Enhancing the Customer Experience

Primary security mission is keeping stores safe and shrink low

Consumers’ expectations about their shopping experience at brickand- mortar, retail stores are changing. Mobile devices allow consumers to find any information they need with just a few clicks of a button, and this sense of immediacy has spread to how they shop.

In response, retailers are scrambling to meet these new demands, and innovations in technology have allowed them to start leveraging newer tactics to elevate retail performance and better meet customer needs. In many instances, it may surprise some to hear that these new “best practices” come from a non-traditional source—the loss prevention (LP) team.

Evolving Security Technologies

Keeping stores safe and shrink low has been and always will be a primary focus of security and LP teams, but retail security solutions have evolved to help make retailers smarter about how their store is operating. Security providers, technology manufacturers and integrators understand retail security solutions are now more comprehensive, and, when leveraged correctly, can help do much more. Store operations teams are turning to LP leads to determine how to use security solutions to understand traffic patterns and achieve better business goals.

For retailers, this means they can gain higher value and return on investment (ROI) on traditional security spends, which can mean a growing top line and a healthier bottom line. Below are some of the main developments in the industry that have prompted these changes, and have encouraged growth and better efficiency in areas where there previously may not have been:

Smart devices. Adding to the “anytime, anywhere” access customers have now come to expect, this increase in immediacy for transactions and in-store experiences has forced retailers to become smarter about how they help customers shop in-store. That’s where an integrated security solution can come into play and add value.

Video. Once thought of as only a security solution, it has now become a multiuse tool that can equip retailers with information to make decisions based on video analytics and shopper intelligence tools. This development has pushed the security industry into more of a partner role with merchandising and marketing, where all teams can use video to track shopper behaviors, dwell times and store shopping patterns, and then make alterations accordingly.

Mobility. Coupled with omni-channel retailing, the direction the retail industry is headed is pretty clear. One of the biggest impacts these trends have had on the retail industry is that customers are not always making decisions in the retail store itself.

The lines are blurring between brick-and-mortar, online and mobile shopping. For example, consumers are doing research on products they want to buy as they shop online and then may choose to go to a store to try out, try on or pick up in-store. If a specific product isn’t available when they arrive, they may become frustrated and choose not to purchase that item at all.

In order to keep customers happy, retailers can install effective inventory accuracy solutions, such as RFID, that can help provide item-level visibility of all items in a retail store’s inventory, from stock room to sales floor. Additionally, source tagging can help retailers keep track of merchandise from the beginning, since products are tagged right at the point of manufacture or packaging. By implementing source tagging and RFID along with other loss prevention methods, retailers are better equipped to solve both shrink and store performance challenges.

Mobile POS. Patterns have been altered, making it easier for customers to purchase products from anywhere in the store, and has created a security risk for retailers that wasn’t there before. Retailers want to make sure their products are tagged, but also need to provide their customers with the quickand- easy service they want.

A specific device that some retailers have started implementing is a mobile, handheld electronic article surveillance (EAS) deactivator that enables employees to easily deactivate Acousto- Magnetic (AM) EAS labels during the barcode scanning process. With buying patterns now more flexible, a store’s staff and technology solutions must follow suit. Having a way to deactivate anti-theft tags can enhance the mobile point-of-sale experience for the customers, and allow retailers to have security tags on important products.

The mobile trend hasn’t only been driven by consumers. Mobile devices have allowed the security teams at retail stores to maximize efficiencies by monitoring stores at any time, from any location. This changes the game for everybody in retail.

Data as Actionable Business Intelligence

All of these solutions provide retailers with data that is rich in information about their customers. While the collection of data is great, it comes down to how retailers can turn this wealth of data into actionable business intelligence.

To do so, some retail security teams have implemented cloud-hosted video or hosted access. These robust systems allow retailers to capture, save and export video segments that can offer key insight into specific issues like what time of day most incidents occur, whether employees are complying with corporate policies or if certain times of the day require more staff support. In the end, having more data is one thing, but turning that big data into insight that can help improve customer experiences and business operations relies on being highly efficient on how to store, access, disseminate and analyze it. The cloud makes that all possible.

Managing data and becoming more in tune with customer experiences and how to improve those experiences is a role shared by everybody involved in a retail store—from the loss prevention team to sales associates. Figuring out how to best use these newer technologies and understanding how data can turn into business intelligence is the key to success for any retailer.

It is safe to say that customers, retailers and technology are all getting smarter, moving faster and working more cohesively as the retail ecosystem continues to evolve; therefore, working with a security systems integrator can help determine which solutions make the most sense for a certain store or across an enterprise.

This article originally appeared in the September 2014 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • Video Surveillance Trends to Watch

    With more organizations adding newer capabilities to their surveillance systems, it’s always important to remember the “basics” of system configuration and deployment, as well as the topline benefits of continually emerging technologies like AI and the cloud. Read Now

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services
  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

New Products

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities