75% of the hypermarkets opened before 2008 have cameras that have issues in identifying thieves
What are the total amounts of losses due to theft and how can retailers minimize them. A UTI analysis for Mediafax
Over 75% of the stores opened before 2008 use video equipment that provides good quality images and can be connected to the Internet, but give fewer details in comparison to modern IP cameras and have difficulties in identifying the facial features of perpetrators accurately.
In a hypermarket, there are up to 100 cameras. The critical areas, where most video equipment is located, are the cash registers, pay desks and goods reception areas.
According to UTI, when a security event takes place, the maintenance of physically and morally outdated equipment leads, in extreme situations, to the risk of inability of using them for the purposes they were installed: researching the event, identifying the causes and authors, providing video evidence thereof.
The total level of loss caused by theft in large retail chains, according to market numbers, is somewhere between 0.5 and 1.5% of the sales volume. Thus, in a market chain with an annual turnover of one billion Euros (frequent among Romanian market players), that means losses due to theft of anywhere between Eur 5 million and Eur 15 million annually.
“It can therefore be said that, in accordance to the loss prevention measures adopted by the retailer, losses can vary up to Eur 10 million annually. These measures must include video surveillance systems,” stated Viorel Luţă, Head of UTI Security Sales, for MEDIAFAX.
According to him, analogical video cameras installed in most hypermarkets in Romania provide good quality images but incomparably fewer details than IP cameras. The economic crisis’ impact on consumption did not allow retailers to assign budgets for new technologies.
“The most modern video surveillance technology currently available consists in IP cameras. And a high-performance security system must aim at fast identification of perpetrators,” added Viorel Luţă.
