One of the biggest problems that retail store owners face is shoplifting and theft. Whether the thief is a member of your team or someone masking as a customer, billions are lost globally per year due to theft. This is why it should be every retail store owner’s priority to prevent shrinkage. There are a wide variety of prevention methods that one can implement in order to prevent theft.
In this article, we will discuss anti-shoplifting devices and why you need them.
What is an Anti-Shoplifting Device?
An anti-shoplifting device, otherwise known as an anti-theft device, is a device that is installed in order to prevent stock from being stolen and catch the culprits when they do succeed. The most popular anti-shoplifting system is electronic article surveillance, more commonly referred to as EAS. This system makes use of security tags and labels that are applied to the stock. If they surpass a certain point in the shop (the exit) and the tag has not been deactivated at the pay point, an alarm goes off to indicate that something has not been paid for.
Anti-Theft Device Types That Are Used in Retail
There are different types of EAS technologies that can be implemented in a store. Depending on the stock and the requirements of the store owner, one can choose which one would best suit each store’s specific requirements.
AM (Acoustic Magnetic)
Acoustic Magnetic or AM systems operate at 58 kHz. Thus, the signals sent out by the system are emitted via pulses between 50 and 90 per second. AM tags are valuable in both hard tags and labels, depending on their use.
EM (Electromagnetic)
As one of the most discrete anti-theft labels, EM systems are perfect for use in the industries such as cosmetics, pharmacies, and supermarkets. In essence, this technology makes use of electromagnetic fields to detect when a product is leaving a store while the tag is still active. The most noticeable aspect of these tags is the disguise ability of the label itself which has several advantages e.g. costing and labor savings.
RF (Radio Frequency)
Radio Frequency or RF operate at 8.2 MHz and emit a large sweep of frequency rather than pulses. Similarly to AM, RF has the availability of both tags and labels; however, there is also the availability of ultra-thin labels.
Radio Frequency Identification or RFID is very similar to RF and forms part of the RF technology family. The only difference is that RF tags and labels send out one general signal; thus, one knows when an item is leaving the store but does not know what item is leaving the store. RFID on the other hand has tags and labels that are equipped with unique identifiers, which allow one to see when something leaves the store, as well as what it is that has left the store. It also has huge advantages in stock take accuracy, and can reduce man hours spent on stock takes.
Each of these anti-shoplifting technologies and tags/labels has its place in the protection of retail stock.
To find out more about which tag/labels would best suit your retail requirements, contact us at Milestone.