Retailers have always faced the challenge of preventing shoplifting, which can cause significant financial losses. In response to this problem, Sensormatic, a leading provider of retail security solutions, has developed an anti-shoplifting system that has been proven to be highly effective.
The Sensormatic anti-shoplifting system is a comprehensive solution that utilizes a combination of electronic article surveillance (EAS) and other technologies to prevent theft. The system consists of three main components: tags, pedestals, and a monitoring system. The tags are small electronic devices that are attached to products in the store. The pedestals are placed at the entrances and exits of the store and are designed to detect the tags. The monitoring system is used by store personnel to track the movement of tagged products and identify any potential theft.
Studies have shown that retailers that use the Sensormatic anti-shoplifting system experience a significant decrease in shoplifting losses. In fact, some studies have indicated that the system pays for itself in as little as five months. This is because the system is so effective at preventing theft that the savings from reduced losses quickly offset the cost of the system.
But the benefits of the Sensormatic system go beyond just preventing shoplifting. The system also provides retailers with valuable data and insights into their inventory and customer behavior. By tracking the movement of tagged products, retailers can identify which products are most popular and adjust their inventory accordingly. They can also use the data to optimize store layouts and improve customer experiences.
The Sensormatic anti-shoplifting system is a valuable investment for any retailer looking to prevent shoplifting, reduce losses, and increase profits. By utilizing advanced technology and providing valuable insights into customer behavior, the system offers a comprehensive solution that pays for itself in a short amount of time.
I have been in retail a LONG time and somewhere around 18 of those years were spent in Loss Prevention. Today I still work in retail but I have the opportunity to continue to ply my Loss Prevention skills in recommending to my manager items I think should have electronic article surveillance tags on them. Better yet is when I get to use my experience to stop shoplifting in the store. I had just such an opportunity recently while I was working. I will share the story with you in a moment and there will be pertinent tips you can employ in your own store to put a halt to theft. Before I do that I want to point out that the situation could have been avoided if the store used more electronic article surveillance (EAS) devices on products than what the company currently dictates.
Electronic Article Surveillance is a system that uses radio frequency (rf) emitting tags and rf receivers called pedestals or towers to protect merchandise from theft. Pedestals are placed at the entrances and exits of stores in order to detect a person trying to leave with unpaid, TAGGED products. These are electronic article surveillance tagsI emphasize tagged because without a protective device an item can’t be detected and this is how so many stores experience climbing shortage. Let me clarify that statement too. Retailers that have electronic article surveillance systems that are not maintained, of poor quality or do not have a strong tagging program in place also experience increased shortage. When the tagged products are carried into the range of the pedestals the pedestals have an alarm that blasts out an alert and nearby employees respond to conduct receipt and package checks. The more a store tags the more effective the deterrence value of the system.
Getting back to my recent incident, I was walking to the store from my vehicle and a manager was returning from his lunch break and stopped me. He pointed out a pick-up truck that had two males sitting in it and the manager said they had been there for a while and he had watched a female leave and enter the store. The manager said that he had called the store manager and alerted him. I got into the store and got clocked in and immediately went to the floor and began offering customer service to the female suspect. I also looked into the shopping basket and noted several items in it and that none of them had EAS tags (electronic article surveillance tags) on them. Well, I offered service and would leave the immediate area and a manager would start to watch. It took a few minutes but one of the men from the truck entered the store. The man and woman met up and were still being watched by managers but I was getting tired of the cat and mouse game. The female had enough small items that it would have been easy for her to conceal some in her purse if he had blocked for her. Without electronic article surveillance tags the alarms wouldn’t sound when they left and that would prevent an excuse for a bag check. I walked into the aisle with the couple, put on my best salesman smile and offered additional assistance. I even offered to ring them up on my mobile device. Oddly, they began saying they were uncomfortable with all of the attention and felt like they were being watched! The man even said he felt I was being pushy to ring their transaction. I smiled and let them know that one of my faults was I have been a pushy salesman for my 7 years at this company. The woman said she would put the items back and leave because she was so uncomfortable. I let her know she didn’t need to go to the trouble and I took the basket and assured her I would put the items back for her. The couple left and the three of them jumped back in the truck and left. We saved over $200.00 in merchandise through employee awareness and great customer service.
Customer service is a great way to increase sales and decrease theft but it should never be the only theft prevention measure. Use EAS tags on everything and rely on Loss Prevention Systems Inc. EAS systems for reliable technology and support.
For more information about electronic article surveillance tags contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Why do I need Loss Prevention Systems to conduct a pre-employment background checks when I could do some of this myself?
A Background Check Company does the work for you, on time and quickly.
We understand and abide by the extensive and ever changing Federal, State and Local government laws and regulations.
We search actual court house records for criminal histories. Many background check companies use commercial databases that are not complete, do not have current information and in most cases do not have any real information
Would you want to know if the applicant is a registered sex offender? If you own a daycare center or other company where children are at this is important information. But this also applies to your employee’s safety. Having a male sex offender working with a woman could cause you extensive risk. How would you feel if something were to happen you could have prevented. By the way, the laws do not allow a defense of “I did not know”. As an employer you have an obligation to know.
Does your company employ drivers? A motor vehicle check could uncover a suspended license and prior traffic convictions. Do you want a driver with your name on his uniform driving your vehicle on a suspended or revoked license?
We have tools to uncover details that an applicant may be trying to hide from you such as previous employers they do not want you to see. Did you know that one of the most lied about items on resumes and applications are the dates of employment?
In special investigative cases we can dig even deeper into a candidate’s background. In many instances the tools we use can give us so much information it can be overwhelming. In those special investigation we can give you the raw data or we can sort through it for you.
Loss Prevention Systems sticks with you throughout the process. Do not understand what all of those criminal charges mean? We can help you with that.
Need a rejection letter because the candidate did not meet your background check standards? We provide that template to you.
Want your background checks FAST? How about same day or next day turnaround as the norm for most checks.
Want to talk to a real person where you are not just some account number? In fact we do not even have account numbers. We have clients that we know by name and their changing needs. Loss Preventions goal is to be your partner and stand with you. When you call or email us you reach the same person that knows who YOU are.
Our software platform is state of the art. We are connected in some cases directly to the government databases that provide criminal records. This eliminates the middleman and gives us much more reliable information.
If we see something suspicious we let you know. This give YOU control over your background investigations.
It’s that time of year again. Shoppers will be hitting the stores and malls with giving on their minds. It’s one of the busiest times of the year for everyone, especially criminals.
Prepare yourself for the holidays by familiarizing yourself with some basic crime prevention tips to help minimize your chances of being victimized during the busy holiday season.
Be aware of the people around you. Some of them are out to commit crimes. Don’t be easily distracted; know where your shopping bags, packages, and/or other personal items are at all times. If you carry a purse or handbag, make sure not to leave them unattended. Keep an eye on your purchases.
Always keep a hand on your wallet or purse. Many purses are stolen out of shopping carts when an unsuspecting shopper turns her back or walks away from the cart momentarily. If your purse or wallet is stolen, you need to call your credit card companies and the bank immediately. Thieves do the most damage in the first couple of hours after stealing these items.
Avoid shopping alone. Take a friend or a relative to help you carry bags and/or packages.
Park in a well-lighted space, and be sure to lock the car, close the windows, and hide shopping bags and gifts in the trunk.
Avoid carrying large amounts of cash; pay with check or credit card whenever possible.
Shopping with kids? Teach them to go to a store clerk or security guard if you get separated.
When walking back to your automobile, have your lock key ready. Avoid having to look for it in your handbag. When parking, try to park near or as close to the entrance to the store as possible.
Check the back seat, under and around the car before getting in.
Do not leave shopping bags exposed in your car while unattended.
If you think are you being followed, drive to a public place or a police, sheriff, or fire station.
Most thieves pick out their targets before committing a crime. They don’t want to get caught so they choose victims that aren’t paying attention and may not notice something missing from a purse or packages. Criminals don’t like to be noticed or remembered. They may decide against the person who has looked at them and said hello and move on to someone who is not as aware.
Holidays are a fun time of year, but can be disaster for the victims of crime. Be aware this Christmas and reduce your chances of being a victim. Don’t give these bad guys the opportunity to steal from you. Be aware of your surroundings and vigilant about your personal safety and security.
Most of all – have a great holiday season.
Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. wishes to thank the Washington County Oregon Sheriff’s Office for sharing this article.
Are employee criminal background checks something that is really necessary? As a former Law Enforcement Officer I routinely came into contact with individuals that should not be allow to be loose in society with the good people. This included people that caused serious physical harm to the good people of our society that happened to become their victims. These people injured, killed, raped and stole, just to name a few. It quickly became evident to me that these people care ONLY about themselves. Most had no remorse even when caught.
I am a loss prevention professional with 30 years of experience including positions as a Director for several major businesses. I have personally investigated over 2300 employees for mainly employee theft. I found that many of these same people are in the labor pool that we as business managers and owners draw from.
These types of employees WILL steal from a business (and smile while they are doing it). The only remorse is that they were caught. This applies to all ages, sex, race, religion…. There is no magic group or age that is safer or better than another.
Add the fact that a number of different studies over the last 30 years conducted by different organizations conclude the same things: Around 20% of the work force has stolen from their employer. That’s 1 in 5 of the people in the work force today including the ones that work for you! Many people may not wish to believe this but it is an established FACT. Also please keep in mind that we are only talking about theft. It does not include other crimes.
So are criminal background checks necessary? They are not just necessary they are an absolute requirement, no excuses or compromise. Of course, if you do not mind wasting time, labor, money and losing your cash and merchandise then this does not apply to you.
By the way if you hire someone that has a past record of violence and they harm in any way another employee or customer you will be held liable. Saying I didn’t know does not hold water with both civil and criminal courts. Courts lean towards the fact that you should have conducted a criminal background check because this is normal business practice and they are readily available at low cost.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I have been told by hundreds of business people something like “I know people, I don’t have people “like that” working for ME”. Those people are the ones that are really at risk as their ego out weighs their business sense. Remember…1 in 5!
Don’t compromise on on your business contact us or call 1.770.426.0547
Retailers are keenly aware that when they prevent theft they will at the same time increase profits. Because inventory shrinkage figures into operating costs, reducing inventory losses will boost profits. You might be surprised to know that another benefit is reducing inventory shrinkage will also increase sales numbers.
A recent survey conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers studied a supermarket chain tracking 98 unique product sku’s. The first four weeks they measured inventory shrinkage to set a baseline. At the end of the four weeks a Checkpoint Security System was installed to prevent theft and it included pedestal antennas at entry / exit ways that react to tags, labels which look like bar codes, “keepers” which are plastic transparent boxes that deny product access and hard tags that are pinned to merchandise and the 98 sku’s were measured for ten weeks.
What they found was surprising; not only did they record a remarkable reduction of 69.79% in inventory shrinkage but additionally measured an increase in sales of 9.2%! This proved the theory that if you prevent theft you will naturally sell more product. The reason is simply because there is more product available for sale, which proves keeping shelves stocked with product and available for sale is critical to building profits.
The PWC survey focused on how to prevent shoplifting. This is mostly incoming “customer” traffic taking product out the front door; however, some employee theft goes out the front door too.
There are many ways to prevent theft in retail environments as well as many types of theft to consider when designing a loss prevention program.
To explore more about this topic visit Call us today at 1-770-426-0547 or email us.
We search actual court house records for criminal histories. Many background check companies use commercial databases that are not complete, do not have current information and in most cases do not have any real information