The annual National Retail Security Survey reported total shrinkage in 2012 was $44.25 billion, a third of which was due to shoplifting. Even more appalling, almost 41% was due to employee theft. Forty percent of shoplifted items were electronics, computers and appliances, no doubt because small electronic devices are both valuable and easily concealed.
With prepaid cellular becoming more popular, the trend is toward smaller-footprint stores with fewer live devices on display. But security is no less essential.
Nothing sells cell phones more than a hands-on experience, though, so your retail displays can’t look like a merchandise fortress. If products are in “lock down,” customers cannot get a feel for how they work.
You need cell phone security that works, yet unobtrusively. There are a number of devices on the market now to help retailers secure small, high-value items such as:
Most cell phone security solutions combine tethers or retractors that allow minimal movement, coupled with an alarm that alerts employees to tampering and/or theft. The most useful solutions are versatile enough to use in a variety of store or kiosk display settings.
As president of Palmer Retail Solutions, he has worked directly with retailers for over a decade, designing customized merchandising displays with security enhancements that fit the needs of traditional stores, dealer stores and kiosks. He says a little-understood fact about the industry theft problem is that a significant percentage of thefts occur after hours.
To address the need for sales-forward displays that ensure tablet and cell phone security day and night, he developed CELLMATE and TabletVAULT, systems he describes as “easy to use, cost-effective and virtually foolproof.”
The Palmer CELLMATE system offers two distinct advantages:
Palmer says CELLMATE and its companion system, TabletVAULT, have become extremely popular with retailers since their introduction a year ago, because they’re both effective and simple to use.
With the holiday shopping (and shoplifting) season fast approaching, now is the time to think about reducing shoplifting and employee theft. Investing in the right cell phone security technology can substantially reduce your vulnerability.