Secure Your Store
Increase in shoplifting has retailers turning to new technologies to combat crime.
By Lee Pernice
A recent search of Google news returned more than 80 articles on shoplifting within a 24-hour period. Those arrested for the crime were males and females in their teen, 20s, 30s and older. One mother enlisted the help of her two daughters to steal cosmetics from department stores. Police in cities across the country report shoplifting is on the rise.
According to the University of Florida’s annual National Retail Security Survey (NRSS), the recession, which took hold in 2008, helped lead the first increase in the rate of shoplifting in 6 years. While we don’t yet have numbers for 2009, anecdotal information would suggest that the increase continued.
As many retailers were forced to make cutbacks in staffing, there were fewer employees on the sales floors last year to help protect against shoplifting. As a result, technology has to play a bigger role in providing protection.
Fortunately, the tools exist to make a difference. They include electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems, cameras and digital recorders, video analytics and other software programs that help retailers protect their stores against shoplifting, employee theft and organized retail crime.
Here is a look at some of the components that can help save time and money throughout the retail business.
Electronic Article Surveillance
Given a choice, all retailers would prefer to deter retail crime, rather than prosecute people after the fact. That’s where EAS tags play a major role. They are often plainly visible on items, making it clear to shoppers that the retailer has taken an active stance in protecting its merchandise. The tags are generally inexpensive and often reusable.
The tags are available in many sizes, shapes and styles to provide protection for a wide variety of items, including hard-to-tag items such as baseball bats, fishing poles and wine bottles. New tags are regularly being developed to meet a retailer’s specific needs. For example, a tag was recently created that can function in a caustic chemical container after retailers indicated a need to protect chemical products like weed killer.
Many times the anti-theft tags are built into the product or the product’s packaging directly at the manufacturing site. The process, called “source tagging,” helps retailers protect a wider range of products. It can save labor hours and dollars because the merchandise is already tagged with anti-theft devices before it ever makes it into the store. Shoplifters, beware! Just because a product doesn’t seem to have an anti-theft device doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not protected.
Cameras
The biggest advancement in store security cameras is Internet Protocol or cameras with their own IP address that can be plugged in and out of a computer-based network much like plugging a printer into a PC. Video from IP cameras can be accessed directly from the Internet for monitoring and recording. IP camera systems are more versatile and scaleable, so that systems can easily grow with changes in the retailer’s needs and budget. They also can be more simply upgraded since software may be downloaded directly to the camera, giving the technology longer life and making it less likely to become obsolete.
As the technology for IP cameras has gotten better, so has the resolution. Getting a high-quality image is vital and mega-pixel cameras are making it easier to do just that. More pixels also make it possible to zoom in on details without losing quality. As every LP professional knows, some criminals are very good and very quick. Being able to zoom in on and freeze the frame at the exact time when the razor blade pack slips into the coat and out of sight can make a big difference and might be enough to help with successful litigation or an admission of guilt.
Digital Recording
Digital recording has taken recording to a new level. It has not only improved quality, but even more importantly, it has improved image retrieval. Recording using DVRs was a big step up from VCRs, but the latest technology, the NVR or network video recorder, has taken everything to an even higher level. NVRs record directly to the network and servers. There the video can be effectively analyzed and stored. The NVR software can be programmed to look for certain activities such as running, passing through a restricted area or standing too long in a store aisle. All of these events may then be alarmed, notifying store personnel so that they can act more quickly or so that the video is identified and saved for later use.
Analytic Software
This specialized retail software takes thousands of transactions at a time and analyzes them across a variety of pre-selected key performance indicators. It can help study trends and identify anomalies. For instance, the software can very quickly analyze return trends on a chainwide basis, regionally, locally or by specific sales associate. It can tell if certain products are being routinely returned or if an employee is handling an unusual number of returns.
This type of software provides the retailer and loss prevention in particular with an excellent view of operations and it has great flexibility, so that it can be individualized for retailers based on the specific business intelligence they need. It quickly provides information that the retailer can use to make changes or adjustments that can positively affect sales and profits.
Remote Monitoring
Using the network, video can be collected and recorded locally and at the same time sent to a centralized location were it can be analyzed and stored. Loss prevention personnel or management can view activities at any store location from anywhere in the world using a password and a secure Internet connection. This type of centralized access allows loss prevention and retail forensic specialists to maximize their time and expertise.
The same total view of day-to-day operations on a chainwide level can benefit every aspect of retail operations. For example, marketing can look in on stores to make sure that they have set up special promotions correctly or that seasonal items are displayed in a timely manner.
Making it Work
Integrating the EAS tags and alarms, cameras, recording, remote monitoring and software systems can provide an in-depth picture of the business and its operations. That type of information can be used to make adjustments in everything from staffing levels to display placement or even store layout.
There are enterprise and networked systems that bring all of these elements together, providing the store management with comprehensive automated reporting. It allows retailers to identify and track a wide variety of data and trends on a company-wide basis as well as at the store level and bring all of that information together into one place where it can be evaluated and acted upon. Overlapping and integrating information can point to solutions that in many cases would otherwise go unnoticed. For most retailers, that means less money out the door at a time when every dollar is crucial.
Last But Not Least: RFID
RFID (radio frequency identification) might be the last part of a discussion about doing more with less in the retail environment, but it certainly is not the least. The adoption of RFID in retail has been slower than many experts predicted, but most acknowledge its potential to move items more efficiently and securely through the supply chain. For loss prevention specialist that means less shrink in the back of the store, fewer inventory errors and less lost merchandise.
RFID’s biggest benefit to retailers may be that it can keep shoppers happier and more loyal because it keeps products on the shelf when and where they belong. A recent study by the IHL Group estimates that retailers lose more than $93 billion a year to out-of-stocks. It is a bigger problem than theft and has a strong effect on shopper loyalty. It can take only a couple of times of going to the store for a product and not finding it on the shelf to prompt a consumer to make another retailer their first shopping choice.
As the recession continues showing signs of abating, retail sales are still significantly down from the levels seen only a few years ago. And even in good times, shoplifting can be a huge drag on profits. The smart retailers are taking advantage of these anti-theft technologies to help control theft and operate more efficiently and effectively. RFB
Lee Pernice is the director of retail marketing for ADT Security Services, Inc. She has nearly 19 years of experience dealing with retail loss prevention and security technologies. |
