{"id":2637,"date":"2013-06-20T14:15:34","date_gmt":"2013-06-20T18:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myassettag.com\/blog\/?p=2637"},"modified":"2025-03-13T01:12:25","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T05:12:25","slug":"electronic-article-surveillance-eas-cleans-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myassettag.com/blog\/electronic-article-surveillance-eas-cleans-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) proven to reduce retail shrink"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most consumers are familiar with Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS), even if they don\u2019t know it by that name. But who hasn\u2019t seen\u2014or been<\/i>\u2014that shopper who walks happily out of a department store with the security tag on a newly purchased garment still activated? Suddenly you’re stuck\u2014deer-in-the-headlights style\u2014while the tag triggers an eardrum-splitting tone that lasts until Security comes to the rescue. Of course, in some cases the item hasn\u2019t been paid for, and then it isn\u2019t a rescue mission but an altogether different job that Security has to do. Most of us associate electronic article surveillance\u00a0with apparel or electronics, but a recent study indicates that this technology can have a significant effect on reducing shoplifting\u2014otherwise known as inventory shrinkage\u2014in grocery stores, as well. This is a big deal, because food retailers report that they lose billions of dollars per year due to inventory shrinkage<\/a> (which includes check and gift card fraud, employee theft, vendor fraud and organized crime as well as shoplifting, but still.)<\/p>\n

\"Sensormatic<\/a>

The Sensormatic brand Acousto-Magnetic (AM) label source-tagged for products in the health, beauty and cosmetics category, which is a target for shoplifters.<\/p><\/div>\n

The recent study, sponsored by Tyco Retail Solutions<\/a> and conducted by IDC Retail Insights, examined the effects of EAS technology at a major grocery chain. Electronic article surveillance\u00a0technology \u201chas been so trusted by retailers for so many years,\u201d said Kim Warne, Tyco\u2019s director of solutions marketing. \u201cEAS technology started in the apparel industry and found its way into the grocery marketplace with the introduction of Acousto-Magnetic technology, which was capable of protecting theft-prone foil packages and liquids. Retailers now tag a wide variety of products, from meats to wines and spirits to high-end health and beauty care and general merchandise items.\u201d Packaged goods are tagged with rectangular styrene tags contain that two parts, she explained. One part is the resonator that triggers the eardrum-splitter when the item passes through a security pedestal without being deactivated first. The other is the on-off switch that deactivates the resonator when it is scanned for purchase at checkout. It\u2019s invisible to the typical law-abiding consumer, but it screams bloody murder when unscanned merchandise passes through the pedestal. The six-month Tyco trial took place between April and November 2012, during which time four of the chain\u2019s stores were outfitted with the company\u2019s Sensormatic Acousto-Magnetic EAS technology, while four other stores were used as controls. Two categories of inventory\u2014general merchandise and health and beauty care\u2014were tagged with Tyco\u2019s Acousto-Magnetic tags. The tagging was done by the manufacturers or at the grocery chain\u2019s warehouse, relieving store personnel of that time-consuming task. Manual inventory counts were done at the beginning and end of the six-month study [pdf<\/a>]. Leslie Hand, research director at IDC, compared inventory shrinkage for the test and control stores during the six-month study with the two prior six-month inventory cycles. The results? The electronic article surveillance\u00a0technology produced a dramatic 79-basis-point reduction in inventory shrinkage in the tagged product categories compared with control store net changes during the same period. Return on investment was achieved in less than 12 months.<\/p>\n

\"Ultra<\/a>

Department stores have long used security systems like the Sensormatic Ultra Exit EAS system shown here. More recent labeling techniques have enabled grocery stores to use them too.<\/p><\/div>\n

And there were other benefits as well. Hand\u2019s white paper on the study noted a \u201chalo effect;\u201d the deterrent effect of tagging some merchandise seems to spill over to untagged products, reducing overall shrinkage. The system also resulted in improved inventory management and ultimately, a better consumer experience, Warne added. \u201cIf you can ensure that a product is not stolen, you don\u2019t have products that are out of stock,\u201d she said. Out-of-stock situations due to theft are not picked up by an inventory management system that works by recording sales. \u201cYou don\u2019t know if you are out of stock and you don\u2019t reorder until you physically do an inventory count,\u201d she said. When products are missing from the shelves, she added, \u201cit has a ripple effect and it affects your shopping experience.\u201d And most consumers are familiar with that, even if they don\u2019t know EAS\u2014and all it does to enhance their shopping experience\u2014by that name.<\/p>\n

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