approach the customer in a calm manner. Don’t look aggressive. Offering an explanation such as something must not have been deactivated helps to relax the offender.
• Never take a bag from the person. The employee should ask if they can look in the bag for something that may be causing the alarm. If the shopper does not have a shopping bag from your store or only has a purse, take the pressure off of the “customer” by suggesting they could have something from another store that was not deactivated by their employees. If merchandise belonging to your store is found offer to ring it up for them. Let them “change” their mind if they so desire and just turn over merchandise.
• As your employee interacts with the patron they should try to maintain an arm length in distance until they can determine if the person is going to be cooperative. Even if they are cooperative the employee must stay alert to the off-chance the suspect gets irritated or aggressive. If this happens disengage.
• Your workers should never block a suspect’s exit from the store or follow-them out. Yes, you want to stop shoplifting but this places the employee in a dangerous position. They never know if the suspect will push past them or knock them down to get out. Your employee also does not know who may be outside waiting for the suspect.
Make sure your staff is trained on the proper methods of EAS tower alarm response. Most times your system will deter thieves and when they choose to try anyways you can be sure that Sensormatic system tags will set off the pedestals. Done properly employees can recover tagged product without incident. It is your responsibility to keep your team safe from harm so make sure they are trained to know when it is time to leave someone alone and call the police.
A Sensormatic system is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
I believe it only makes sense for a store owner to try to stop shoplifting from happening in their store. The use of closed circuit television, public view monitors and a Sensormatic security system are the proper tools to do this. What does not make sense is asking employees to respond to electronic article surveillance (EAS) alarms and not train them first in how to do so properly. I make this observation after having just watched a video from a news story (wgno.com “How Many Times Can Shoplifters Target The Same Store In Just Two Weeks”, April 12, 2019) that showed employees trying to stop people attempting to exit their store with laundry detergent they did not pay for. The crooks can be seen walking through EAS towers at the front doors but at least in one instance an associate locked the doors so they could not exit. The lights in the tower flashed indicating the merchandise was tagged. The thieves are approached by store personnel but the approach and interaction made me nervous for the employees. As a former Loss Prevention Manager it looked ugly and it could have gotten uglier. Three different suspects all attempted to walk out with detergent. One suspect was approached by an employee who did not seem to do so safely. The video showed the employee was trying to talk the suspect into putting the detergent down but he also got into close proximity with the perpetrator and even followed him out of the store after the suspect put the merchandise down. There are times when an employee is better off calling police than putting themselves (or others) into a precarious position.
A Sensormatic system is going to deter the vast majority of your would-be shoplifters. These people come in and as soon as they see the detection towers they conclude that trying to steal from the store would be risky. Unfortunately there are other shoplifters, aggressive and potentially dangerous who steal as part of an organized crime ring or as part of a gang. It is very difficult to stop shoplifting by these criminals. In a normal situation anti-theft towers and tags deter theft and any trained employee can respond to an alarm and tactfully recover merchandise. The same is not the case with the aggressive shoplifter. It is not always clear who is going to be cooperative and who is going to become belligerent. As I watched the video clips I decided to give some quick tips on handling Sensormatic system alarms based on my training and experiences.
• When an alarm tower sounds the responding employee should approach the customer in a calm manner. Don’t look aggressive. Offering an explanation such as something must not have been deactivated helps to relax the offender.
• Never take a bag from the person. The employee should ask if they can look in the bag for something that may be causing the alarm. If the shopper does not have a shopping bag from your store or only has a purse, take the pressure off of the “customer” by suggesting they could have something from another store that was not deactivated by their employees. If merchandise belonging to your store is found offer to ring it up for them. Let them “change” their mind if they so desire and just turn over merchandise.
• As your employee interacts with the patron they should try to maintain an arm length in distance until they can determine if the person is going to be cooperative. Even if they are cooperative the employee must stay alert to the off-chance the suspect gets irritated or aggressive. If this happens disengage.
• Your workers should never block a suspect’s exit from the store or follow-them out. Yes, you want to stop shoplifting but this places the employee in a dangerous position. They never know if the suspect will push past them or knock them down to get out. Your employee also does not know who may be outside waiting for the suspect.
Make sure your staff is trained on the proper methods of EAS tower alarm response. Most times your system will deter thieves and when they choose to try anyways you can be sure that Sensormatic system tags will set off the pedestals. Done properly employees can recover tagged product without incident. It is your responsibility to keep your team safe from harm so make sure they are trained to know when it is time to leave someone alone and call the police.
A Sensormatic system is important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Employee Theft Reduction Training – 3 WC Blog 784
Stop shoplifting – 5
Basic Training On How To Stop Shoplifting And Employee Theft
As I prepared to write this article about training to stop shoplifting and employee theft I thought back to my days in U.S. Air Force Basic Training. When I went in at age 18, I thought I could dress myself, make my bed, clean a bathroom and even stand up straight but boy was I in for a surprise! My T.I. (Training Instructor) Sgt. Ulmer made it very clear to us from the day we arrived that we were hmmmm, how do I say this in less colorful prose than he used? We were less than adequate and really had no business even being on his base. I learned over the course of 6 weeks how to walk and talk and even sit properly. Many of the things we learned were demonstrated to us then Sgt. Ulmer would explain it to us step by step and then we would perform the task ourselves such as making the bed (my mother never taught me how important hospital corners would be later in life). For those who could not learn things properly or made egregious errors over the course of the 6 weeks, there would be a “wash back” where they had the ability to go back to the starting point and begin their training over again. The military was very helpful in making sure we understood how things were to be done and gave plenty of opportunity to get remedial training when needed. After 6 weeks and assuming one did not have to repeat their training, we were prepared enough to be sent on to our technical training schools because we had learned to walk, talk, eat, make our beds and properly clean bathrooms in addition to all of the other things we had to learn. I know you are wondering how this can possibly relate to employee theft reduction training and how to stop shoplifting.
I talk jokingly about having to learn to do things I thought I already knew but the fact of the matter is I did have to learn to do those things again. I did not know how the U.S. Air Force would want me to do them. Thinking you know the proper way to do something or believing you have more knowledge on a subject than you actually do have can lead to big problems in some areas, such as how to stop shoplifting or prevent dishonest employee activity. The same applies to store owners and managers who need to address stock shortage and theft that costs thousands and tens of thousands of dollars every year. You may think you know how to protect your merchandise but there are things you probably do not know based on my experience with retail managers. Only a company with trainers who have actual Retail Loss Prevention experience can provide reliable and proven employee theft reduction training and training to stop shoplifting. Let me give you a couple examples of theft related information that might come as a surprise. Concealment of merchandise by a customer may in most instances be enough to prove intent to shoplift. Other states may have wording in their law that would make it better for the retailer to allow the suspect to exit the store or pass the last point of sale before stopping them. That begs the question, if the last point of sale is a return desk located near the front door should is that the last point of sale? Did you know that many Retail Loss Prevention departments discourage apprehending a person who sets off an electronic article surveillance alarm even if unpaid merchandise is recovered? Were you aware that an employee can be charged with breach of trust in many instances rather than theft for such things as price manipulation or conducting fake refunds? These are cases in which the employee is deliberately manipulating store data in order to falsely obtain money or goods below value to personally profit from the manipulation.
There are many other things you probably do not know about when it comes theft. Employee theft reduction training from Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. prepares you so you and your team know how to stop shoplifting before it happens. They can also teach you how you can take steps in the pre-hiring phase to reduce your exposure of hiring a bad apple. Their training is top notch and if you don’t check into it you are doing your business a disservice. You will be surprised at how much you don’t know and you don’t have to attend Basic Training to do so.
For more information on employee theft reduction training contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
As I prepared to write this article about training to stop shoplifting and employee theft I thought back to my days in U.S. Air Force Basic Training. When I went in at age 18, I thought I could dress myself, make my bed, clean a bathroom and even stand up straight but boy was I in for a surprise! My T.I. (Training Instructor) Sgt. Ulmer made it very clear to us from the day we arrived that we were hmmmm, how do I say this in less colorful prose than he used? We were less than adequate and really had no business even being on his base. I learned over the course of 6 weeks how to walk and talk and even sit properly. Many of the things we learned were demonstrated to us then Sgt. Ulmer would explain it to us step by step and then we would perform the task ourselves such as making the bed (my mother never taught me how important hospital corners would be later in life). For those who could not learn things properly or made egregious errors over the course of the 6 weeks, there would be a “wash back” where they had the ability to go back to the starting point and begin their training over again. The military was very helpful in making sure we understood how things were to be done and gave plenty of opportunity to get remedial training when needed. After 6 weeks and assuming one did not have to repeat their training, we were prepared enough to be sent on to our technical training schools because we had learned to walk, talk, eat, make our beds and properly clean bathrooms in addition to all of the other things we had to learn. I know you are wondering how this can possibly relate to employee theft reduction training and how to stop shoplifting.
I talk jokingly about having to learn to do things I thought I already knew but the fact of the matter is I did have to learn to do those things again. I did not know how the U.S. Air Force would want me to do them. Thinking you know the proper way to do something or believing you have more knowledge on a subject than you actually do have can lead to big problems in some areas, such as how to stop shoplifting or prevent dishonest employee activity. The same applies to store owners and managers who need to address stock shortage and theft that costs thousands and tens of thousands of dollars every year. You may think you know how to protect your merchandise but there are things you probably do not know based on my experience with retail managers. Only a company with trainers who have actual Retail Loss Prevention experience can provide reliable and proven employee theft reduction training and training to stop shoplifting. Let me give you a couple examples of theft related information that might come as a surprise. Concealment of merchandise by a customer may in most instances be enough to prove intent to shoplift. Other states may have wording in their law that would make it better for the retailer to allow the suspect to exit the store or pass the last point of sale before stopping them. That begs the question, if the last point of sale is a return desk located near the front door should is that the last point of sale? Did you know that many Retail Loss Prevention departments discourage apprehending a person who sets off an electronic article surveillance alarm even if unpaid merchandise is recovered? Were you aware that an employee can be charged with breach of trust in many instances rather than theft for such things as price manipulation or conducting fake refunds? These are cases in which the employee is deliberately manipulating store data in order to falsely obtain money or goods below value to personally profit from the manipulation.
There are many other things you probably do not know about when it comes theft. Employee theft reduction training from Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. prepares you so you and your team know how to stop shoplifting before it happens. They can also teach you how you can take steps in the pre-hiring phase to reduce your exposure of hiring a bad apple. Their training is top notch and if you don’t check into it you are doing your business a disservice. You will be surprised at how much you don’t know and you don’t have to attend Basic Training to do so.
For more information on employee theft reduction training, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
Sensormatic Safers-4 WC Blog 799
Retail Anti-Theft Devices -3
DVD Theft Is Still A Problem And Sensormatic Safers Are The Solution
It may not seem to be as important as it used to be it is still necessary to use retail anti-theft devices to protect DVD’s in your store. With the increase in streaming videos and online video’s there appears to be a decreasing demand for DVD’s and the same can be said for CD’s. Technology has literally put entertainment in the palm of our hands. A walk through the electronics department of many big box retail stores is indicative of these changing times as once robust DVD and CD aisles have been cut back. The selections seem to be fewer and often shelves sit bare. I don’t know if this is a theft issue or a merchandising decision. In one of my favorite stores the DVD section has been reduced to two or three gondolas where it once was four to six of them filled with movies. Does this trend mean that stores do not have to worry any longer about how to stop shoplifting in these departments? I would argue that it is still a problem and retailers must be alert to the threat and use Sensormatic Safers to prevent it.
What caused me to be concerned enough to write about it? I saw a news story from 2018 that somewhat shocked me. As a Loss Prevention Manager I dealt with some large shoplifting cases but this one was pretty remarkable in my book. According to news4sanantoni.com, Sunday, August 5th, 2018, “Women admit to using wigs to steal 917 DVD’s from several stores”, the women were accused of stealing DVD’s valued at an estimated $35,118.83. That is a lot of DVD’s by any standard. The story reported that these two crooks targeted several stores of a national retail bookstore chain. I have shopped at this particular chain and I know that they use some type of retail anti-theft devices in the form of an electronic article surveillance label. I do not know if they tag everything or just certain items. What I do know is sometimes merchandise needs different protective devices bases on the merchandise type, price point or risk. Different devices provide different levels of security. In the case of DVD’s Sensormatic Safers are the protection for DVD’s and CD’s I recommend for stores.
Sensormatic Safers are pouches made of Polyethylene and nylon materials making them flexible yet tough. They have electronic article surveillance built in giving retailers the confidence that if a shoplifter attempts to load a purse or bag with DVD’s or CD’s Sensormatic pedestals are going to activate every time. Flexible Safers are also slim so unlike other protective wraps or devices retailers maximize selling space while benefitting from the security Safers provide.
Another feature that can optimize the use of Safers is adding a metal detection card to a Sensormatic AMS9060 Controller. The metal detection card gives certain Sensormatic towers the ability to identify a professional shoplifter attempting to enter the store with a foil lined purse or bag. Not all retail anti-theft devices or systems have this capability. The article did not indicate whether foiled-lined bags were used by the suspects but it did say that one was seen grabbing a handful of DVD’s and placing them in her purse. It is not unheard of for a purse to have a foil bag or lining inside of it. Alarm activations caused by someone ENTERING a store are less frequent occurrences than exit alarms so attention is drawn to the suspect before they even get to the salesfloor. That is not an ideal situation for a shoplifter.
Just because DVD’s and CD’s are not as popular as they once were there is still a market for them. You only need to take a look at those red boxes outside of retail stores which allow customers to rent movies and games to see my point. Use Sensormatic Safers to reduce the chance of movie theft. Get the “picture” now?
Sensormatic Safers are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
It may not seem to be as important as it used to be it is still necessary to use retail anti-theft devices to protect DVD’s in your store. With the increase in streaming videos and online video’s there appears to be a decreasing demand for DVD’s and the same can be said for CD’s. Technology has literally put entertainment in the palm of our hands. A walk through the electronics department of many big box retail stores is indicative of these changing times as once robust DVD and CD aisles have been cut back. The selections seem to be fewer and often shelves sit bare. I don’t know if this is a theft issue or a merchandising decision. In one of my favorite stores the DVD section has been reduced to two or three gondolas where it once was four to six of them filled with movies. Does this trend mean that stores do not have to worry any longer about how to stop shoplifting in these departments? I would argue that it is still a problem and retailers must be alert to the threat and use Sensormatic Safers to prevent it.
What caused me to be concerned enough to write about it? I saw a news story from 2018 that somewhat shocked me. As a Loss Prevention Manager I dealt with some large shoplifting cases but this one was pretty remarkable in my book. According to news4sanantoni.com, Sunday, August 5th, 2018, “Women admit to using wigs to steal 917 DVD’s from several stores”, the women were accused of stealing DVD’s valued at an estimated $35,118.83. That is a lot of DVD’s by any standard. The story reported that these two crooks targeted several stores of a national retail bookstore chain. I have shopped at this particular chain and I know that they use some type of retail anti-theft devices in the form of an electronic article surveillance label. I do not know if they tag everything or just certain items. What I do know is sometimes merchandise needs different protective devices bases on the merchandise type, price point or risk. Different devices provide different levels of security. In the case of DVD’s Sensormatic Safers are the protection for DVD’s and CD’s I recommend for stores.
Sensormatic Safers are pouches made of Polyethylene and nylon materials making them flexible yet tough. They have electronic article surveillance built in giving retailers the confidence that if a shoplifter attempts to load a purse or bag with DVD’s or CD’s Sensormatic pedestals are going to activate every time. Flexible Safers are also slim so unlike other protective wraps or devices retailers maximize selling space while benefitting from the security Safers provide.
Another feature that can optimize the use of Safers is adding a metal detection card to a Sensormatic AMS9060 Controller. The metal detection card gives certain Sensormatic towers the ability to identify a professional shoplifter attempting to enter the store with a foil lined purse or bag. Not all retail anti-theft devices or systems have this capability. The article did not indicate whether foiled-lined bags were used by the suspects but it did say that one was seen grabbing a handful of DVD’s and placing them in her purse. It is not unheard of for a purse to have a foil bag or lining inside of it. Alarm activations caused by someone ENTERING a store are less frequent occurrences than exit alarms so attention is drawn to the suspect before they even get to the salesfloor. That is not an ideal situation for a shoplifter.
Just because DVD’s and CD’s are not as popular as they once were there is still a market for them. You only need to take a look at those red boxes outside of retail stores which allow customers to rent movies and games to see my point. Use Sensormatic Safers to reduce the chance of movie theft. Get the “picture” now?
Sensormatic Safers are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
Sensormatic Tags – 4 WC Blog 751
Clothing Security Tags – 3
Use Sensormatic Tags The Right Way And Improve Theft Prevention
Clothing security tags work in every store they are used in. In fact they are so effective that according to the Sensormatic Global Retail Shrink Index, Electronic article surveillance (EAS) is the most popular Loss Prevention investment among retailers in the United States. According to their researchers, 92.16% of retailers surveyed indicated they are investing in electronic article surveillance (pg. 45). Certainly the use of clothing security is important but I will tell you that based on my experience, which tags are used and where they are placed are almost as important to a merchandise protection program.
Effective standardized tagging guidelines for retailers improve the processing of merchandise for cashiers. It makes auditing of tagging easier for managers and it results in fewer customer service complaints. Here are of my suggestions to use as a basis when starting a tagging program:
• Tag visibility is important. Hidden tags sound like they would be a deterrent to criminals and in some situations that does work. But most of your shoplifters will be opportunists and if they see the Sensormatic tags they are less likely to try to steal an item. Deterrence is preferred to having to confront a potential shoplifter which can become dangerous.
• Hiding clothing security tags can also result in a cashier overlooking them during the checkout process. Since these tags are not designed to deactivate they are going to sound the EAS tower at the doors and create a distraction. The customer may be embarrassed or angry and an employee has to respond and try to determine what caused the alarm.
• Placing tags where they are hard to cover up is also important. For example, a hard tag on the waist of a skirt can be covered by a blouse or sweater if a shoplifter tries to wear it out of the store.
• Finally, there are Sensormatic tags and labels. I know that sometimes it is easier to slap a label on a manufacturer hang tag rather than pinning a tag onto a piece of clothing but I always recommend a hard tag on clothing. For a t-shirt or a pair of socks a label may be sufficient but pants, shirts, purses, etc. should always be hard tagged.
Now that I covered what not to do here are my suggestions to help you with a consistent tagging strategy:
• Tag pants in a seam near the knee. Also do it on the same leg of every pair of slacks, jeans pants etc. Cashiers will always know to look for the Sensormatic tags in the same place. If you find this is more effort than you want to put into it you can tag near the cuff, but do it several inches above the end of the leg.
• Shoes can be a bit more difficult since people want to try them on. Additionally not all shoes are designed the same. If possible tag through an eyelet, buckle or strap. IF there is no choice, a Sensormatic label may serve as a substitute on the bottom of each shoe.
• Attach clothing security tags to the neckline. This ensures the tag is visible and it is very hard to hide this. If you make the choice to tag on a sleeve, as with pants, do it several inches above the end of the sleeve. A small cut in the garment can be easy to repair and the tag slipped off. Cut in a piece of clothing anywhere else renders it unserviceable and useless.
• Purses generally have loops and straps that are accommodating for tags making them easy for protecting. Wallets on the other hand may be more challenging. This is one of the situations where I believe it is warranted to use a Sensormatic label hidden in the merchandise. The key is to emphasize that cashiers be sure to run all wallets over deactivation pads to avoid those false alarms.
These are strategies that I used for many years as a Retail Loss Prevention Manager and I can attest to the effectiveness of following these suggestions. We were consistently bringing in shortage numbers well under 1% during my tenure.
Sensormatic is a trusted company in the Loss Prevention industry and their equipment is so effective in preventing shoplifting that Bill Bregar, owner of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. recommends their products to his clients. Why is that important? It is important because Bill has been in the business of retail shortage prevention and consultation since 1983. He was also a Loss Prevention Director for major retail stores. When Bill and I are in agreement it means you can’t go wrong if you listen to us. Use Sensormatic tags and see how much you can improve your bottom line.
For more information about clothing security tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Clothing security tags work in every store they are used in. In fact they are so effective that according to the Sensormatic Global Retail Shrink Index, Electronic article surveillance (EAS) is the most popular Loss Prevention investment among retailers in the United States. According to their researchers, 92.16% of retailers surveyed indicated they are investing in electronic article surveillance (pg. 45). Certainly the use of clothing security is important but I will tell you that based on my experience, which tags are used and where they are placed are almost as important to a merchandise protection program.
Effective standardized tagging guidelines for retailers improve the processing of merchandise for cashiers. It makes auditing of tagging easier for managers and it results in fewer customer service complaints. Here are of my suggestions to use as a basis when starting a tagging program:
• Tag visibility is important. Hidden tags sound like they would be a deterrent to criminals and in some situations that does work. But most of your shoplifters will be opportunists and if they see the Sensormatic tags they are less likely to try to steal an item. Deterrence is preferred to having to confront a potential shoplifter which can become dangerous.
• Hiding clothing security tags can also result in a cashier overlooking them during the checkout process. Since these tags are not designed to deactivate they are going to sound the EAS tower at the doors and create a distraction. The customer may be embarrassed or angry and an employee has to respond and try to determine what caused the alarm.
• Placing tags where they are hard to cover up is also important. For example, a hard tag on the waist of a skirt can be covered by a blouse or sweater if a shoplifter tries to wear it out of the store.
• Finally, there are Sensormatic tags and labels. I know that sometimes it is easier to slap a label on a manufacturer hang tag rather than pinning a tag onto a piece of clothing but I always recommend a hard tag on clothing. For a t-shirt or a pair of socks a label may be sufficient but pants, shirts, purses, etc. should always be hard tagged.
Now that I covered what not to do here are my suggestions to help you with a consistent tagging strategy:
• Tag pants in a seam near the knee. Also do it on the same leg of every pair of slacks, jeans pants etc. Cashiers will always know to look for the Sensormatic tags in the same place. If you find this is more effort than you want to put into it you can tag near the cuff, but do it several inches above the end of the leg.
• Shoes can be a bit more difficult since people want to try them on. Additionally not all shoes are designed the same. If possible tag through an eyelet, buckle or strap. IF there is no choice, a Sensormatic label may serve as a substitute on the bottom of each shoe.
• Attach clothing security tags to the neckline. This ensures the tag is visible and it is very hard to hide this. If you make the choice to tag on a sleeve, as with pants, do it several inches above the end of the sleeve. A small cut in the garment can be easy to repair and the tag slipped off. Cut in a piece of clothing anywhere else renders it unserviceable and useless.
• Purses generally have loops and straps that are accommodating for tags making them easy for protecting. Wallets on the other hand may be more challenging. This is one of the situations where I believe it is warranted to use a Sensormatic label hidden in the merchandise. The key is to emphasize that cashiers be sure to run all wallets over deactivation pads to avoid those false alarms.
These are strategies that I used for many years as a Retail Loss Prevention Manager and I can attest to the effectiveness of following these suggestions. We were consistently bringing in shortage numbers well under 1% during my tenure.
Sensormatic is a trusted company in the Loss Prevention industry and their equipment is so effective in preventing shoplifting that Bill Bregar, owner of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. recommends their products to his clients. Why is that important? It is important because Bill has been in the business of retail shortage prevention and consultation since 1983. He was also a Loss Prevention Director for major retail stores. When Bill and I are in agreement it means you can’t go wrong if you listen to us. Use Sensormatic tags and see how much you can improve your bottom line.
For more information about clothing security tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
