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How does advanced video analytics improve retail security?

October 15, 2024 — Insight

Running a successful retail operation means keeping track of countless moving parts — from customers and staff to stock and equipment.

Video surveillance has long played a crucial role in managing this complex task, helping record customer behaviour, theft and other crimes in retail stores worldwide.

However, despite the presence of security cameras in and around shops and shopping centres, incidents of shoplifting continue to rise — putting employees and the public at risk. And with the retail landscape growing increasingly competitive and operators looking for ways to improve their bottom lines, camera systems need to do more than just capture events as they unfold…

The solution? Retail video analytics.

Video analytics for retail stores refers to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to analyse video footage from security cameras. These systems can automatically interpret video streams to identify patterns and trigger real-time alerts for events like motion detection, unauthorised access or even shoplifting.

While traditional video surveillance systems merely record events, retail video analytics provide actionable insights, helping retailers to enhance security measures, improve operations and better understand customer behaviour.

Why do retail stores need video analytics?

While CCTV has long been a staple of retail security, legacy systems have their limitations. Firstly, older analogue cameras often struggle with latency and produce low-quality images, making it difficult to identify individuals and movements. As a result, video footage can become useless to forensic and security teams that may struggle to spot suspicious activity in real-time.

Furthermore, unless retailers employ dedicated security guards to watch recorded footage 24 hours a day, there’s a high chance of missing an event — especially in areas where coverage is patchy. Even with a team on standby, manually combing through hours of video and audio after an incident is time-consuming and inefficient, increasing the risk of error and delaying emergency response.

As a result, it’s no surprise that many retail establishments still struggle to manage criminal behaviour like shoplifting.

In 2021, the US National Retail Federation (NRF) recorded $94.5 billion in losses within the US retail sector — primarily driven by external theft. Additionally, the Centre for Retail Research’s UK consumer shoplifting estimates for 2023 rose by between 25% and 37% on the previous year, partially attributed to police declining to investigate robberies without clear CCTV evidence.

And theft isn’t the only issue; retail staff are also reporting an alarming rise in abuse. A 2023 survey by the British Retail Consortium found perpetrators are becoming bolder and more aggressive, and the US Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Crime Risk to Business: 2023’ report named violence associated with retail crime as a growing concern for local prosecutors.

Not only does this present serious safety concerns for staff and customers, but it’s also detrimental to brick-and-mortar stores at a time when increasing traffic, loss prevention and improving margins are crucial.

Retail video analytics use cases

Thanks to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, video analysis is becoming an indispensable asset to security teams in the retail sector.

These next-generation technologies enable surveillance teams and business leaders to access a wealth of video and audio analytics and better understand their operations and customer behaviour. Armed with these data insights, operators can harness CCTV as more than just a security measure — using it to inform business-critical decisions and access a range of value-generating benefits.

By integrating retail video analytics into existing video surveillance systems, stores can leverage video analytics to not only improve retail security and loss prevention but also to streamline operations and deliver enhanced customer service.

There are several retail use cases for video analytics, including streamlining security measures and loss prevention, protecting staff, improving customer service and optimising store layouts and operations.

Streamline security measures and loss prevention

For most retailers, the most obvious benefit of automated video analysis is financial.

Retail video analytics allow store managers to monitor real-time activity and identify suspicious behaviour, such as shoplifting or aggressive conduct, before incidents escalate. Advanced motion detection and facial recognition features also allow security guards to proactively address security threats, reducing the chances of theft and vandalism.

By using this reliable technology to respond to theft and other criminal behaviour, store managers can prevent losses and enjoy better profit margins. Plus, thanks to improved video surveillance data accuracy, managers have a better chance of making successful insurance claims or being compensated by the legal system should they decide to prosecute any criminals that impact their operations.

Protect staff and improve customer service

One of the most significant advantages of retail video analytics is its ability to provide real-time visibility of crowds, customers and staff — helping to highlight criminal activity and ensure correct protocols are followed.

With the rise in aggressive behaviour towards retail workers, enhancing employee safety is more important than ever.

Combining retail video analytics with a modern, IP-based camera system means retailers can do more than just record incidents as they happen. Instead, they can support proactive threat detection — equipping security guards with a more effective criminal deterrent to prevent offences from happening in the first place and ensure both staff and customers feel secure.

In addition to improving retail security, leveraging video analytics also helps to elevate customer service.

In capturing information on everything from customer behaviour and demographics to stock and staffing levels, this technology can elevate video surveillance from a simple security measure. Not only can retail video analytics deter criminals and flag people of interest through facial intelligence, but they can also help prevent bottlenecks or long wait times and enhance store performance.

The result? Customers can enjoy a more efficient shopping experience, and staff feel safer knowing there’s a system constantly monitoring every corner of the store for unusual or suspicious activity.

Optimising store layouts and operations

Gone are the days of having to sit and scroll through hours of video footage to find the few seconds that show an incident occurring.

By leveraging video analytics, retailers can free up crucial staffing resources and speed up the process of identifying and responding to crime thanks to advanced video surveillance technology like facial intelligence and motion detection.

And it’s not just security teams who stand to benefit. From ensuring employee schedules account for patterns in foot traffic to enabling inventory managers to check and update stock levels automatically, harnessing retail video analytics makes it easier to streamline operations across the board.

Plus, with more advanced insights, store managers can even optimise their store layouts to improve customer experiences and place products in high-traffic areas — leading to faster returns on the cost of upgrading CCTV systems with this technology.

How to set up retail video analytics for your store

Despite the advantages of retail video analytics, this software typically depends on robust, reliable networks to handle ever-increasing data processing requirements. As a result, setting up video analytics for retail stores may seem like a daunting task, and some retailers have been unable to embrace its many use cases.

But not anymore.

Our 360-degree retail video surveillance and video analytics solution extends beyond the four walls of a store, offering superior visibility across even the most congested networks. Through this technology, users can access real-time video and analytics from anywhere through a single platform, with ultra-low bandwidth streaming for up to 90% cost savings and reliable performance.

So, whether you need to monitor the retail floor for theft prevention, investigate stock loss in the warehouse or support delivery drivers on the road, you can rest assured that you’ll always be in the loop — with any device, any connectivity, anywhere.

Ready to improve your retail security with video analytics? Contact our team today at 020 3553 5888 to discover how our real-time video surveillance and monitoring solutions can help.