Page 28 - Security Today, November/December 2021

“Almost two-thirds of respondents (65%) agree that organized retail crime gangs are exhibiting higher levels of aggression and violence than they did the year before.”
A regular remote audit can help reduce shrink and improve employee productivity by pinpointing key problem areas while delivering actionable insights with visual reporting.
Showing adaptability through the pandemic, some retailers put remote audit programs in place at no upfront cost by simply leveraging their existing video systems. “Retailers have continuously pivoted throughout the pandemic to ensure their employees can work within a safe environment and their customers can shop safely, whether in stores, online or through avenues like buy online, pick up in store,” NRF VP for research development and industry analysis Mark Mathews said.
Lone worker safety. One way in which business models have adapted to keep costs under control is by utilizing more lone workers for opening, closing, third shifts, curbside deliveries and other customer interactions outside of the premises. While this has helped many organizations trim costs, it has also exposed lone workers to greater risks.
Most businesses have video security systems in place, but many installed cameras were not with current working conditions in mind. Security cameras now need to have coverage that extends to curbside delivery areas for example. Likewise, employing a full- time security guard is not sustainable for many businesses still struggling to stay open. When providing realistic options to lone workers, it is important that any solution be simple and robust enough that employees will see the value and choose to use it. It should require no installation or configuration by the user.
There is a new breed of smart, wearable, and discreet personal protection devices that enable businesses to add another layer of protection for their employees when working alone. These wearable personal protection devices are placed on a lanyard, belt, vest, jacket or pants. Unlike phone-based apps that take several steps to engage and can actually escalate a situation if an assailant suspects the victim is calling for help, a dedicated personal safety monitoring device is always on and includes a single-push panic button that silently dispatches police and connects to a live monitoring service in seconds.
A properly designed personal protection device delivers comprehensive situational awareness by sending time and location stamped GPS coordinates to authorities. It also opens a two-way audio communication channel with the employee and captures evidentiary grade photos to provide hard evidence for law enforcement. Being cellular-based, there is no limit to how far an employee can be from the business, which means that it is perfect for curbside delivery and even home delivery use cases.
Having an experienced security professional and law enforcement available at the touch of a button can boost morale and give lone workers the confidence to do their jobs without
taking on unnecessary risk. Today, wearable personal protection monitoring solutions can be directly integrated with interactive 24/7 Command & Control Centers.
These new services are a critical component in increasing safety measures for employees and customers and should be an essential component of a comprehensive business security strategy.
Video analytics for retailers. Recent research and most notably the work of the ECR Retail Loss group “retail,” show there is a strong case to be made for retailers, especially large, distributed enterprises, to unify use of video, and not just as an element of their security operation, but as a core part of their business strategy. The ECR report looks at the ways in which video systems in general, and video analytics in particular, can be deployed across retail businesses for health and safety compliance, as well as for business intelligence.
Extracting insights from the data generated by security cameras and monitoring solutions can help retailers maximize ROI for their security investments when budgets are tight and there is a greater demand for results.
When a business truly understands the behaviors of its customers by collecting key insights, it can then tailor every customer touchpoint to maximize customer satisfaction, increase sales revenue and improve operational efficiency.
Video analytics solutions that offer another layer of valuable customer and employee behavior data can unlock valuable, real- time insights. Examples include the number of people who come into their stores, what they do while there, which products they engage with the most, and how the store design or floor plan is working.
All of this data will reveal insights that can help retailers optimize store layout, make critical decisions on merchandising, correlate customer footfall to online campaigns, identify staffing bottlenecks, test new store designs, or compare the effectiveness of in-store campaigns.
With video analytics, brick-and-mortar stores can turn their security cameras into powerful business intelligence tools to enhance customer experience and maximize sales.
Many of the new business models adopted during the pandemic are here to stay. Security systems can play a major role by providing more eyes and ears on the ground. Video verified alarm services that integrate video surveillance and alarm systems together can reduce false alarms and avoid nuisance calls and fees.
For lone workers or minimal staffing, a virtual guard service can watchoverthepremisesandannounceitspresencewithvoice-down notificationsfromaprofessionalmonitoringservice.Retailvideo analytics can also provide insightful data for sales and marketing teams to identify peak periods and monitor customer flow and interaction throughout a store. All of these
technologies and services can improve safety and security while simultaneously providing a solid path to profitability for retailers.
Sean Foley is the senior vice president at Interface Security Systems.
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