This year’s holiday season may be different, but a pandemic won’t stop people from going shopping. After all, little parties will still be held, and gift-giving doesn’t get postponed by anything.
For those reasons, stores are packed again, and store employees are in their busiest time of the year. As such, their focus is on the customers, potentially making them miss security threats or burglars slipping in.
While CCTV cameras allow brick-and-mortars to identify burglars fast, it rarely catches the rascals while doing the act. Hence, the cops only catch them only after the store has already lost goods or cash.
Therefore, the best solution to secure your shop is to prevent burglaries in the first place. According to a Chicago-based insurance firm called Insureon, 8.8% of businesses suffered a burglary or theft in 2016. So if you think you don’t need extra-tough security measures, there might already be a big target symbol on your doors in the eyes of a burglar.
The Impact of Physical Security
Aside from preventing burglaries, physical security also boosts your business’s credibility and sense of legitimacy. If you issue company ID cards, for instance, your employees can identify with your business better, and feel a stronger sense of belongingness with your organization. In terms of security, ID cards enable your employees to identify each other easier, preventing them from mistakenly trusting someone who claims to be associated with your business but doesn’t wear an ID card.
ID cards can be incorporated with bar codes to make them serve as your employees’ “key” to authorized-personnel-only areas, such as stock rooms or warehouses. So if a stranger attempts to access those areas, your employees can report that person immediately.
Your customers will also appreciate your business more if they see that your employees have ID cards. In e-commerce, think of security like the green padlock beside the website’s URL. It proves that you’re visiting a legitimate online store and that the website isn’t simply a hoax. Similarly, if the staff in your brick-and-mortar dons ID cards, every customer that walks in will be assured that they’re buying from a legitimate and trustworthy store.
What Kind of Security Does Your Business Need?
Not all businesses require the same type of security. But there are security standards that all businesses tend to follow, such as installing CCTV cameras. Jewelry shops or any store selling high-end products, may all require armed guards from reputable security firms such as Eagle Eye Security. Museums and art galleries, on the other hand, may need motion detectors to keep burglars from taking away their collections.
So before implementing a specific security system for your business, note the following pointers:
- Your location. If your shop is in a high-crime area, you need to invest a higher sum for security. Consider a steel roll-up door for your windows and doors, CCTV cameras in possible access points, sturdy and complicated locks, and an alarm system that you can hook up to your local police station.
- Your building’s security features. Commercial buildings typically have the security measures mentioned above, but they may be outdated. So it’s best to still purchase your own security devices and systems to deter burglars more effectively.
- The type of your business. The level of security you’d need depends on how valuable your products are, or the type of clients you serve.
- The severity of the crime that can occur. In a retail store, smash-and-grab burglaries may be the most common, in which burglars would just smash a window and grab everything in sight. Find out about the different styles of burglars to know which one your store is the most at risk for.
Burglars don’t take holiday breaks; in fact, they may be the busiest during this season. You don’t need to sell expensive goods to attract their eye, so take your shop’s security seriously.
