Protect Health and Beauty Products-3 WC Blog 294
Alpha Keepers-5
Prevent Shoplifting-3
Retail Anti-Theft Devices-3
Perplexed By Plexi-glass Panels, A Retail Loss Prevention Manager Offers Alpha Keepers As Better Retail Anti-Theft Devices
I will admit it I can be curious especially when it comes to retail anti-theft devices but my wife says I’m nosey. If I’m out shopping and I see something that looks like it is supposed to deter theft in some way I’m probably going to check it out. Not long ago I was visiting a chain store with my wife and we wandered through the household supplies section. I observed merchandise on the shelf and the front of the shelf had a clear, plexi-glass cover over it that appeared to be protecting the merchandise. I didn’t see a lock and there wasn’t enough space to remove a single item at a time so then I wondered if it was designed to prevent shoplifting or just keep items from falling off the shelf. When we got to the other end of the store we found more of these plexi-glass shields in use to protect health and beauty products and I couldn’t resist the temptation. I had to know what they would do so I tried to lift one up. Yikes! A chiming noise sounded all the way to the front of the store. Hmmm, would it do it again? It sure did and before I could test it once more my wife made me stop. Then it dawned on me, these were retail anti-theft devices to stop shoplifting and the chime was to alert employees to come to the area and offer assistance. We continued looking around this area for several minutes but no one came to see if I needed help. Since I have extensive experience in Retail Loss Prevention I was annoyed, what is the purpose of having any type of device to prevent shoplifting if it isn’t going to be used as intended? This is one of the reasons I like Alpha Keepers so much. They protect merchandise and still allow customers to take the product off the shelf and walk around with it or take it to the checkout counter.
Alpha Keepers are superior to lock up display cases, show cases and even plexi-glass shields. Alpha Keepers are made of a clear, polycarbonate material making them super-strong and difficult to break. They have a hinged, locking door that requires a special detachment tool to open them, keeping thieves from gaining access to the item in the box. Keepers also come in a variety sizes to cover a wide variety of merchandise. They can protect health and beauty products to electronics items such as SD cards. Since the Alpha boxes are clear, customers can pick up the box, view the packaging and read information to help them make an informed purchasing decision. Show cases only permit limited viewing and if a patron wants a closer look they have to find an employee to open the case and hover over them while the patron examines the product. Think about how uncomfortable this can be if the merchandise is some type of personal hygiene product! The employee also has to stay with the patron as long as that person wants to continue to browse products for example in a videogame display case. A Keeper requires no hovering and your employees can be productive with other customer service issues or tasks.
In the experience I referenced above, I have to assume the purpose of a chiming noise was to get an associate to check on me to ensure I wasn’t cleaning off the shelf of all the products. The lack of response did not impress me and I can only assume this was not an isolated incident. Had I been a thief there was nothing the system was doing to protect health and beauty products or the air fresheners at the other end of the store (not that I knew there was a high demand on the black market for air fresheners or scented candles). Alpha Keepers would be a better alternative for this store to prevent shoplifting. The only time an associate would need to respond to any noise would be to the electronic article surveillance antenna alarm if a criminal attempted to exit the building with merchandise protected in a Keeper box.
Rather than use retail anti-theft devices such as display cases that hinder customer access to products and require significant employee payroll hours over the course of a year to maintain, why not use Alpha Keepers? You will increase sales through increased customer access and you will decrease shortage through real product protection.
Alpha Keepers are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547and let’s talk.
I will admit it I can be curious especially when it comes to retail anti-theft devices but my wife says I’m nosey. If I’m out shopping and I see something that looks like it is supposed to deter theft in some way I’m probably going to check it out. Not long ago I was visiting a chain store with my wife and we wandered through the household supplies section. I observed merchandise on the shelf and the front of the shelf had a clear, plexi-glass cover over it that appeared to be protecting the merchandise. I didn’t see a lock and there wasn’t enough space to remove a single item at a time so then I wondered if it was designed to prevent shoplifting or just keep items from falling off the shelf. When we got to the other end of the store we found more of these plexi-glass shields in use to protect health and beauty products and I couldn’t resist the temptation. I had to know what they would do so I tried to lift one up. Yikes! A chiming noise sounded all the way to the front of the store. Hmmm, would it do it again? It sure did and before I could test it once more my wife made me stop. Then it dawned on me, these were retail anti-theft devices to stop shoplifting and the chime was to alert employees to come to the area and offer assistance. We continued looking around this area for several minutes but no one came to see if I needed help. Since I have extensive experience in Retail Loss Prevention I was annoyed, what is the purpose of having any type of device to prevent shoplifting if it isn’t going to be used as intended? This is one of the reasons I like Alpha Keepers so much. They protect merchandise and still allow customers to take the product off the shelf and walk around with it or take it to the checkout counter.
Alpha Keepers are superior to lock up display cases, show cases and even plexi-glass shields. Alpha Keepers are made of a clear, polycarbonate material making them super-strong and difficult to break. They have a hinged, locking door that requires a special detachment tool to open them, keeping thieves from gaining access to the item in the box. Keepers also come in a variety sizes to cover a wide variety of merchandise. They can protect health and beauty products to electronics items such as SD cards. Since the Alpha boxes are clear, customers can pick up the box, view the packaging and read information to help them make an informed purchasing decision. Show cases only permit limited viewing and if a patron wants a closer look they have to find an employee to open the case and hover over them while the patron examines the product. Think about how uncomfortable this can be if the merchandise is some type of personal hygiene product! The employee also has to stay with the patron as long as that person wants to continue to browse products for example in a videogame display case. A Keeper requires no hovering and your employees can be productive with other customer service issues or tasks.
In the experience I referenced above, I have to assume the purpose of a chiming noise was to get an associate to check on me to ensure I wasn’t cleaning off the shelf of all the products. The lack of response did not impress me and I can only assume this was not an isolated incident. Had I been a thief there was nothing the system was doing to protect health and beauty products or the air fresheners at the other end of the store (not that I knew there was a high demand on the black market for air fresheners or scented candles). Alpha Keepers would be a better alternative for this store to prevent shoplifting. The only time an associate would need to respond to any noise would be to the electronic article surveillance antenna alarm if a criminal attempted to exit the building with merchandise protected in a Keeper box.
Rather than use retail anti-theft devices such as display cases that hinder customer access to products and require significant employee payroll hours over the course of a year to maintain, why not use Alpha Keepers? You will increase sales through increased customer access and you will decrease shortage through real product protection.
Alpha Keepers are important and we can help you with them. Call 1.770.426.0547and let’s talk.
Stop shoplifting-4 WC blog 288
Electronic Article Surveillance-4
Checkpoint Security Tags-5
EAS labels-5
Using Checkpoint Security Tags Helps Stop Shoplifting And Prevent Theft On Inventory Night (And Other Tips For A Successful Inventory)
It seems like only a few months ago when I was helping out with inventory at the store I currently work for! Having nearly 26 years of retail and inventory experience to draw from, I frequently help identify potential problem areas and provide suggestions to my current store manager to try to make the inventory process easier and more accurate. Right now I work for an office supply store but I have experience in department stores and big box retail stores as well. There are tips and strategies I have incorporated over the years that can be useful in preparing for inventory in almost any situation. For example, all stores I have worked for have used Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) tags or EAS labels to stop shoplifting. Prep time is the time to ensure all merchandise has the appropriate Checkpoint security tags on them whether it is clothing, electronics, toys or a combination of those products your store sells. Using the time leading up to inventory to apply EAS labels and Checkpoint security tags not only helps to stop shoplifting later on, it helps to prevent theft by inventory counters or your own staff on inventory night.
I tend to forget that not all of the readers are familiar with electronic article surveillance or how Checkpoint security tags or EAS labels work or stop shoplifting. Let me give a brief explanation. Electronic article surveillance uses radio frequency emitting tags and radio frequency receiver antennas to create an alarm system. When an EAS label (usually a soft-style tag) or Checkpoint security tag (which can be a hard tag or soft label) is carried into the receiving range of an electronic article surveillance antenna, an alarm in the antenna is activated. Usually this is a loud, audible alarm accompanied by flashing LED lights. The alarm alerts employees and they can respond and conduct receipt checks and recover unpaid merchandise. Often simply having the EAS labels on merchandise is enough to deter a thief from stealing but when it isn’t, the antenna alarm and employee response does result in preventing merchandise from being stolen.
Here are some other things to watch for that can make your inventory process easier or more accurate. Again, these are lessons I have learned over the many years I have in preparing stores for inventory:
• When prepping in a stockroom, watch out for items that may be multiple items in a package. An example would be socks. Some socks are sold as multiple pairs in a package, perhaps a package of 10 socks for $14. Other packages are shipped with multiple socks that are intended to be separated as individual units. Not catching this can result in counting a package of 10 socks intended to be sold individually as 1 unit. The store “loses” 9 pair of socks. Make sure packages are properly marked by how many units are in them OR separate out the package.
• Boxes of batteries may be shipped to a store and although a box may contain 20 individual packages, I have seen the shipping box counted as 1 unit. Had I not caught the error, due to poor prep or an inventory counter error, we would have “lost” 19 packages of batteries.
• Look for merchandise that gets stocked on the floor in a manner that can confuse an inventory counter. An example of this we have to watch for at an office supply store is 3-ring binders. They are often stocked so that two are inserted into each other to allow more merchandise to be on the floor. The issue at inventory time is it can look like one selling unit. Be sure to show this to your inventory representative during a pre-inventory walk-through so they can make a note of it for their plans. On inventory night audit this area well.
• Train employees to look for and report mis-ticketed items shipped to the store from a warehouse. In one store I worked for we called these mis-picks. This should be a year round practice that can significantly hurt inventory. Recently I found a chair shipped to the store with the wrong SKU number. This threw off our counts and impacted replenishment and would have impacted inventory had I not noticed the error and reported it so management could correct the counts.
These are just a few tips that can make a BIG impact on inventory. Stop shoplifting and operational shortage and see how profitable your store can be!
Get more information on Checkpoint Security Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
It seems like only a few months ago when I was helping out with inventory at the store I currently work for! Having nearly 26 years of retail and inventory experience to draw from, I frequently help identify potential problem areas and provide suggestions to my current store manager to try to make the inventory process easier and more accurate. Right now I work for an office supply store but I have experience in department stores and big box retail stores as well. There are tips and strategies I have incorporated over the years that can be useful in preparing for inventory in almost any situation. For example, all stores I have worked for have used Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) tags or EAS labels to stop shoplifting. Prep time is the time to ensure all merchandise has the appropriate Checkpoint security tags on them whether it is clothing, electronics, toys or a combination of those products your store sells. Using the time leading up to inventory to apply EAS labels and Checkpoint security tags not only helps to stop shoplifting later on, it helps to prevent theft by inventory counters or your own staff on inventory night.
I tend to forget that not all of the readers are familiar with electronic article surveillance or how Checkpoint security tags or EAS labels work or stop shoplifting. Let me give a brief explanation. Electronic article surveillance uses radio frequency emitting tags and radio frequency receiver antennas to create an alarm system. When an EAS label (usually a soft-style tag) or Checkpoint security tags (which can be a hard tag or soft label) is carried into the receiving range of an electronic article surveillance antenna, an alarm in the antenna is activated. Usually this is a loud, audible alarm accompanied by flashing LED lights. The alarm alerts employees and they can respond and conduct receipt checks and recover unpaid merchandise. Often simply having the EAS labels on merchandise is enough to deter a thief from stealing but when it isn’t, the antenna alarm and employee response does result in preventing merchandise from being stolen.
Here are some other things to watch for that can make your inventory process easier or more accurate. Again, these are lessons I have learned over the many years I have in preparing stores for inventory:
• When prepping in a stockroom, watch out for items that may be multiple items in a package. An example would be socks. Some socks are sold as multiple pairs in a package, perhaps a package of 10 socks for $14. Other packages are shipped with multiple socks that are intended to be separated as individual units. Not catching this can result in counting a package of 10 socks intended to be sold individually as 1 unit. The store “loses” 9 pair of socks. Make sure packages are properly marked by how many units are in them OR separate out the package.
• Boxes of batteries may be shipped to a store and although a box may contain 20 individual packages, I have seen the shipping box counted as 1 unit. Had I not caught the error, due to poor prep or an inventory counter error, we would have “lost” 19 packages of batteries.
• Look for merchandise that gets stocked on the floor in a manner that can confuse an inventory counter. An example of this we have to watch for at an office supply store is 3-ring binders. They are often stocked so that two are inserted into each other to allow more merchandise to be on the floor. The issue at inventory time is it can look like one selling unit. Be sure to show this to your inventory representative during a pre-inventory walk-through so they can make a note of it for their plans. On inventory night audit this area well.
• Train employees to look for and report mis-ticketed items shipped to the store from a warehouse. In one store I worked for we called these mis-picks. This should be a year round practice that can significantly hurt inventory. Recently I found a chair shipped to the store with the wrong SKU number. This threw off our counts and impacted replenishment and would have impacted inventory had I not noticed the error and reported it so management could correct the counts.
These are just a few tips that can make a BIG impact on inventory. Stop shoplifting and operational shortage and see how profitable your store can be!
Get more information on Checkpoint Security Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
AA Blog 46
Checkpoint Label: 5
Stop shoplifting: 3
Inventory Control: 3
Are You Having A Problem Maintaining A Current Inventory Due To Shoplifting? Checkpoint Labels Can Provide a Cost-Efficient Means To Protect All Your Products Safely and Efficiently.
As a consumer I typically do not have a certain item that I shop for on a regular basis or that I have a hard time locating when I need it. I am a pretty simple person and my needs are pretty easily met, however that changed recently. I am a mother of three now, which I never thought would happen. All of my children are spread out quite a bit in age. My first daughter is now 18 and in college, and initially she was going to be our one and only child, but as you know life changes things. Unexpectedly we learned ten years in that we were having another baby, who is now 8. Although unplanned she was well received and I couldn’t think of my life any other way. I got divorced about 4 years ago and remarried a man who had never been married and had no children, which brought this topic to the forefront. Needless to say it was decided we would try one more time, and were blessed with a baby boy. Now if you are a parent, I don’t need to tell you how much can change when you have babies a decade or so apart. I was astonished by all of the products out there that made life much more convenient than they did almost 20 years ago. Although, this also caused me to learn how hard it can be to find a product that you need on a regular basis. My son had some stomach issues, which resulted in his need for a sensitive formula. He went through a lot of formula and every time I needed more, I could never find it. I would literally travel or call at least ten stores in my area to look for the formula I needed, just to find them out of stock. If I did find it, I would purchase at least 6 or more at a time, knowing that the product was hard to find. This can be rather expensive since they cost almost $30.00 a can, but I didn’t have much choice. It made me wonder why there was such an issue maintaining a proper inventory on this item. Was it hard to get from the manufacturer? Did they feel they didn’t sell it frequently enough to stock a large quantity? Or did they have an inventory control problem, which prevented them from having an accurate count? I am not quite sure, but at $30 a can, I can presume that theft may be an issue. If theft is an issue, which knowing the industry, I can safely say it probably accounts for some of it, I would recommend they use a Checkpoint label to stop shoplifting in their store.
Checkpoint labels offer protection for a wide variety of products. They provide a convenient and inexpensive means to protect all your products and stop shoplifting. The enhanced performance labels are equipped with EAS technology, and are designed to be even more detectable, in comparison to other tags on the market. They have a strong adhesive that prevents removal in the store and they have less EAS failures than other brands. The Checkpoint labels are very convenient and can be easily placed on the products, with an applicator, for in store application. These tags can also be printed on site, to allow for individualization, which can incorporate the pricing, logo and other information into one easy to use tag. These tags can be safely placed on any item, to include food.
I am not sure if my troubles finding in stock formula was related to theft or if it was simply an inventory control problem, but I do know that Checkpoint labels would be a great way to stop shoplifting of expensive products like these, and many others. If you are having inventory control problems, associated with theft, I recommend these labels. They are a convenient and cost-efficient way to protect all your items, reduce shrinkage and increase profit.
Need information on Checkpoint Labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
As a consumer I typically do not have a certain item that I shop for on a regular basis or that I have a hard time locating when I need it. I am a pretty simple person and my needs are pretty easily met, however that changed recently. I am a mother of three now, which I never thought would happen. All of my children are spread out quite a bit in age. My first daughter is now 18 and in college, and initially she was going to be our one and only child, but as you know life changes things. Unexpectedly we learned ten years in that we were having another baby, who is now 8. Although unplanned she was well received and I couldn’t think of my life any other way. I got divorced about 4 years ago and remarried a man who had never been married and had no children, which brought this topic to the forefront. Needless to say it was decided we would try one more time, and were blessed with a baby boy. Now if you are a parent, I don’t need to tell you how much can change when you have babies a decade or so apart. I was astonished by all of the products out there that made life much more convenient than they did almost 20 years ago. Although, this also caused me to learn how hard it can be to find a product that you need on a regular basis. My son had some stomach issues, which resulted in his need for a sensitive formula. He went through a lot of formula and every time I needed more, I could never find it. I would literally travel or call at least ten stores in my area to look for the formula I needed, just to find them out of stock. If I did find it, I would purchase at least 6 or more at a time, knowing that the product was hard to find. This can be rather expensive since they cost almost $30.00 a can, but I didn’t have much choice. It made me wonder why there was such an issue maintaining a proper inventory on this item. Was it hard to get from the manufacturer? Did they feel they didn’t sell it frequently enough to stock a large quantity? Or did they have an inventory control problem, which prevented them from having an accurate count? I am not quite sure, but at $30 a can, I can presume that theft may be an issue. If theft is an issue, which knowing the industry, I can safely say it probably accounts for some of it, I would recommend they use a Checkpoint label to stop shoplifting in their store.
Checkpoint labels offer protection for a wide variety of products. They provide a convenient and inexpensive means to protect all your products and stop shoplifting. The enhanced performance labels are equipped with EAS technology, and are designed to be even more detectable, in comparison to other tags on the market. They have a strong adhesive that prevents removal in the store and they have less EAS failures than other brands. The Checkpoint labels are very convenient and can be easily placed on the products, with an applicator, for in store application. These tags can also be printed on site, to allow for individualization, which can incorporate the pricing, logo and other information into one easy to use tag. These tags can be safely placed on any item, to include food.
I am not sure if my troubles finding in stock formula was related to theft or if it was simply an inventory control problem, but I do know that Checkpoint labels would be a great way to stop shoplifting of expensive products like these, and many others. If you are having inventory control problems, associated with theft, I recommend these labels. They are a convenient and cost-efficient way to protect all your items, reduce shrinkage and increase profit.
Need information on Checkpoint Labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Alpha Spider Wrap-3 WC Blog 347
Retail anti-theft devices-3
Prevent shoplifting-3
Let Go Of My Lego! Toy Thieves Aren’t Playing Around And Neither Should You; Use Retail Anti-Theft Devices To Stop Shoplifting
I’m a big kid at heart and I still like walking through the toy aisles of stores to see what’s new and what continues to thrive on the market all these years later. It tickles me to see some of my favorite toys and games repackaged in order to pique the interest of today’s generation who are geared towards electronic gadgets. One all-time favorite of mine that continues to fascinate kids today are the Lego toys. They come in very small sets that sell for a few dollars to huge collector editions that sell in the hundreds of dollars. Add to the mix the cute Lego movies and video games and it’s no wonder they have been so successful. Unfortunately when something is popular with consumers, thieves see another market and it becomes a target for them. These items were popular when I was a Loss Prevention Manager trying to prevent shoplifting of them by small time crooks. Today there are theft rings targeting Lego toys and we are talking about some major dollars! I saw an online article headline on the subject and started surfing around the internet and came across several stories involving theft of Legos and not just in the U.S.:
• June 11, 2015, The Guardian.com reported police had foiled a $100,000 Lego Crime Ring
• Nov 5, 2005 Fox News website reported a Reno, Nevada man had been arrested for stealing $200,000 of Lego toys.
• August 26, 2016 King5.com reported a ring had been stealing sets valued at more than $300 each.
• Jan 19, 2017 stuff.co.nz headline: Lego crime wave hits Melbourne: Police ask for help to catch brick obsessed thief.
• March 22,2017 wrg.com: Hundreds of dollars’ worth of Legos stolen from Arlington specialty shop
Obviously Legos aren’t just for kids anymore, but trying to prevent shoplifting of these toys isn’t an easy task. When I was in the field we were limited in what we could do to protect the merchandise aside from limiting floor quantities. If I had to find a solution today my preference would be to use some type of retail anti-theft devices such as Alpha Spider Wrap to stop thieves.
There are several reasons I would lean towards the Alpha Spider Wrap for this particular product. First is that this retail anti-theft device is secured around all sides of a box. It hinders the thief from getting to the contents and removing parts and pieces from a set. A second benefit is the electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology contained in each Spider Wrap. The EAS part of the device allows it to be detected by EAS pedestals near entry/exit doors in the event anyone was to try to shoplift a box. Finally, the devices are tamper proof meaning that if a criminal attempts to cut a wire, the device sounds an alarm alerting associates to the activity.
Someone may wonder why a lock up showcase wouldn’t be a better option to prevent shoplifting. The use of showcases allows stores to fill their shelves and keeps the bad guys from getting access to merchandise you want to control. These are legitimate points but there are two major drawbacks to using showcases. First, a store has to have enough people readily available with a set of keys to respond and open a case up and that may be just so the customer can browse. If you don’t make a sale from the time spent do you think that was the best use of your employee’s time? Second and sort of related to the first, failure to respond to a customer request in a timely manner impacts the customer’s perception of your service. If people don’t feel like they are receiving great service they may not return to shop at your store. The other issue is that if someone doesn’t get immediate service at a showcase they may walk off and the opportunity for the sale is lost. Yes, showcases may keep product secure but they can hamper sales and customer service.
Using retail anti-theft devices gives retailers the flexibility to keep toy shelves full and drive up sales. Legos and other high theft merchandise are protected to prevent shoplifting and shoppers have access to goods without the requirement of a salesperson to open a case or stand with them while they browse. It is a win-win solution for store owners/managers.
Don’t let Lego lifters empty your shelves and your pockets. Try using Alpha Spider Wrap to deter thieves and watch how much your in-stock percent improves and sales increase.
Get more information on Alpha Spider Wraps, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
I’m a big kid at heart and I still like walking through the toy aisles of stores to see what’s new and what continues to thrive on the market all these years later. It tickles me to see some of my favorite toys and games repackaged in order to pique the interest of today’s generation who are geared towards electronic gadgets. One all-time favorite of mine that continues to fascinate kids today are the Lego toys. They come in very small sets that sell for a few dollars to huge collector editions that sell in the hundreds of dollars. Add to the mix the cute Lego movies and video games and it’s no wonder they have been so successful. Unfortunately when something is popular with consumers, thieves see another market and it becomes a target for them. These items were popular when I was a Loss Prevention Manager trying to prevent shoplifting of them by small time crooks. Today there are theft rings targeting Lego toys and we are talking about some major dollars! I saw an online article headline on the subject and started surfing around the internet and came across several stories involving theft of Legos and not just in the U.S.:
• June 11, 2015, The Guardian.com reported police had foiled a $100,000 Lego Crime Ring
• Nov 5, 2005 Fox News website reported a Reno, Nevada man had been arrested for stealing $200,000 of Lego toys.
• August 26, 2016 King5.com reported a ring had been stealing sets valued at more than $300 each.
• Jan 19, 2017 stuff.co.nz headline: Lego crime wave hits Melbourne: Police ask for help to catch brick obsessed thief.
• March 22,2017 wrg.com: Hundreds of dollars’ worth of Legos stolen from Arlington specialty shop
Obviously Legos aren’t just for kids anymore, but trying to prevent shoplifting of these toys isn’t an easy task. When I was in the field we were limited in what we could do to protect the merchandise aside from limiting floor quantities. If I had to find a solution today my preference would be to use some type of retail anti-theft devices such as Alpha Spider Wrap to stop thieves.
There are several reasons I would lean towards the Alpha Spider Wrap for this particular product. First is this retail anti-theft device is secured around all sides of a box. It hinders the thief from getting to the contents and removing parts and pieces from a set. A second benefit is the electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology contained in each Spider Wrap. The EAS part of the device allows it to be detected by EAS pedestals near entry/exit doors in the event anyone was to try to shoplift a box. Finally, the devices are tamper proof meaning that if a criminal attempts to cut a wire, the device sounds an alarm alerting associates to the activity.
Someone may wonder why a lock up showcase wouldn’t be a better option to prevent shoplifting. The use of showcases allows stores to fill their shelves and keeps the bad guys from getting access to merchandise you want to control. These are legitimate points but there are two major drawbacks to using showcases. First, a store has to have enough people readily available with a set of keys to respond and open a case up and that may be just so the customer can browse. If you don’t make a sale from the time spent do you think that was the best use of your employee’s time? Second and sort of related to the first, failure to respond to a customer request in a timely manner impacts the customer’s perception of your service. If people don’t feel like they are receiving great service they may not return to shop at your store. The other issue is that if someone doesn’t get immediate service at a showcase they may walk off and the opportunity for the sale is lost. Yes, showcases may keep product secure but they can hamper sales and customer service.
Using retail anti-theft devices gives retailers the flexibility to keep toy shelves full and drive up sales. Legos and other high theft merchandise are protected to prevent shoplifting and shoppers have access to goods without the requirement of a salesperson to open a case or stand with them while they browse. It is a win-win solution for store owners/managers.
Don’t let Lego lifters empty your shelves and your pockets. Try using Alpha Spider Wrap to deter thieves and watch how much your in-stock percent improves and sales increase.
Get more information on Alpha Spider Wraps, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
STOP SHOPLFITING: A STORY OF FIRSTS
I’d never worked an LP role before in my life. I was a store manager for quite a few years and really enjoyed the LP side of the business. There happen to open a district position in my area and I thought, why not just apply? To my surprise, the company gave me a chance, and I’ve never looked back. 10 years later and I’m still amazed at what I see on a daily basis. I get to help my company improve profits and I get to Stop Shoplifting. It’s the perfect balance between work and play.
The other night, I was cleaning out some files in my home office and stumbled upon some old letters. I had forgotten about this one and when I saw the name, it all came rushing back to me. There are things in life you never forget; your first kiss, your senior prom date, first job, etc. This is a story about one of my firsts in life.
I had just come back from lunch and decided to take a few laps around the store. My eyes had grown weary of an audit of Checkpoint Tags I was working on. I was still learning my new role so I spent as much time as possible talking with employees and managers to better support them in their shrink reduction goals. I visited the electronics section, as it is generally a high theft area. It was a Monday afternoon, so traffic was slow. I spoke with a few employees and the department supervisor about ways to Stop Shoplifting. The company philosophy was to use customer service to combat thieves, and I re-emphasized this to them. I made my way to the four corners of the store; proactively walking those often-overlooked areas and blind-spots. Here’s where I first locked eyes with her.
She was quite a looker if I may say so. Hair pulled up in a bun, reminiscent of a grade school librarian. She stood on the edge of the aisle, in her not-so-well-fitting jeans with holes in the knee caps and a Pink Floyd T-shirt. Her ensemble was capped with a pair of mis-matched black and orange flip flops. I approached with a smile from ear to ear, and said “hello”. There, I caught a scent of her, wafting down the aisle. A scent that I’ll never forget. This, I thought to myself, was the one.
She offered a sincere “good afternoon” to me, as I kept walking down the aisle. I turned the corner, just out of sight, but peeked around the back end-cap to just get one more look at her. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She had my complete attention, as she looked curiously at the Checkpoint Tags that were used to secure the shirts she seemed to adore.
For the next 25 minutes, I kept her in my sights, although I was too coy to let her see me. I couldn’t focus on anything else. I felt like I knew her as she visited aisle after aisle. I sensed we had so much in common, as she was just as interested in Checkpoint Tags as I was. I gazed as she seemed to drift from one corner of the store to the other. It was as if she had no other care aside from what was in front of her; no worries, no stress. As our time seemed to be fading, I watched as she slowly meandered to front of the store, where she walked right out of the door, and of my life.
NO! I thought. I couldn’t let her get away. It was destiny. No, it was fate that brought us together and the universe had put us on the same aisle, in the same store, on the same day for a reason. So, heart pumping and adrenaline coursing through my veins, I rushed outside and to my surprise found her right outside the door. Her, now taking a long drag from a freshly lit Salem-Light, looks at me as I fumble with my words. I manage to muster “Ma’am!”. She looks down to me with a half grimace on her face and she shoots me a smile. A full smile that shows all her tooth.
I catch my breath, compose myself and build the courage to continue talking. “Ma’am”, I stumble out again, “I’m for the store to Stop Shoplifting. I need you to come back inside with me to discuss the items that you didn’t pay for.” I was off the script that I had practiced for so long, but it didn’t matter. I made my point. Reluctantly, just like the very first girl I asked on a date, and after a bit of convincing that I was a nice guy, she came back inside with me. Once acquainted, I offered her a nice new bracelet set. It was silver and it even came with free room and board for the next few days at the county lock-up.
My first shoplifter!
For more information about Checkpoint Tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
I’d never worked an LP role before in my life. I was a store manager for quite a few years and really enjoyed the LP side of the business. There happen to open a district position in my area and I thought, why not just apply? To my surprise, the company gave me a chance, and I’ve never looked back. 10 years later and I’m still amazed at what I see on a daily basis. I get to help my company improve profits and I get to Stop Shoplifting. It’s the perfect balance between work and play.
The other night, I was cleaning out some files in my home office and stumbled upon some old letters. I had forgotten about this one and when I saw the name, it all came rushing back to me. There are things in life you never forget; your first kiss, your senior prom date, first job, etc. This is a story about one of my firsts in life.
I had just come back from lunch and decided to take a few laps around the store. My eyes had grown weary of an audit of Checkpoint Tags I was working on. I was still learning my new role so I spent as much time as possible talking with employees and managers to better support them in their shrink reduction goals. I visited the electronics section, as it is generally a high theft area. It was a Monday afternoon, so traffic was slow. I spoke with a few employees and the department supervisor about ways to Stop Shoplifting. The company philosophy was to use customer service to combat thieves, and I re-emphasized this to them. I made my way to the four corners of the store; proactively walking those often-overlooked areas and blind-spots. Here’s where I first locked eyes with her.
She was quite a looker if I may say so. Hair pulled up in a bun, reminiscent of a grade school librarian. She stood on the edge of the aisle, in her not-so-well-fitting jeans with holes in the knee caps and a Pink Floyd T-shirt. Her ensemble was capped with a pair of mis-matched black and orange flip flops. I approached with a smile from ear to ear, and said “hello”. There, I caught a scent of her, wafting down the aisle. A scent that I’ll never forget. This, I thought to myself, was the one.
She offered a sincere “good afternoon” to me, as I kept walking down the aisle. I turned the corner, just out of sight, but peeked around the back end-cap to just get one more look at her. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She had my complete attention, as she looked curiously at the Checkpoint Tags that were used to secure the shirts she seemed to adore.
For the next 25 minutes, I kept her in my sights, although I was too coy to let her see me. I couldn’t focus on anything else. I felt like I knew her as she visited aisle after aisle. I sensed we had so much in common, as she was just as interested in Checkpoint Tags as I was. I gazed as she seemed to drift from one corner of the store to the other. It was as if she had no other care aside from what was in front of her; no worries, no stress. As our time seemed to be fading, I watched as she slowly meandered to front of the store, where she walked right out of the door, and of my life.
NO! I thought. I couldn’t let her get away. It was destiny. No, it was fate that brought us together and the universe had put us on the same aisle, in the same store, on the same day for a reason. So, heart pumping and adrenaline coursing through my veins, I rushed outside and to my surprise found her right outside the door. Her, now taking a long drag from a freshly lit Salem-Light, looks at me as I fumble with my words. I manage to muster “Ma’am!”. She looks down to me with a half grimace on her face and she shoots me a smile. A full smile that shows all her tooth.
I had to catch my breath, compose myself and build the courage to continue talking. “Ma’am”, I stumble out again, “I’m for the store to Stop Shoplifting. I need you to come back inside with me to discuss the items that you didn’t pay for.” I was off the script that I had practiced for so long, but it didn’t matter. I made my point. Reluctantly, just like the very first girl I asked on a date, and after a bit of convincing that I was a nice guy, she came back inside with me. Once acquainted, I offered her a nice new bracelet set. It was silver and it even came with free room and board for the next few days at the county lock-up.
My first shoplifter!
For more information about Checkpoint Tags, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547.
