Security is important in retail because it helps deal with shrinkage and various retail crimes. In this regard, video surveillance can play an effective role. This article looks at the benefits of having retail video surveillance systems in stores.
Security is important in retail because it helps deal with shrinkage and various retail crimes. In this regard, video surveillance can play an effective role. This article takes a look at some of the benefits of having retail video surveillance systems in stores.
When it comes to
security in retail stores, various challenges remain. These include external/internal theft, acts of violence and others. How to address these challenges therefore becomes essential. Increasingly, retail stores turn to video surveillance systems to improve security.
“Video surveillance is the first line of defense for retailers who should be focused on sales and positive customer experiences. Cameras should provide adequate coverage across the entire property with no blind spots. Video analytics are invaluable for detecting suspicious behaviors such as loitering and entering restricted areas for both humans and vehicles,” said Rui Barbosa, Category Manager for Surveillance Products at i-PRO.
“Video surveillance has long been used to extend the perimeter of the store to help identify troublesome shoppers that may be approaching the store. In an effort to reduce costs, most retailers have reduced in-store security. Using a VMS with analytics the security team can be augmented to identify issues before they arise,” said Grant Cowan, VP of Strategic Accounts at Salient Systems.
How video surveillance can improve security in retail
So what can video surveillance actually help retail stores achieve? Below we take a closer look.
Real time monitoring
An important advantage of video surveillance is real time monitoring, which can help keep retailers situationally aware at all times. “Video surveillance solutions, including cameras and analytics, are essential for enhancing security in retail environments. They offer real-time monitoring, allowing store personnel to promptly detect and respond to suspicious activities, thereby preventing potential incidents. This immediate visibility supports store operations and helps ensure the safety of customers and employees,” said Scott Thomas, National Director for Signature Brands at Genetec.
Post-event investigation
Should something happen at the storefront, video footage can provide forensic evidence to help with post-event investigation. “Surveillance systems provide critical evidence for investigations into large-scale criminal enterprises. High-quality footage can be instrumental in identifying perpetrators and understanding the methods used in organized retail theft, leading to more effective law enforcement and prosecution efforts,” Thomas said.
Shrinkage monitoring
Shrinkage is the loss of store items not due to sales and can result from
external/internal theft or internal errors. Again, video surveillance can play a useful role. “Video is relied on not only for post-event analysis to identity the perpetrators of thefts on shop floors, but also to monitor for shrinkage in storerooms or erroneous safe drops, refunds or voided transactions, all of which might indicate shrinkage attempts. Linked to a retailer’s point of sale (POS) system, video can help managers identify the sources of persistent shrinkage, by analysing video footage identified to specific transactional keywords,” said Martin McGrath, Sales Manager for UK and Ireland at Milestone Systems.
Retail video surveillance systems
A video surveillance system has various components, chief among them cameras and retail video analytics. In terms of cameras, there are various types of cameras the storeowner can choose from, each having its specific advantages.
“Low profile HD and ultra-HD internal cameras will give store managers, authorized staff, and control room operators the image quality they need to detect suspicious behavior, especially near high-risk areas such as checkouts, outside fitting rooms, and storage areas,” said Jamie Barnfield, Senior Sales Director at IDIS. “Retailers and their systems integrators should factor in the cost advantages of using fisheyes; today’s powerful fisheye cameras enable wide area coverage of entire shop floors and aisles more affordably, replacing multiple traditional fixed lens models with a single fisheye camera that has fewer moving parts.”
He added: “Pinhole security cameras have become more sophisticated too, combining a discreet, minimalistic design with modern digital imaging technology. They are widely used for surveillance where discretion is paramount, leveraging advances in camera technology to provide clearer, more reliable footage while remaining, for all practical purposes, invisible.”
Retail video analytics also play an important role. “Analytics tools are now much more affordable and allow more retailers to take advantage of powerful functionality to reduce losses. The most widely used functions in retail settings include automated object, intrusion, and loitering detection, as well as line crossing combined with face detection to ascertain a potential human threat. Object recognition allows operators to identify and track people, vehicles, or specific objects of interest, even in busy shopping environments,” Barnfield said.
The analytics can be placed on the edge – for example in AI cameras – or in the cloud. There are merits to each architecture, and the choice should depend on the use case.
“There are multiple distribution models for video analytics. For simple use cases, the most cost-effective option is to send the video stream over the network, and the compute stack resides in the cloud. This assumes there is sufficient upload bandwidth as well as the necessary network policies to allow the video traffic to flow out of the LAN. The other model is to handle compute locally. This makes sense for bandwidth-limited locations as well as locations where there are a lot of complex use cases. In this case, software is either deployed to an existing server or an edge compute server is deployed,” Steve Womer, SVP of Engineering at Interface Systems.
“Newer stores and remodeled stores can take advantage of the analytics on new cameras and need to make sure their integrators are installing cameras that will support what they need in the field. Retailers also need to be cognizant that a full camera upgrade is not needed for existing infrastructure. AI and analytics providers have on-prem or cloud based solutions that can enhance existing cameras without having to upgrade to a new camera that supports AI or analytics,” Cowan said.