The retail industry is a big one and an endangered one at that. It’s a known fact that it is the sector with the highest number of shoplifting experiences, as thieves take advantage of security gaps to steal in retail stores, the industry loses huge profits every year to theft and shoplifting. In addition to that, serving customers satisfactorily is often a challenge for store employees especially during in-store promotions and peak sales periods. Far worse, the retail industry is also prone to more serious criminal activities such as burglary and armed robbery.
Due to these various threats to business growth, the safety of employees and customers, security is now a priority for retail store owners. Therefore, to gain a positive customer experience at the store, and for the safety of employees in retail stores, it is wise to invest in an effective IP-based video surveillance system.
Here are five major reasons why retail stores should consider deploying IP video surveillance to secure their stores.
Detecting and Preventing Theft
Theft is a commonplace in retail stores, mostly through shoplifting, and sometimes through armed robbery. Even employees can steal items off the shelves, too. To curb this and act as a deterrent for culprits, a retail store surveillance system can be installed to aid the detection of suspicious activity and identify perpetrators. Today, there are high-definition cameras equipped with Intelligent Video Analytics to detect suspicious activity and promptly notify the responsible person. To improve security, IP dome cameras can also be installed outside the store to keep an eye on store visitors and determine if the person entering is suspicious or not. Furthermore, even employees would not steal from the store if they know they’re being watched.
Remote Surveillance
Surveillance systems today can be integrated with mobile and desktop applications. Since they are IP-based, the footages can be viewed in real-time over the Internet anywhere. That means the owners or security administrator can remotely monitor the store even without being physically present onsite. In case of emergencies, through remote surveillance, the viewer can also contact registered personnel through the app itself.
Improved Customer Services
Every retail business longs to satisfy customers so they can keep coming back. However, store employees can sometimes be negligent and fail to attend properly to customers, and ultimately, damage your business reputation. IP cameras can help keep a watchful eye on the employees and assess how they relate with customers in real-time. Also, video surveillance footage can be used to confirm customer complaints and identify issues. Moreover, untrained attendants can be trained and corrected to improve their relationship with customers, and if needed, negligent employees can also be terminated.
Improved Staffing
An IP surveillance system can help determine the peak business hours when there is a larger population of customers. Consequently, more number of employees can be deployed to attending the customers during these peak hours. Alternately, this can also help reduce the need for hiring additional security personnel and thereby cut running costs
Safer Workplace
IP cameras can also help ensure a safer workplace by monitoring employees and watching the premises for potential safety risks. Also, it can help improve productivity as employees would be more responsible because they know they are being watched.
