What techniques can be used to prevent the removal of alcohol bottle locks?

Shoplifting is up by 14%. Shop managers are seeing it every day, and are paying the price in terms of money lost. Among the products most targeted by thieves are bottles of alcohol. What can be done to combat this scourge? Here's a list of solutions to help you manage your shop.

Understanding the motivations and methods of thieves

People who steal bottles of alcohol do so for several reasons: for their own consumption, sometimes even directly from the shelf, or for resale, particularly in the case of high-priced bottles.

Beer cans are the easiest to steal. They are rarely fitted with anti-theft devices, are small in size and can easily be detached from their pack. But sometimes they are even stolen in their entirety: some customers fool cashiers by sliding them across the floor at the checkout. Free-riders have limitless imagination!

If the bottles are fitted with anti-theft devices, thieves remove them using magnets or professional hooks - the same ones used by cashiers. They also use lighters, rubber bands and flat-head screwdrivers. They then hide the items in their clothes or bags before leaving the store. If they don’t remove the anti-theft device immediately, they use jammers or line their bags with aluminum foil to prevent the alarms from going off as they pass through the gates.

Physical prevention measures

To discourage criminals, the first method is to install different types of anti-theft devices in store, particularly on prestige wine or spirits. The most common type is the neck clamp. This is a steel cable that can be adjusted around the neck of the bottle. Economical, they are best suited to supermarkets or hypermarkets selling large volumes.

An anti-theft device, on the other hand, is a collar fitted with an overcap that prevents anyone from drinking the liquid in the store. In both cases, of course, you'll need suitable anti-theft detachers.

You can also place the bottles in a locked display case. However, this may slow down purchases.

Electronic and technological prevention measures

You can also use electronic and technological prevention measures.

The best-known solution is video surveillance cameras for stores, which allow you to see the different aisles. By installing a camera in front of the alcohol section, you can monitor any pilfering of bottles. For added peace of mind, intelligent video surveillance systems can now recognise suspicious gestures. Software such as Veesion's analyses in real time any suspicious gestures filmed by the shop's surveillance camera.

Another method involves placing badges or labels on the bottles. Some bottles are also chipped directly at the time of manufacture: a mark is made on the underside of the product label. These solutions are accompanied by anti-theft gates that ring if they detect a signal during or after checkout. Several technologies are available: acousto-magnetic, radio frequency or RFID.

Staff training and awareness-raising

In addition to physical and technological measures, it is important to train and educate staff in theft techniques, environmental observation and the operation of the tools you have selected.

A cashier, for example, needs to be vigilant about objects carried in shopping trolleys and bags not placed on the conveyor belt, as well as about customers using the exit without purchasing items.

Security guards can also be hired to ease the workload of employees and managers. They can monitor and use cameras to detect in-store theft, and even dissuade or calm tempers in the event of conflict.

Is shoplifting, particularly of bottles of alcohol, a major cost for your store? By choosing the right preventive measure for the size of your business and your budget, you can protect your margins and make your job easier, as well as that of your employees. For greater efficiency, put your trust in Veesion, whose software is used by more than 3,000 establishments worldwide.