If you own a retail business, it can be easy to think that criminals have the upper hand. How often have you completed a stock-take, only to find that you’re down hundreds or thousands of dollars? How often have you heard the beep of your security, only to watch someone run out the door with your products?
According to the British Retail Consortium’s Annual Crime survey, retail crime is on the rise. Incidences grew between 2015 and 2016, costing the industry £660 million. The highest contributor was customer theft, which cost businesses 66% of that total- £438 million.
It is important that retailers establish what their security risks are and invest accordingly says security firm Secom. The firm provides a variety of security solutions depending on each company’s individual needs.
For many businesses, the best thing they can do is invest in the latest surveillance security. The technology has greatly improved over the past few years, and you can now use video analytics. This involves an embedded, algorithm-based intelligence. That means that as the camera observes suspicious behavior, it will alert operatives in remote monitoring stations. Those operatives can immediately call the authorities or let you know so you can catch criminals in the act.
Being proactive puts the power back in your hands. Instead of being left as the victim of a crime and trying to identify a criminal from grainy footage, you’ll be able to use high-definition cameras which record four times more detail than the older analogue cameras. That means that you can also save more money, since you’ll need fewer of them to cover your business.
You may also want to think about access security. These days, technology has reached a point where even smartphones can provide biometric security. This is great news for business owners, because you can ensure that only certain people are able to gain access to certain parts of your business. Biometric readers mean that you don’t need to worry about a pin code or key falling into the wrong hands, and you can instead use technology that relies on fingerprint scanning, deep palm reading, and facial recognition.
These systems are becoming increasingly mature. They can overcome any potential issues such as dirty fingerprints, and can even tell if someone will be allowed to enter by observing the way that they walk as they approach the system.
Finally, you may also want to consider upgrading your cybersecurity. We’ve all heard about how some of the biggest organisations in the world have recently suffered from hacks and data leaks. If you have an online store, you’ll need to keep it protected so you can ensure the safety of private customer information such as addresses, passwords, and credit card details.
How are you keeping your retail business safe from criminals? Leave a comment below and let me know.
