Shoplifting is a $6 billion problem for retailers during the holidays. Yet, only 5 percent of retailers increased their security budgets in 2017.

Black Friday is a prime target for shoplifters. With large amounts of foot traffic and seasonal employees, securing inventory is a challenge during the holidays.

Fortunately, there are ways you can improve business security. Read on to discover the top three security products that will help you protect your store on Black Friday.

1. Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) Technology

Shoplifters are getting more creative. Whether it’s dressing up like store employees, working in teams or using technology to block electronic detection—it’s critical retailers stay ahead of them. To do this, savvy retailers incorporate electronic article surveillance (EAS) technology.

EAS is an anti-shoplifting system that involves attaching tags to clothing and merchandise. An employee must remove or deactivate the tag after purchase or an alarm will sound. Not only does EAS give store owners immediate theft alerts, but just the sight of the electronic tag can discourage thieves from stealing merchandise.

2. Video Surveillance

The next top security product to secure your store on Black Friday is a video surveillance system. With a surveillance system, store owners can monitor the crowds from their computer or smartphone. Or, they can have real-time alerts sent directly to their smartphone while on the shop floor, notifying them of unusual activity.

Additionally, video surveillance allows you to monitor points of sale (POS). By placing surveillance cameras near point-of-sale channel, store owners can prevent:

  • Fraudulent transactions, like voided transactions, sales under one dollar, reverse transactions or zero dollar transactions.
  • Employee misuse of coupons, gift cards and refunds.
  • Suspicious activity near registers.

3. Access Control

On average, retailers lost $1,922 for each instance of employee theft in 2017. 

Employee theft is a growing issue—especially during the holidays. To handle the large crowds on Black Friday, many retailers hire seasonal employees. However, maintaining security can be difficult with so many new faces. To prevent employee theft, consider installing an access control system. With this technology, business owners can:

  • Keep inventory safe by restricting access to certain areas like offices and storage rooms.
  • Provide unique codes to different employees and keep a log of every time a room was accessed. This allows you to narrow down a suspect if employee theft were to occur.
  • Monitor every employee that entered and exited an access-controlled room.

Black Friday can be overwhelming for business owners. For even more protection, contact a trusted security provider to keep all aspects of your business safe during the busy day.