EPOS set-up can prevent shoplifting in c-stores
RETAIL crime plagues store owners across the entire UK and as the cost-of-living crisis continues, more retailers will find themselves under pressure.
Consumers in desperate situations may turn to shoplifting during this time and while it is a sign of how hard times have been lately, it also means retailers are lumped with the added cost of stolen stock.
Aiming to support retailers during this time, Faisal Sattar, chief operating officer at MHouse, has laid out the benefits of the firm’s EPOS system as a crime prevention tool.
Sattar said: “MPos from MHouse has many loss prevention and monitoring systems in place to help reduce this.
“At MHouse, we help train our retailers on what to watch out for in their reports. These tend to be high numbers of over-rings/voids and no sales. Stock control is another monitoring and prevention tool which we educate retailers in.
“By monitoring how much of each product is selling, how much is coming into the store and what the accurate stock holding is, this will allow retailers to monitor what is going missing from their store, allowing them to pinpoint potentially when it was taken.”
Along with this, MHouse’s MPos system downloads all stock deliveries, with any stock adjustments made sent as an email to the store owner to help keep a record of the items.
Being able to monitor exact items across the store remains a useful tool in retailers’ arsenals when it comes to crime prevention but there are plenty more out there that retailers can make the most of.
Addressing a crime in progress in stores can be an intimidating prospect for retailers out there, making monitoring solutions such as CCTV key assets when it comes to addressing a shoplifter.
With this in mind, being able to anticipate a shoplifter before they have the chance to act could save retailers plenty of cash.
Sattar discussed the MPos system’s latest tech integration with Amberstone Security, which allows for the crime-prevention firm’s new “Veesion” technology to be used in store.
Amberstone said it aims to eradicate shoplifting altogether with its Veesion set-up by using an AI system that helps to recognise suspicious behaviour in customers when they are interacting with bags, pockets, jackets or items that could be used to conceal stolen goods.
Sattar said: “Amberstone Security has built an algorithm that is able to continuously analyse existing camera streams and recognise 10 distinct gestures that are associated with shoplifting.
“This can include anything from unusual browsing patterns to someone concealing items in their handbag, backpack or pockets.
“Retailers then receive a short video clip of the suspicious activity to their phones via an app that can also be linked to the MPos till system, so they can take action and deal with the suspected shoplifter.”
And setting all this up in a store is made to flow as smoothly as possible, according to Sattar, aiming to have retailers up and running with the new EPOS system on the same day as installation.
He said: “When our engineers arrive on site, we make sure that before they start with the installations, the store owners know what to expect and, with virtually no down time, have the store up and running with their new EPOS system within a matter of hours.”
