In just a few weeks, we will be getting into the swing of the holiday season. Upcoming events include Thanksgiving, Diwali, Halloween, Singles’ Day, Black Friday, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and each of these will involve some combination of family meals, décor, gift exchanging and dressing to the nines.

As a retailer, this means more business and increased cash flow. However, it also means an increased risk for retail theft and other criminal acts - both internally and externally.

To keep your business well protected, consider the following retail tips:

• Train your staff and provide them with the tools and knowledge they need to handle the increase in volume.
• Hire additional staff to assist with sales and cover extended hours.
• Screen all new staff using criminal checks, reference checks and a thorough interview process.
• Encourage employees to move around the store to help customers and act as a deterring presence for thieves.
• Minimize the amount of cash kept in tills and within the store.
• Increase cash pickups for deposit runs.
• Teach your employees how to identify counterfeit money.
• Station an employee at the exit to check bags and receipts.
• Place security tags on your product, especially high-value items and products that can be easily snuck out.
• Invest in a retail security solution.

Out of all of these solutions, investing in retail security is the most important.

A verified security solution will deter thieves, help identify criminals and alert authorities, assist in the apprehension of criminals if a crime does occur and let your employees know that they do not need to be a hero if a crime occurs.

Verified security

An integrated verified CCTV security system from Sonitrol Western Canada will track your key processes from cash transactions, closing tills and receiving or shipping products. Not only that, but employees are significantly less likely to commit internal theft when they know they are being watched.

If there is an outside threat, our expert team of security specialists monitor and inform the authorities in real-time. Our innovative SonaVision security systems can be integrated with your point-of-sale registers and automatically identify unusual transactions, incorrect transactions, fraudulent transactions, as well as identify employee fraud with video evidence.

Managed access control

Another key technology to prevent loss is managed access control, which will protect your valuable goods by limiting your employee (and non-employee) access to certain areas. Having secure areas in your store will keep a tighter lock on your inventory.

By implementing managed access control, you’ll be able to assign different levels of access to staff. Employees who are not authorized to open or close the store, or access secure areas, will not be allowed to do so when the security system is live.

Fire detection

As an owner of a retail store, you’ll be aware of the extreme damage a fire can do. Early detection and verification are key to limiting loss due to fire, and both are Sonitrol Western Canada specialities. You'll rest easy when our experts monitor your facility for fire.

A Sonitrol Fire Detection System, combined with our ability to provide 24-hour monitoring at our central monitoring centre, gives your business the protection it needs.

Why Sonitrol?

Whether you’re an independent retailer or a regional or national chain, Sonitrol Western Canada is uniquely positioned to meet your needs.

We are the third-largest commercial security company in North America - and the verified leader in electronic security. We offer national resources, as well as strong local support, knowledge and resources to get the job done right.

Our retail security solution doesn't just monitor employee activity or record break-ins and theft, we will also immediately alert the police that there are intruders - significantly increasing the rate of apprehension when compared to traditional CCTV technology.

To learn more about our retail security solutions and to further protect your business from crime, download our free eBook or contact us today to discuss your security needs.