Being in retail has never been more challenging. Competition is fierce, margins are being squeezed and external/internal losses are becoming increasingly costly.
Now is the perfect time to evaluate the many ways in which video surveillance can help your business. It’s more than just about safety and security.
A surveillance system is a key component in any retail business as there are many areas to cover from a security and safety standpoint. But did you know that it can also be used as a store optimization tool? This gives business owners an entirely different view on the return on investment of a system. Let’s look at some of the benefits you can gain from using video surveillance products cross-functionally.
Improve Safety And Security
TCS Watch video solutions enable you to detect potential incidents fast. You’ll be able to intervene quickly when needed and identify any false alarms. The result is a higher standard of overall security and a safer, more secure working environment for your staff.
Protect your staff and assets
Reliable protection is important in any type of retail environment. With network video, you can easily add extra cameras to cover specific product sections or check-out areas. And by storing your video images on a local or remote server, you can ensure they are protected from intruders.
High Quality Images
High-quality video, such as HDTV, is invaluable when investigating crime. Conventional videotape images deteriorate with use, whereas digital images don’t, no matter how many times you view them. And the high quality will save you valuable time when making identifications.
Intelligent network cameras with motion detection and active tampering alarms will also enable you to detect suspect actions both outside your store and inside after opening hours.
Optimize your merchandising and operations
All the camera feeds within a retail store provide valuable information about its daily operations. The multitude of information available creates several options for adding value. Camera feeds can generate heat maps of customer behavior, giving insight into their movement patterns and showing paths to purchase. Comparing heat maps before and after changes have been made can reveal is you are achieving the desired outcome of your merchandising efforts. With different types of store metrics, you can even see which product the customer has selected, giving you knowledge of the success of your store layout.
Understand your customers
Place your cameras strategically and you’ll be able to record, measure and better understand consumer activity and buying behavior. You’ll be able to identify the most popular areas and optimize your store and display layouts accordingly. Add built-in people-counting will give you insight into the peak traffic hours in the store.
Keep your customers satisfied
Network cameras can identify empty shelves and alert staff that they need to be restocked. They can spot queues that are too long and prompt you to open more cash registers. In other words, network video enables you to put your staff where they’re most needed, and optimize staff shifts to meet customer demands. Long lines, empty shelves and blocked aisles will be history.
Improve your marketing effectiveness
Network video will enable you to evaluate your marketing and promotional campaigns immediately. You’ll know whether your end-caps, in-store signage, and display windows are effective. Your customer and POS metrics will only be a mouse click away, enabling you to make strategic marketing decisions that will boost your sales. And it can all be done in real-time and remotely, for single or multiple stores.
It doesn’t matter whether you have a single shop or a chain of stores, franchises, malls or other retail environments. It’s time to replace your analog surveillance systems with network video technology. We have the largest installed base of network cameras in the world and the proven solutions you need.