Every shop owner or supermarket manager unfortunately must deal with theft. Whether you are a small or large shop. Fortunately, new techniques have emerged in recent years to help you combat shoplifting. We have listed a few options for you.
The simplest and most effective way of prevention is to make sure the shop is well lit. Shoplifters do not like bright lighting as it makes them more visible. Make sure all shop aisles and shop corners are well lit. Do not forget your warehouse as this can be a prime target too.
Hanging mirrors in strategic places in your shop will deter potential shoplifters. It will make them more visible for more people. In addition, mirrors allow you to see better what is going on in your shop.
Installing video cameras is a common means of deterring theft. A shoplifter who knows his movements can be seen by a camera will think twice before committing the theft. With an advanced CCTV system, you can even use face recognition. The shop manager will then receive an alert on his phone or tablet if a shoplifter known to you enters the supermarket. An additional advantage of CCTV is that you can watch and analyse customer behaviour in your shop. This can help optimise operations and shop layouts.
Professional shoplifters usually steal large quantities of products: enough to fill an entire grocery trolley. With the Rocateq Check Out Security system, you can combat this form of shoplifting. Each shopping trolley is equipped with an intelligent electronic wheel. This wheel has a red colour, so shoplifters are alerted in advance that you are using modern technology to prevent theft.
The Rocateq wheel receives a signal whether the customer has passed the check out to pay or not. If the customer does not pass the checkout but wants to leave the shop directly, the shopping trolley is locked at the exit and an audio and visual alarm is activated. This Check Out Security system can also be connected to your video cameras so that the attempted theft is recorded.
Experience shows that with a locked shopping trolley, the shoplifter leaves the trolley behind and quickly leaves the shop. So, there is often no confrontation with the offenders for you or your staff. Additionally, you save large sums of money because in this form of theft, people usually try to leave the shop with a full shopping trolley full of valuable merchandise.
From the thousands of videos Rocateq has collected over the years, it is clear that this form of shoplifting is done by everyone, male, female, young, old, alone or in a group, with or without children, etc. In other words, that loyal customer who has been shopping with you twice a week for years may regularly walk out of your shop without paying.
Shoplifting has a big effect on your shop’s profitability. Even though this list of technical solutions is certainly not exhaustive, you can quickly increase your profitability by implementing these technologies.
Suppose €1.000 is stolen from your shop every week, this is €52.000 on an annual basis. At a gross margin of 2%, you would then need an additional turnover of €2.600.000 to compensate for this theft. In short, investing in a technological solution is a win-win for you. Even if you are the best shop manager in the area, you use good and effective marketing to increase your sales, it is difficult to be profitable if the theft from your shop continues. Unfortunately, many studies have shown that the rate of shoplifting is increasing every year so it will be even harder to be profitable in the future. Application of technical solutions can help you in this regard.
Want to know if your shop is a shoplifter’s dream? We put together a checklist with some questions about shoplifting. Answer these for yourself and find out if your shop is a risk.
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