Let’s say you walk into your local J.C. Penney's or Target and you spot a sign,
What comes to mind? If you think "they’re trying to catch shoplifters", the majority of shoppers share your
thought.
And you’re probably right. 99%
of retailers purchase IP cameras to prevent and deter shoplifting. And sometimes
just the sign is enough to make a teenager intending to pocket a tube of
mascara give it a second thought.
But increasingly retailers are adding other duties to an IP
camera’s job description. And they all come under the heading………
Customer Service
Wikipedia defines
customer service as
“The provision of
service to customers before, during, and after a purchase”
Wise Geek words it
this way:
“Customer Service refers
to the practice of providing people with a positive, helpful experience before,
during, or after buying something.”
Installing IP cameras aids a store manager in improving her
customer’s experience. With the intelligence afforded by a video managementsystem, she can put herself in a customer’s shoes as he travels down every aisle
and turns every corner of the store.
She can monitor the length of the lines at the cashier counters and customer service areas,check for bottlenecks at the escalator,
even check on the maintenance of the parking lot on a snowy day.
Real time viewing will reveal patterns in customer traffic.
And like all traffic, foot traffic does not flow uniformly. It can benefit from ………….
Traffic Control
Just as air traffic controllers in their towers rely on radar
to keep track of arriving and departing plane , a wise management team utilizes
IP cameras to keep abreast of the good, the bad, and the potential for
improvement in their store.
Real Time Viewing
·
If the lines at the checkout counter are getting
long, additional cashiers can be summoned to open more cash registers.
·
When the stock in the electronics department is getting low, a stocker can be alerted to come replenish the shelves.Using real-time viewing allows retailers to keep up on
operational details so they can make decisions and improvements based on daily
observations.
Stored video from those same cameras, on the other hand, can make use of weekly, monthly or even annual data to determine the effectiveness of those decisions.
Analyzing Stored Video
Video Management
Software ( VMS) and stored video.
Using Video Management
Software, such as ONSSI, retail
business managers can view multiple cameras, record and retrieve video, and
monitor alarms. There is a variety of video management software on the market,
each with its own particular capabilities, that users can adapt to their
particular specifications. For example, retail managers can study a compilation
of day-to-day traffic to determine if their store’s layout needs revamping.
Dwell Time
What area attracts the most customers? Do they pause there? For how long? This is called dwell time. Dwell analysis can be used to measure the results of advertising campaigns. What age group is prevalent? Is it mostly men?
Is it mostly women? All this information is valuable in determining product placement and the positioning of promotional displays.
Zone Counter
IP camera management software can automatically count the number of people who pass through
different areas or departments throughout the day. It can keep track of how
many people use various check out areas. Analysis of the resulting patterns can
aid department heads with personnel scheduling and best allocation of staff
throughout the store.
Browsers vs Buyers
And so next time you see a surveillance camera remember as law-abiding as you are, you may be one its targeted subjects.
Although, still have some arguing against IP Surveillance, but I think, if installing IP surveillance's is for the purpose to prevent crimes, not purposely to spy somebody, I think it still neccessary.
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