Latin America. The end of the year season is approaching and businesses are getting ready to receive the wave of visitors that promises to fill stores, chain stores and shopping centers, increasing sales with the expected Christmas purchases. However, at the same time, criminals of all kinds are designing new strategies to make their own in commerce, taking advantage of the high influx of people and the great movement that is presented. How to successfully prepare to prevent these thefts?
Safety is a factor that takes on greater prominence every day and that can become a headache when not executed properly, affecting even the pocket of the end customer. Alessandra Faria, Regional Director of Axis Communications for South America, emphasizes this aspect by ensuring that "The increase in robberies within a store can lead its owner to take measures on the increase in prices of products, in order to recover the losses that occur during criminal acts. This means that the establishment not only affects its economy, but also that of its customers."
However, technologies such as video surveillance have evolved to the point of offering real solutions, designed to protect not only the inventory on display, but the facilities themselves, and even visitors, which is indispensable at a time when many people transport a large number of packages and even take minors during their purchases, demonstrating that security within commercial establishments is a problem that impacts everyone equally.
In this aspect, it is worth taking into account some recommendations that will save money and headaches for merchants when updating their surveillance system, optimizing equipment and taking advantage of existing technologies, in order to prevent losses while offering an optimal experience to customers and visitors during the holiday season.
Optimal security will save you money
Security in seasons of high flow of people must pass the theme of the merely persuasive and become a real tool that even allows to identify specific individuals and suspicious movements, to control robberies even before they occur.
In this way, implementing a true monitoring and surveillance system will reduce maintenance costs and merchandise losses in the commercial establishment, which translates into saving money.
This type of reflection led the security team of Makro, a global wholesale chain with more than 700 stores on four continents, to implement an IP video system in its stores in Colombia.
With the installation of more than 480 Axis IP cameras, 12 different models were combined considering each space and specific requirement, coming to use from HD cameras with size and shape as compact as a lipstick, to fixed domes resistant to shocks of up to 1 ton. As a result, the system made Colombia the country that has had the best loss reduction in South America for the chain.
Collaboration with the police
You don't get an efficient video surveillance system by simply installing cameras. Making the right investment will ensure that you get the expected results and avoid having to buy new equipment in a short time.
An example of adequate implementation in video security systems is the one acquired for last Christmas by the Stratford Square mall, located in Chicago, USA. With a network of Axis Communications video surveillance cameras located along its corridors, leisure and outdoor areas, it has been possible for the security team to collaborate even with the local police department in the identification and prosecution of criminals, thanks to the cameras providing an optimal zoom that allows to identify faces, tattoos and other brands, with HDTV image quality. Another benefit that this shopping center and its more than 160 stores have received is the easy and quick identification of lost children, a problem that usually occurs very frequently in periods of high movement such as the end of the year shopping season.
For Doug Kiehn, general manager of Stratford Square Mall, the quality of the cameras is a sensitive issue: "We don't have time for headaches. We don't have time for system failures. We don't have time for a camera that doesn't work."
One of the most critical points in this mall is the area where Santa Claus greets children at Christmas time. For that space, they used the Axis P3364-V network camera, resistant to vandalism, with excellent video performance, thus allowing to cover the space with maximum protection. "Having the support of smart video surveillance technology that delivers high-resolution images, agile zoom capabilities and the ability to be proactive can be a useful tool to ensure customers find the ideal gifts for their families and friends in a safe environment," said Hedgie Bartol, retail business development manager at Axis Communications.
Get advice from an expert for maximum performance
Keep in mind that a complete solution is one that manages to get the most out of the equipment. In the retail market, for example, there are solutions equipped with software that not only provide security and monitoring, but also allow identifying the hot areas through which the largest number of customers transit within the place, count the number of visits and develop marketing strategies according to the profile of the customer who enters the establishment. On the other hand, not all places inside a commercial space are the same, factors such as size, influx of people and level of lighting among many others, must be taken into account at the time of implementation.
The leading store in the technology sector in Colombia, Ktronix, aware that it had to leave its security project in the hands of experts, went to the supplier Tecpoint when it identified that it was time to replace its low-quality analog cameras.
After analyzing the specific requirements of the stores, and with the aim of providing the best solution to a leading customer in its segment, Tecpoint recommended the installation in each point of sale, of approximately 20 AXIS M3203 cameras, managed by the software of ISS, partner of Axis.
This implementation guaranteed better image quality, while expanding the storage capacity and even allowing company managers to view live videos on the Internet. "The added value of being able to visualize anywhere and at any time the movement of the business without being present was decisive," said Pedro Plata Hernández, Security Director of Alkosto/Ktronix.
Hence, it is important to have the appropriate advice, which guarantees optimal performance in the security solutions that are installed, by identifying the particular needs of each space.
Recommendations for shops and malls at the end of the year:
- Ensure that the entire extent of your trade is covered by cameras, including warehouses;
- Check if your video surveillance system offers HD, Full HD or 4K resolution images for the visualization of details;
- Maintain close collaboration with the police so that the images can become judicial evidence against suspects;
- Take advantage of the high flow of customers to install video analytics capable of generating real-time data on the movement of people in the plant to discover where there is more concentration of people and at what times of the day;
- Install cameras at each ATM to monitor the work of operators and use row management analytics: when the row exceeds a certain number of people, the cameras send a message to the manager to open new ATMs.
- In the parking lot, install high-resolution cameras to scan all entering vehicles, covering all sides, to clarify possible damage that occurred inside the place.
