Theft in the United States is at an all-time high with over a billion dollars in losses of stolen goods being reported every year. Having a reliable loss prevention team that is constantly surveilling the cameras to look out for any suspicious people who are scanning the wrong codes at the self-checkout, putting items in their purses or bags, or blatantly walking out with stolen goods is crucial–but sometimes these crimes can still be accidentally overlooked by staff.
Detering people from stealing in retail stores, grocery stores, or wholesale distribution centers is crucial, and coming up with ways to scare them off can be a great method to avoid this. Digital signage is a great way for the loss prevention team to help prevent people from stealing goods by reminding them that they are on camera, or it can even work for potential internal stealing from other staff members.
There’s no doubt that digital signage can make a difference in how a business runs, but it can also be a great tool for the loss prevention team to utilize and stop thieves once and for all.
Loss Prevention: Why a Reliable Team is Crucial For Particular Industries
Having a team that is on top of it when checking cameras to prevent unnecessary losses is crucial for success in business!
It’s important to have an understanding of some of the daily responsibilities of loss prevention, the industries that they help, and just why they’re needed. Every staff member can do their part to prevent goods from being stolen, but sometimes things can be missed, which is why a loss prevention team can help make the difference as their sole responsibility is to keep customers and staff safe while preventing unnecessary business loss.
Why Do Businesses Opt For Loss Prevention Teams?
There are a number of reasons why businesses choose and greatly benefit from having a loss prevention team. While their main task is to look out for thieves that are attempting to leave the store without paying for the goods they picked up, they can also help to keep staff members and customers safe too. A loss prevention team is crucial for ensuring a safe environment and mitigating violent incidents or hazards while also protecting business assets.
Here are some of the main responsibilities for a loss prevention team on an everyday basis:
- Create a visible presence to prevent theft
- Check cameras to look out for potential theft, violent situations, or hazards
- Monitor internal cash handling and audits to prevent staff theft and fraud
- Stop and communicate with shoplifters
- Retrieve stolen goods in a safe manner
- Work with law enforcement when goods have been stolen
- Check store equipment for safety or security risks
How Having a Reliable Loss Prevention Team Can Impact Businesses
Loss prevention teams are crucial for many businesses that often face revenue loss due to excess theft. With an appointed loss prevention team, there can be a shrinkage in revenue loss by up to 30%, alongside other protection measures such as adding RFID tags, point-of-sale (POS) reporting, and having visible surveillance visible for customers to see that they’re on camera to deter a thief from potentially stealing.
Operational mistakes can account for 29% of revenue shrinkage, along with internal staff theft at 27% of total store losses, which makes these factors another common denominator on how a business can be losing profit. Having a loss prevention team can catch these mistakes before the damage is done, boost revenue, and prevent more accidents from happening.
How Digital Signage Can Help Any Loss Prevention Team
This form of technology is crucial for a loss prevention team to prevent theft and catch potential issues before they escalate!
Implementing digital signage into the workplace can help improve everyday business operations significantly. From helping to promote sales and improve marketing tactics, increase internal communications and employee engagement, to helping out the loss prevention team catch thieves in the act, digital signage can help businesses in a number of ways.
Here are some of the best ways that digital signage can help for loss prevention purposes, reduce stealing, and keep staff and other shoppers safe!
1. Can Turn Into Public View Monitors (PVMs)
Have you ever been shopping at a store and noticed those small signs saying, “Smile, you’re on camera!”? This is a common tactic set up by the loss prevention department that helps to deter thieves from stealing goods within the store as it’s a constant reminder that they’re on camera and their actions are being surveillanced at all times. Digital signage can be a great way to display this message throughout stores to deter thieves from attempting to steal, plus you can also display cameras on screen so people can see themselves, making it more surreal for suspicious suspects. This is also a great tactic to use in sections of a store with more expensive merchandise, such as a tech department, to serve as a reminder that their actions are being watched.
2. Opt For Interactive Digital Signage With Motion Sensors
One of the best ways to help deter theft in any type of business is with digital signage, but make it more interactive to potentially catch thieves off guard. How does one do this? With the use of some content management systems (CMS), you can make digital signage more interactive or implement the use of motion sensors when customers walk down certain aisles as sensor-triggered warnings for thieves. When there is unusual activity occurring, digital signage can flash safety and anti-theft notices that can help potential thieves think twice before committing a crime.
3. Employee Compliance Reminders
When starting your first day at any business, there are responsibilities and morals that you are held accountable for, and stealing is a big no-no. Whether this is stealing goods, cash from the register, or purposely reporting profits wrong, employees are held accountable for their actions just as much as customers are everyday. While accidents can happen when handling cash or reporting daily sales and operations, it’s important to be reminded of compliances for employees. Digital signage can be a great way to create content to be displayed for employee security reminders and operational compliances to prevent staff from making potential mistakes or deliberate misconduct while they’re on the clock.
- Use as Active Deterrence at Entrances
No business puts up with stealing, but it consistently happens everyday, which is why posting notices is important to decrease the number of incidents there are. Digital signage can be displayed anywhere in the store to showcase sales, clearance items, or other promotional deals, but it can also be placed right at the entrance as an active deterrence against theft. Not only does digital signage at the front of a store great for posting about advertisements on active sales and promotions going on, but also for anti-theft visibility and deterrence.
- Real-Time Security Alerts
Another great reason why digital signage is a great addition to any business and for the loss protection department is for its real-time updates to reflect what is going on in the store. Yes, you can create content for advertising and marketing purposes, but it’s also great for security and safety alerts as well. If there is an active threat in the store, fire, or extreme weather alerts, digital signage can be updated in the nick of time to reflect these sudden changes. It’s not only the responsibility of loss prevention to keep watch for potential thieves, but also to ensure the safety of both staff and customers, and this simple, yet effective way can keep them updated on potential threats and send out proper warnings when needed.
- Great Form of Engagement For Staff
Digital signage can not only be a method to deter thieves from stealing, but it can also be great for employees within a business’s loss prevention department to help keep them on track, improve engagement, and increase internal communications. It’s a proven fact that businesses retain employees for longer when they engage and appreciate all the hard work that they do every day they come in, and digital signage is a great way to show this. From crowning someone employee of the month, creating employee spotlights, celebrating work anniversaries or birthdays, or simply giving staff a voice with QR codes to fill out surveys and polls, digital signage can be a great way to boost engagement with all staff members.
Shift Takes Loss Prevention to the Next Level: Engagement and Real-Time Updates Every Team Needs
Digital signage can truly change how the loss prevention team runs and operates, but Shift can improve employee engagement and more!
Digital signage is a great addition for businesses in any industry. It continuously helps loss prevention teams by sharing compliances with employees, methods on how to increase safety with staff and customers, and prevent damages and the loss of stolen goods. Finding the best CMS platform can be the toughest challenge when it comes to the features your team needs, but Shift is the answer when looking to improve and uplift your team.
What is Shift?
Digital signage and CMS platforms together can create and display unique and dynamic content that is more engaging to the eye and influential to both staff and customers. Shift’s CMS platform is great for marketing and advertising, sending out safety alerts, for navigation and wayfinding, and even to help with team engagement and communications.
Shift aims to help businesses build deeper relationships with their staff members through employee spotlights, appreciation posts, and celebrating work anniversaries to uplift staff and make them feel their value within the company. The platform offers pre-made templates to easily edit and stay consistent with brand awareness, while also providing the Content Navigator, a unique feature that can make content easier to upload, edit, manage, and schedule whenever you need to.
Features and Content Ideas Shift Can Offer Every Loss Prevention Team
The loss prevention departments of any business can benefit from a number of Shift’s features that they can utilize to create a stronger, more efficient team. Here are some of the best features and content ideas that Shift can offer its users to help enhance their teams:
- Boost employee engagement through recognition and appreciation
- Celebrate staff birthdays, work anniversaries, and other achievements
- Show training videos
- Employee spotlights
- Interactive polls for staff to anonymously complete
- Expands internal communications
- Allows staff to retrain and re-skill in key trainings
- Helps leaders learn more about staff
- Encourages employees to do work harder
- Increases productivity
- Create diverse content using pictures, videos, or documents
- Use as a wayfinding and navigation system
- Broadcast company announcements, updated policies, etc.
- Use to post emergency alerts
- Streamline workflow and post frequent updates about each day’s tasks
Shape an Efficient Team With Digital Signage for Loss Prevention
Whether you’re trying to help boost engagement within your loss prevention department or are trying to find better and more efficient ways to monitor suspicious activity, digital signage is a great form of technology to work with. Digital signage can help to make thieves think twice about stealing with reminders that their actions are being watched, plus it gives staff better ways to prevent the loss of stolen goods.
If you’re tired of losing profits or want to create a better loss prevention team, consider using Shift and its content creation and management and real-time updates to change how your team works today!
