Retailing
today is a tough business and store owners face many challenges. The most
obvious of these are theft and inventory shrinkage which eat into the stores’
profits.
Retail
surveillance using network video solutions such as IP cameras is an excellent
weapon in the battle to protect your business. By deterring crime, it reduces
losses and creates a safer environment for staff and customers.
Cross functional
usage
This
versatile technology can make numerous other positive contributions to the
store’s operations besides loss prevention. For example, it can help store
owners manage queues, count people and monitor flow control.
It can
provide information to support the development of better store layouts - via
heat mapping and dwell time applications. Outside the store itself, network
video can be connected to access control systems, or used for general
surveillance of the building’s exterior and parking lot. License plate
recognition is also possible, thanks to the high quality of the images
generated. All of these cross functional applications make retail stores safer
for visitors and more profitable for the owners.
Modern
retail businesses often employ a variety of technologies to facilitate business
in the stores – such as electronic cash registers, alarms and people counting
applications. One of the major advantages of IP-surveillance is that it
complies with open industry standards, and can therefore be easily integrated
with these other applications. An IP-surveillance system can also be triggered
by another system, so e.g. surveillance footage is always captured in
connection with an alarm, or whenever the electronic cash register system is
activated.
The key
difference between traditional CCTV and network video surveillance is that a
network system is IP-based. In other
words, surveillance images are captured and distributed over an IP network.
Shop owners, managers and security experts can therefore monitor these images
from their desks – or indeed any location with an Internet connection. They can
even monitor several retail outlets at the same time. Recorded images are
usually stored remotely or in the shop itself.
For more information,
contact JKS at
