It’s common knowledge that surveillance is the cornerstone of a retailer’s safety and security program. Video from surveillance cameras can capture the image of a shoplifter, identify a slip-and-fall victim, or help law enforcement with an investigation after a criminal incident occurs.
Modern-day challenges, such as labor shortages and rising costs of goods, have forced retailers to go beyond traditional uses of video surveillance to ensure the protection of employees, shoppers, and merchandise and improve store performance.
In addition to the above, an open video management platform provides the foundation for retailers to tap into a number of different analytics that support greater capabilities, such as shopping cart control, dwell time tracking to improve store performance, or facial recognition technology. These are all valuable security integrations that can help retailers operate more efficiently while simultaneously tackling shrink.
Here are five different analytic integrations – when paired with an open video management platform – that enable retailers to leverage the full capabilities of their surveillance system.
Facial recognition
Being able to quickly identify a known shoplifter has become a priority for loss prevention professionals. Organized retail crime is at an all-time high, with 70 percent of retailers reporting an increase in crime. To address this, retailers are turning to facial recognition technology, such as FaceFirst which uses AI technology and can alert loss prevention staff when a person with a prior shoplifting history enters the premises.
Shopping cart controls
As more big box retailers and grocery stores move to self-checkout, it has become increasingly difficult for a retail associate to monitor every transaction and know if a customer has paid for the items in their shopping cart. Gatekeeper Systems is a security deterrence platform that integrates with a video management system to address a new, but a growing problem – pushouts. This is when a person fills up a shopping cart with goods and tries to push the cart out the door without paying. The Gatekeeper System can identify when a shopping cart has not gone through the proper procedures, such as a self-checkout line, and then send a signal to a smart grocery cart to lock the wheels on the cart. The system then directs cameras located in the parking lot to continue to monitor the individual.
Video for parking lots
It can be cost-prohibitive for retailers to place a surveillance system throughout an entire parking lot, especially if the parking lot is older, very large, or does not have distributed power sources and readily available connectivity. LiveView Technologies provides mobile surveillance capabilities by using solar power, extending the reach of surveillance to the far corners of a parking lot.
Intruder alert and tracking capabilities
It’s not enough for retailers to receive notice that a person has entered a secure area or has attempted to exit through a secure door. Now, retailers are looking for technology to take that a step further to track the individual making their way through the store or parking lot. Gallagher offers an integration with its access control system that when paired with a video management system can tell a camera to track and record a person as they travel throughout the store after attempting to enter a secure area.
Theft Deterrent
Retailers are also investing in additional theft deterrent technologies that can easily detect if a customer failed to scan an item in the self-checkout line. For example, if a customer buys a number of items, Everseen, a visual AI platform, can help identify individual items, such as a package of bubble gum, where the visual frame of the product or recorded weight does not match the item’s POS data. Analytic solutions like this can have a big impact on shrink, whether that shrink is caused by error, through shoplifting, or employee theft.
Technology is helping retailers bridge the gap, especially since loss prevention professionals are being forced to do more with less manpower. That’s why retailers need to invest in readily available tools that enable them to merge leading analytic solutions with a robust, open video management system.
