Survey Examines Deployment Of Video Surveillance By Convenience Stores
3XLogic recently released the results of a survey of convenience store owners, operators and loss prevention managers regarding the use of various video surveillance technologies in day-to-day operations.
In addition to standard loss prevention activity, the survey sought to understand the extent to which organizations were using newer technologies and features which allow the monitoring and interaction with various business processes.
Many integrated video solutions today allow monitoring and reporting of everything from refrigeration systems to employee performance. Remote management of multi-site locations can now be performed through systems that are connected to the internet.
Findings from the survey revealed:
- 100 percent of the respondents use some form of digital video surveillance in their organization.
- 92 percent of respondents operated convenience stores with fuel while the remaining 8 percent were convenience stores only.
- 100 percent used their systems for loss prevention purposes.
- Only 75 percent had their systems connected to a network of any type.
- Only 25 percent use audio recording at the counter.
- 8 percent were using IP cameras.
- None of the respondents use call logging of video analytics.
“We found that most convenience stores only use a fraction of the capability offered by their current surveillance systems, yet we found that most organizations had definite need and desire to more fully utilize their current investment.” said David Nieweg, director of business development for 3xLOGIC.
When provided with various scenarios of alternative uses for their video surveillance system such as remote management, monitoring systems such as refrigeration or exception reporting of processes, respondents indicated:
- 73 percent were interested in remote multi-site management using video and audio.
- 91 percent were interested in measuring and managing the customer experience utilizing the video surveillance system.
- 73 percent were interested in measuring and managing employee performance with video surveillance technology.
- Nine percent were interested in the utilization of video analytics in the retail environment.
“It shows that the industry has a long ways to go in regards to educating the consumer about the capabilities of the systems currently being sold.” said Mike Davis, 3xLOGIC’s director of U.S. operations. “It also indicates that consumers are unaware of the potential benefits of emerging technologies such as video analytics. It may be a situation where they will wait until they see concrete examples of ROI before they become interested, but it also indicates that manufacturers will need to prove tangible benefits to drive customer adoption.”