Loss Prevention Roi Calculator – 4 WC Blog 800
Can Loss Prevention Be Free? – 3
Understanding The ROI of A Loss Prevention System When You Use A Loss Prevention ROI Calculator
Can Loss Prevention be free? That seems like a silly question to ask. Why not ask if a car can be free or how about a free vacation to the Bahamas? I suppose if you were to win a raffle or a contest maybe either one could be free. Of course, even then you are going to have to pay taxes and then it won’t feel so free. If I reply to a “special offer” for a free one month trial of a sports broadcast website so that I can watch any of my favorite sports events why do I have to sign up for my free offer using a credit card? I have a sneaky suspicion that the website expects me to forget to cancel my free offer so they can bill me the next month. Why not get Manager training to Stop Shoplifting for free? Better yet, how about asking for a free Loss Prevention ROI calculator to use to figure out the cost and benefits a Sensormatic System would give you? It all sounds ridiculous. What company is going to offer free ANYTHING to customers without some sort of cost attached?
I have a secret for you. Can Loss Prevention be free? Yes, it can. So is the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator that will help you find out how this is so. A Loss Prevention system from Sensormatic is the best way to prevent theft caused by shoplifting. A system includes the towers, the tags, the deactivation pads and hard tag removal tools. It may also include peripheral attachments such as an integrated people counting device or a Sensormatic Synergy Camera. All of these do cost money. So the question is if the system and its components cost money then how in the world can they be free? Are you going to have to enter a raffle to win a system? No, it isn’t that complicated. The way a Loss Prevention system is going to be free is in the amount of money it is going to save you in shortage. That is where the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator comes in to play. If you navigate to the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) website and look at the top of the page there are tabs and one is labeled “ROI Calc.” A simple click of the tab takes the user to the calculator itself and here is where two pieces of information are entered, the (estimated) annual sales of the store and the amount you are willing to spend on EAS (electronic article surveillance) equipment. The calculator does the rest of the work providing the estimated amount you will reduce your shrinkage by and giving you the estimated number of months it will take for your system to pay for itself. After a system has paid for itself you can realistically put the savings back to your profit line.
LPSI could have charged for the use of the calculator but they chose not to do so. It was more important to them that retail owners and managers see how significant the impact of a Sensormatic system can be for a store. The Loss Prevention ROI Calculator is also free because it does not require any kind of sign in to use it. No one is tracking the user to hound them later. Being free from a barrage of advertisements and solicitations in your email is a benefit that makes this calculator free and that much more appealing to those who use it.
One more thing that is going to surprise you is that not only can a Loss Prevention system and the ROI calculator be free; manager training to stop shoplifting can be free too! As incredible as it may sound if you purchase a Sensormatic system from LPSI you will also receive free shoplifting prevention training. I’m not talking about only training on how to use your new system I’m also talking about the training necessary to deter shoplifting. They will also provide guidance in establishing a Loss Prevention program so you can sustain your efforts at shortage reduction.
Can Loss Prevention be free? I don’t see how you can answer that question except in the affirmative. From the LPSI ROI Calculator to the training that will help you stop thieves to the actual system paying for itself it can all be free. What isn’t free are the losses your store is incurring as criminals steal from you while you consider whether or not to try the ROI calculator. Don’t delay check it out today I am sure you will be convinced
Need information on a Loss Prevention ROI Calculator? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547
Can Loss Prevention be free? That seems like a silly question to ask. Why not ask if a car can be free or how about a free vacation to the Bahamas? I suppose if you were to win a raffle or a contest maybe either one could be free. Of course, even then you are going to have to pay taxes and then it won’t feel so free. If I reply to a “special offer” for a free one month trial of a sports broadcast website so that I can watch any of my favorite sports events why do I have to sign up for my free offer using a credit card? I have a sneaky suspicion that the website expects me to forget to cancel my free offer so they can bill me the next month. Why not get Manager training to Stop Shoplifting for free? Better yet, how about asking for a free Loss Prevention ROI calculator to use to figure out the cost and benefits a Sensormatic System would give you? It all sounds ridiculous. What company is going to offer free ANYTHING to customers without some sort of cost attached?
I have a secret for you. Can Loss Prevention be free? Yes, it can. So is the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator that will help you find out how this is so. A Loss Prevention system from Sensormatic is the best way to prevent theft caused by shoplifting. A system includes the towers, the tags, the deactivation pads and hard tag removal tools. It may also include peripheral attachments such as an integrated people counting device or a Sensormatic Synergy Camera. All of these do cost money. So the question is if the system and its components cost money then how in the world can they be free? Are you going to have to enter a raffle to win a system? No, it isn’t that complicated. The way a Loss Prevention system is going to be free is in the amount of money it is going to save you in shortage. That is where the Loss Prevention ROI Calculator comes in to play. If you navigate to the Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) website and look at the top of the page there are tabs and one is labeled “ROI Calc.” A simple click of the tab takes the user to the calculator itself and here is where two pieces of information are entered, the (estimated) annual sales of the store and the amount you are willing to spend on EAS (electronic article surveillance) equipment. The calculator does the rest of the work providing the estimated amount you will reduce your shrinkage by and giving you the estimated number of months it will take for your system to pay for itself. After a system has paid for itself you can realistically put the savings back to your profit line.
LPSI could have charged for the use of the calculator but they chose not to do so. It was more important to them that retail owners and managers see how significant the impact of a Sensormatic system can be for a store. The Loss Prevention ROI Calculator is also free because it does not require any kind of sign in to use it. No one is tracking the user to hound them later. Being free from a barrage of advertisements and solicitations in your email is a benefit that makes this calculator free and that much more appealing to those who use it.
One more thing that is going to surprise you is that not only can a Loss Prevention system and the ROI calculator be free; manager training to stop shoplifting can be free too! As incredible as it may sound if you purchase a Sensormatic system from LPSI you will also receive free shoplifting prevention training. I’m not talking about only training on how to use your new system I’m also talking about the training necessary to deter shoplifting. They will also provide guidance in establishing a Loss Prevention program so you can sustain your efforts at shortage reduction.
Can Loss Prevention be free? I don’t see how you can answer that question except in the affirmative. From the LPSI ROI Calculator to the training that will help you stop thieves to the actual system paying for itself it can all be free. What isn’t free are the losses your store is incurring as criminals steal from you while you consider whether or not to try the ROI calculator. Don’t delay check it out today I am sure you will be convinced.
Need information on a Loss Prevention ROI Calculator? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547
Stop Shoplifting – 3 WC Blog 786
Sensormatic Labels -3
Cook Up A Plan To Reduce Grocery Shortage With Sensormatic Labels
When it comes to food and inventory shortage there are two factors to take into consideration, how to prevent out of date merchandise and how to stop shoplifting. I have seen merchandise that has had to be marked out of stock because the food has expired. One of the reasons for many of the unnecessary mark-outs is a failure of the store to have a good product rotation program in place. As a freight manager I always stressed to my team the importance of using FIFO (First In First Out) when putting out merchandise. This could be difficult for the team when they were being pushed for time (which was always). I would audit behind them and sometimes find shortcuts had been taken. Occasionally a worker pulled the first item on the shelf and then put out the new merchandise and then put the first item back. This gave the impression that FIFO was followed when it really was not. Those items that were not rotated would go out of date and then we had to process them and mark them out of stock. What a waste! There were also the products we stocked that just did not sell. They may not have been the right item for our store or customers just didn’t like them. Any way you cut it the product sat there until the company issued markdowns and sold it on clearance or they went out of date. The other issue we often found with out of date product was when the merchandise was vendor supplied and stocked and the vendor failed to give timely vendor credits on goods that were not selling.
The other major cause for shortage in grocery stores is due to theft. The first issue involves operational matters and can be resolved by putting good practices in place. Theft on the other hand requires another solution and that should be the use of Sensormatic labels. Labels can be used on almost anything a store carries. From canned foods to steaks, there is a remedy available from Sensormatic security systems for nearly everything a grocer carries. Now you may not need to put a label on a can of corn but you can put a Sensormatic APX Microwavable Roll Label in meat soaker pads or under the meat trays for those expensive cuts of beef and pork. Perhaps your store carries some health and beauty items as well as foods you can protect these with the HBC labels. There are also hard tags available that can protect higher end merchandise such as infant formula. All of the Sensormatic labels and tags carried by Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) are proven to stop shoplifting and that is the reason they are recommended by LPSI for their clients.
Why the fuss about grocery store shrink? It is a concern because “Shrinkage as a % of revenue 2017-2018” came in at a whopping 1.90% according to the Sensormatic Global Shrink Index (pg. 43). As I was looking for some specific grocery store theft statistics I found something I wasn’t quite expecting. According to one website I browse, they pulled some statistics from businessinsurance.org listing 9 of the top items stolen from stores. Topping that list was meat and coming in at number three on the list was baby formula! Operations may be causing some of your shortage but you cannot discount the impact theft is having on your store as well. You have to stop shoplifting if you are going to make a difference in your shortage results.
Equipping your store with an electronic article surveillance system from Sensormatic and protecting your merchandise with Sensormatic labels you can be certain you will reduce theft. Purchase that system from LPSI and you not only enjoy the benefits of owning a Sensormatic security system you receive free Loss Prevention training from LPSI. You won’t find an equivalent offer from any other company. If you are concerned about the cost of a system LPSI also has financing available for qualifying businesses. Don’t waste any more time find out more about how LPSI can help you make your business grow as you reduce shortage.
Get more information on Sensormatic labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
When it comes to food and inventory shortage there are two factors to take into consideration, how to prevent out of date merchandise and how to stop shoplifting. I have seen merchandise that has had to be marked out of stock because the food has expired. One of the reasons for many of the unnecessary mark-outs is a failure of the store to have a good product rotation program in place. As a freight manager I always stressed to my team the importance of using FIFO (First In First Out) when putting out merchandise. This could be difficult for the team when they were being pushed for time (which was always). I would audit behind them and sometimes find shortcuts had been taken. Occasionally a worker pulled the first item on the shelf and then put out the new merchandise and then put the first item back. This gave the impression that FIFO was followed when it really was not. Those items that were not rotated would go out of date and then we had to process them and mark them out of stock. What a waste! There were also the products we stocked that just did not sell. They may not have been the right item for our store or customers just didn’t like them. Any way you cut it the product sat there until the company issued markdowns and sold it on clearance or they went out of date. The other issue we often found with out of date product was when the merchandise was vendor supplied and stocked and the vendor failed to give timely vendor credits on goods that were not selling.
The other major cause for shortage in grocery stores is due to theft. The first issue involves operational matters and can be resolved by putting good practices in place. Theft on the other hand requires another solution and that should be the use of Sensormatic labels. Labels can be used on almost anything a store carries. From canned foods to steaks, there is a remedy available from Sensormatic security systems for nearly everything a grocer carries. Now you may not need to put a label on a can of corn but you can put a Sensormatic APX Microwavable Roll Label in meat soaker pads or under the meat trays for those expensive cuts of beef and pork. Perhaps your store carries some health and beauty items as well as foods you can protect these with the HBC labels. There are also hard tags available that can protect higher end merchandise such as infant formula. All of the Sensormatic labels and tags carried by Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) are proven to stop shoplifting and that is the reason they are recommended by LPSI for their clients.
Why the fuss about grocery store shrink? It is a concern because “Shrinkage as a % of revenue 2017-2018” came in at a whopping 1.90% according to the Sensormatic Global Shrink Index (pg. 43). As I was looking for some specific grocery store theft statistics I found something I wasn’t quite expecting. According to one website I browse, they pulled some statistics from businessinsurance.org listing 9 of the top items stolen from stores. Topping that list was meat and coming in at number three on the list was baby formula! Operations may be causing some of your shortage but you cannot discount the impact theft is having on your store as well. You have to stop shoplifting if you are going to make a difference in your shortage results.
Equipping your store with an electronic article surveillance system from Sensormatic and protecting your merchandise with Sensormatic labels you can be certain you will reduce theft. Purchase that system from LPSI and you not only enjoy the benefits of owning a Sensormatic security system you receive free Loss Prevention training from LPSI. You won’t find an equivalent offer from any other company. If you are concerned about the cost of a system LPSI also has financing available for qualifying businesses. Don’t waste any more time find out more about how LPSI can help you make your business grow as you reduce shortage.
Get more information on Sensormatic labels, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
#10 WAB
Is A Sensormatic System The Cure To All My Shoplifting Woes?
The short answer is NO a Sensormatic System is not the total solution. By itself, your Sensormatic System is not going to stop all your shoplifting problems. However, it will be a VERY important part of the puzzle. As the former Director of Loss Prevention for several major companies, I have more than just a little experience with this topic. I started my loss prevention career at the store level, apprehending shoplifters. As I moved closer to the Board Room, eventually as the Chairman of the Board for the Georgia Retail Association, I saw what it took for companies large and small to fix the shoplifting problem.
For medium to small retailers there are two solutions to shoplifting. The first part is an Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) system such as a Sensormatic System. The second part to the solution is an alert and WELL trained staff. I outline most of that in my book which is available online at Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. So let’s explore that in a bit more depth.
Sensormatic systems although simple in scope utilize very complex commercial grade equipment. This equipment is pretty straight forward to the retailer and their staff. It consists of pedestals at the customer doors that detect specialized Sensormatic labels and tags that are placed by staff on merchandise. These labels and tags are either deactivated (labels) or removed (tags) at checkout.
A legitimate customer that makes a purchase walks out the door with their merchandise and goes on their way. A shoplifter that attempts to steal merchandise triggers the pedestals visual and audible alarm, alerting staff. Merchandise is protected 24/7. Labels are disposable and after deactivation go out the door with the merchandise packaging. Tags or more correctly “hard tags” are removed by staff to be reused over and over.
Sensormatic Systems are very cost effective, even more so when you consider what the real cost of a stolen piece of merchandise is. If you lose a $50 piece of merchandise take that number and divide it by your after expenses profit margin (the average is about 2%). So $50/0.02 = $2500.00. That is what you will have to sell to break even on the $50 loss!
The second and as important side to keeping shoplifters at bay is keeping your staff trained. We can help you with this. Our philosophy is that if you are profitable then so are we. Just installing a Sensormatic System without training will not work. At first, you would see some benefit but your losses will begin to creep back up. The same is also true in reverse. Training without a system will not deliver long-term, sustained benefits.
So what kind of training do you and your staff need? Of course, we want you to know how to use the system. How it functions, what problems can arise and how to use Sensormatic tags and labels to their maximum benefit. However, you have to go further. What do you do when you encounter a situation when a customer triggers and alarm? You must have a consistent, customer service approach to an alarm.
In addition we also teach you how to spot and deter shoplifters. The Sensormatic System is your backup. We want to deter the shoplifter the moment they come into the store. It is actually quite easy to spot a shoplifter, if you know what to look for. Once you suspect that someone is trying or may steal from you then you need to approach that situation with certain customer service skills that will deter the shoplifter but delight the good customer. Our method may even lead to add-on sales from your good customers. You see shoplifters hate attention. We help you to exploit that.
So a Sensormatic System and support by Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. together will help you to cure your shoplifting woes. Contact us today about a Sensormatic System for your store and learn more about our great training program that you get FREE of charge with your system. Call 1-770-426-0547 today.
The short answer is NO a Sensormatic System is not the total solution. By itself, your Sensormatic System is not going to stop all your shoplifting problems. However, it will be a VERY important part of the puzzle. As the former Director of Loss Prevention for several major companies, I have more than just a little experience with this topic. I started my loss prevention career at the store level, apprehending shoplifters. As I moved closer to the Board Room, eventually as the Chairman of the Board for the Georgia Retail Association, I saw what it took for companies large and small to fix the shoplifting problem.
For medium to small retailers there are two solutions to shoplifting. The first part is an Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) system such as a Sensormatic System. The second part to the solution is an alert and WELL trained staff. I outline most of that in my book which is available online at Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. So let’s explore that in a bit more depth.
Sensormatic systems although simple in scope utilize very complex commercial grade equipment. This equipment is pretty straight forward to the retailer and their staff. It consists of pedestals at the customer doors that detect specialized Sensormatic labels and tags that are placed by staff on merchandise. These labels and tags are either deactivated (labels) or removed (tags) at checkout.
A legitimate customer that makes a purchase walks out the door with their merchandise and goes on their way. A shoplifter that attempts to steal merchandise triggers the pedestals visual and audible alarm, alerting staff. Merchandise is protected 24/7. Labels are disposable and after deactivation go out the door with the merchandise packaging. Tags or more correctly “hard tags” are removed by staff to be reused over and over.
Sensormatic Systems are very cost effective, even more so when you consider what the real cost of a stolen piece of merchandise is. If you lose a $50 piece of merchandise take that number and divide it by your after expenses profit margin (the average is about 2%). So $50/0.02 = $2500.00. That is what you will have to sell to break even on the $50 loss!
The second and as important side to keeping shoplifters at bay is keeping your staff trained. We can help you with this. Our philosophy is that if you are profitable then so are we. Just installing a Sensormatic System without training will not work. At first, you would see some benefit but your losses will begin to creep back up. The same is also true in reverse. Training without a system will not deliver long-term, sustained benefits.
So what kind of training do you and your staff need? Of course, we want you to know how to use the system. How it functions, what problems can arise and how to use Sensormatic hard tags and labels to their maximum benefit. However, you have to go further. What do you do when you encounter a situation when a customer triggers and alarm? You must have a consistent, customer service approach to an alarm.
In addition we also teach you how to spot and deter shoplifters. The Sensormatic System is your backup. We want to deter the shoplifter the moment they come into the store. It is actually quite easy to spot a shoplifter, if you know what to look for. Once you suspect that someone is trying or may steal from you then you need to approach that situation with certain customer service skills that will deter the shoplifter but delight the good customer. Our method may even lead to add-on sales from your good customers. You see shoplifters hate attention. We help you to exploit that.
So a Sensormatic System and support by Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. together will help you to cure your shoplifting woes. Contact us today about a Sensormatic System for your store and learn more about our great training program that you get FREE of charge with your system. Call 1-770-426-0547 today.
Prevent Shoplifting -3 WC Blog 801
Sensormatic Safers-3
Sensormatic Safers Prevent Petty Larceny Of Pocketable Products
The more I continue to work in retail the more it seems stores have to work harder to prevent shoplifting and theft. I have seen all kinds of things stolen and sometimes I still can’t believe the missing items I find while working on the salesfloor. I have found empty pen refill packages and one Sharpie marker out of a package of 5 missing from a package. I have even found an empty package for store brand tape! C’mon if you’re going to have sticky fingers do you really need store brand tape? Yes, there are all sorts of odd things that can go missing and working the salesfloor I find a lot of empty packages for these products. There are also items that are stolen and I never would have thought about them as high theft items until I found out how frequently crooks will try to return them for a cash refund. In the store where I work one such category of merchandise is label maker tape. Good grief some of these can be nearly $25 for a single tape package and a double tape pack can be almost $40. From my perspective as someone who was in Loss Prevention for about 14 years I look at these tapes and see how small the packages are. They can easily be picked up and placed in a pocket and you would never know it.
Items such as the label maker tapes are a popular because they present a small risk of being caught for a high reward. If you think about it placing a double pack in two jacket pockets and walking out of a store is a pretty easy $80 haul. A good shoplifter can get in and out of a store in less than five minutes with your merchandise. Sensormatic Safers are a solution to this problem and they work with a Sensormatic pedestals. Ah, I know you think you have me now. You have already addressed this possibility in your store policies. YOU don’t allow your store to take back no-receipt merchandise. Let me clue you in on something, your policy is not going to prevent shoplifting I can guarantee that. I have dealt with professional shoplifters and they are a step ahead of you. Since you won’t take back the stolen products then they are more than willing to take it to another business that sells the same product and will give a no-receipt cash refund or merchandise card. If it is a merchandise card they will sell that on the street. An $80 merchandise card can still pull in $20 – $40 in cash. Now you have me in a corner, you are the only store selling the tapes in your area so there is nowhere else to take them. Nice try, please let me refer you to the internet and online market places such as eBay. If that doesn’t convince you there is probably a flea market or mom and pop shop in your area you might want to visit.
On the bright side Sensormatic Safers are an affordable and effective method to stymie shoplifters who look for small pieces of merchandise to steal. Flexible Safers are sturdy, locking pouches that incorporate electronic article surveillance that makes it much easier for retailers to prevent shoplifting of those pocketable prizes. The best theft scenario for a shoplifter is to walk into a store with no merchandise protection, no Loss Prevention measures in place and poor customer service. This is the perfect hunting ground for a crooked customer. The addition of an anti-theft system and tags and labels is the first step in deterring criminal activity and reducing theft related shortage.
Remember, I started this article talking about theft that surprised me and has caught me off-guard to some extent. Not everything has to be protected no matter how silly it is to steal such as pen refills. For those items that SHOULD be protected such as label maker tape, ink jet printer cartridges and even batteries Sensormatic Safers are the perfect solution for your store. Pocketable products may be costing you more than pocket change, Sensormatic has the right solution for all the items you sell.
For more information on Sensormatic Safers contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
The more I continue to work in retail the more it seems stores have to work harder to prevent shoplifting and theft. I have seen all kinds of things stolen and sometimes I still can’t believe the missing items I find while working on the salesfloor. I have found empty pen refill packages and one Sharpie marker out of a package of 5 missing from a package. I have even found an empty package for store brand tape! C’mon if you’re going to have sticky fingers do you really need store brand tape? Yes, there are all sorts of odd things that can go missing and working the salesfloor I find a lot of empty packages for these products. There are also items that are stolen and I never would have thought about them as high theft items until I found out how frequently crooks will try to return them for a cash refund. In the store where I work one such category of merchandise is label maker tape. Good grief some of these can be nearly $25 for a single tape package and a double tape pack can be almost $40. From my perspective as someone who was in Loss Prevention for about 14 years I look at these tapes and see how small the packages are. They can easily be picked up and placed in a pocket and you would never know it.
Items such as the label maker tapes are a popular because they present a small risk of being caught for a high reward. If you think about it placing a double pack in two jacket pockets and walking out of a store is a pretty easy $80 haul. A good shoplifter can get in and out of a store in less than five minutes with your merchandise. Sensormatic Safers are a solution to this problem and they work with a Sensormatic pedestals. Ah, I know you think you have me now. You have already addressed this possibility in your store policies. YOU don’t allow your store to take back no-receipt merchandise. Let me clue you in on something, your policy is not going to prevent shoplifting I can guarantee that. I have dealt with professional shoplifters and they are a step ahead of you. Since you won’t take back the stolen products then they are more than willing to take it to another business that sells the same product and will give a no-receipt cash refund or merchandise card. If it is a merchandise card they will sell that on the street. An $80 merchandise card can still pull in $20 – $40 in cash. Now you have me in a corner, you are the only store selling the tapes in your area so there is nowhere else to take them. Nice try, please let me refer you to the internet and online market places such as eBay. If that doesn’t convince you there is probably a flea market or mom and pop shop in your area you might want to visit.
On the bright side Sensormatic Safers are an affordable and effective method to stymie shoplifters who look for small pieces of merchandise to steal. Flexible Safers are sturdy, locking pouches that incorporate electronic article surveillance that makes it much easier for retailers to prevent shoplifting of those pocketable prizes. The best theft scenario for a shoplifter is to walk into a store with no merchandise protection, no Loss Prevention measures in place and poor customer service. This is the perfect hunting ground for a crooked customer. The addition of an anti-theft system and tags and labels is the first step in deterring criminal activity and reducing theft related shortage.
Remember, I started this article talking about theft that surprised me and has caught me off-guard to some extent. Not everything has to be protected no matter how silly it is to steal such as pen refills. For those items that SHOULD be protected such as label maker tape, ink jet printer cartridges and even batteries Sensormatic Safers are the perfect solution for your store. Pocketable products may be costing you more than pocket change, Sensormatic has the right solution for all the items you sell.
For more information on Sensormatic Safers, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Security Tags On Clothes –3 WC Blog 716
Sensormatic Tags – 3
Don’t Be Detached From Clothing Theft – Use Sensormatic Tags
Do you use security tags on clothes in your store? Are they effective at stopping theft? I ask these questions after reading an article on pjstar.com, “Three suspected shoplifters arrested at J.C. Penney Wednesday” by Leslie Renken, Nov. 15, 2018. She reports that three men were accused of stealing $1,420 worth of athletic clothing. That is no small amount of theft. While that kind of loss by itself may not be a huge blow to a retail chain like Penney’s, it could be a huge blow to a small or medium sized store. Now I have shopped at this chain before and I do know that they use some type of electronic article surveillance tags on some merchandise but I do not know if they are Sensormatic tags or another brand. I also do not know if the items the men were attempting to steal were tagged or not though the article mentions that one of the men appeared to be, “trying to remove the security tab on the bag”. I have no idea what this was in reference to or what the story meant by security tab. What I do know from my many years in Loss Prevention is that the use of anti-theft tags does work. What is not helpful is when shoplifters get a hold of handheld detachers from stores and use them at other locations.
When a retail store arms itself with an electronic article surveillance system (EAS) that business will place security tags on clothes or other merchandise to prevent theft. Tagging may take place in a stockroom or on the salesfloor. The employees doing the tagging should have handheld tag detachers with them while working. There are times when tagging you don’t place a tag on properly or in the wrong location and it needs to be removed and reattached. Having put tags on merchandise myself, I know that errors happen. I have pinned a tag through both sides of a shirt sleeve that would have prevented a customer from trying it on. We used Sensormatic tags on clothing and on comforters to keep people from unzipping a comforter and hiding products inside of them. I would occasionally find a zipper that could be pulled open because another employee did not know how to tag it properly. One way to remove these tags was to gather up all the problem items, take them to the register and detach the tags then attach them properly. The other method was to use a portable detacher and take off the tag where you are working and reattach it. Just from a productivity standpoint this makes more sense than the former. Think about the time it would take to gather up all of those items, go through the steps and then have to restock that merchandise. Portable detachers just make sense to carry when you are protecting goods with an EAS system.
I have found that not all stores do a great job accounting for their security devices. The store may not have a system in place to sign in or out portable detachers and so when a device is misplaced or lost no one realizes it. One feature that makes Sensormatic portable detachers a better choice than some others is that they have internal EAS protection to make them sound the EAS towers if someone tries to steal one. That said let’s face it not all stores do an equally good job at responding to system alarms. Those stores that have not trained their personnel to quickly respond to alarms are the same ones that will probably not be as careful about controlling their detachers. That means there are instances when detachment devices are stolen and may be sold over the internet or used by those persons to shoplift in other stores. This is why even stores that use security tags on clothes need to still train employees on customer service. You never know who is in your store and when customer service is a focus your team will improve sales but also remove opportunity for theft, as we saw in the case above even if the perpetrator has a detachment device.
Sensormatic tags along with a strong customer service culture are a sure means to dramatically reduce shortage. That is why Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. encourages retailers of ALL sizes stop theft through a multi-pronged approach. They support the installation of an EAS system but they also offer manager training to prevent theft, pre-employment drug and background screening and even an Applicant Management Center all of which can aid in improved profits. Find out more about how you can protect your store from clothing theft and other shoplifting and make your business more profitable.
Get more information on Sensormatic tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
Do you use security tags on clothes in your store? Are they effective at stopping theft? I ask these questions after reading an article on pjstar.com, “Three suspected shoplifters arrested at J.C. Penney Wednesday” by Leslie Renken, Nov. 15, 2018. She reports that three men were accused of stealing $1,420 worth of athletic clothing. That is no small amount of theft. While that kind of loss by itself may not be a huge blow to a retail chain like Penney’s, it could be a huge blow to a small or medium sized store. Now I have shopped at this chain before and I do know that they use some type of electronic article surveillance tags on some merchandise but I do not know if they are Sensormatic tags or another brand. I also do not know if the items the men were attempting to steal were tagged or not though the article mentions that one of the men appeared to be, “trying to remove the security tab on the bag”. I have no idea what this was in reference to or what the story meant by security tab. What I do know from my many years in Loss Prevention is that the use of anti-theft tags does work. What is not helpful is when shoplifters get a hold of handheld detachers from stores and use them at other locations.
When a retail store arms itself with an electronic article surveillance system (EAS) that business will place security tags on clothes or other merchandise to prevent theft. Tagging may take place in a stockroom or on the salesfloor. The employees doing the tagging should have handheld tag detachers with them while working. There are times when tagging you don’t place a tag on properly or in the wrong location and it needs to be removed and reattached. Having put tags on merchandise myself, I know that errors happen. I have pinned a tag through both sides of a shirt sleeve that would have prevented a customer from trying it on. We used Sensormatic tags on clothing and on comforters to keep people from unzipping a comforter and hiding products inside of them. I would occasionally find a zipper that could be pulled open because another employee did not know how to tag it properly. One way to remove these tags was to gather up all the problem items, take them to the register and detach the tags then attach them properly. The other method was to use a portable detacher and take off the tag where you are working and reattach it. Just from a productivity standpoint this makes more sense than the former. Think about the time it would take to gather up all of those items, go through the steps and then have to restock that merchandise. Portable detachers just make sense to carry when you are protecting goods with an EAS system.
I have found that not all stores do a great job accounting for their security devices. The store may not have a system in place to sign in or out portable detachers and so when a device is misplaced or lost no one realizes it. Let’s face it not all stores do an equally good job at responding to system alarms. Those stores that have not trained their personnel to quickly respond to alarms are the same ones that will probably not be as careful about controlling their detachers. That means there are instances when detachment devices are stolen and may be sold over the internet or used by those persons to shoplift in other stores. This is why even stores that use security tags on clothes need to still train employees on customer service. You never know who is in your store and when customer service is a focus your team will improve sales but also remove opportunity for theft, as we saw in the case above even if the perpetrator has a detachment device.
Sensormatic tags along with a strong customer service culture are a sure means to dramatically reduce shortage. That is why Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. encourages retailers of ALL sizes stop theft through a multi-pronged approach. They support the installation of an EAS system but they also offer manager training to prevent theft, pre-employment drug and background screening and even an Applicant Management Center all of which can aid in improved profits. Find out more about how you can protect your store from clothing theft and other shoplifting and make your business more profitable.
Get more information on Sensormatic tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
