Retail Loss Prevention: Questions To Ask Yourself When Choosing The Right CCTV Camera

In today's world, CCTV cameras are an essential part of retail loss prevention for any type of business. Able to record and monitor incidents in-store, more-modern devices are able to present images in high quality, better-defined detail, making it easier to identify everything – and everyone.

If you are looking at introducing a new CCTV system to your business, just like any investment you make, it's important to understand how it will work in the environment you intend for it. Otherwise, how can you be sure the investment you make will be a sound one? This is why, as a leading provider and installer of CCTV systems here at Tagmax, we have created a number of questions to ask yourself when choosing the right security cameras for your business.

Retail Loss Prevention – Security Camera Questions You Need To Think About

1. What existing security issues are there?For some people, thinking about security (and retail loss prevention in general) is often a reactionary measure – an incident has taken place, so they put in place plans to prevent it from happening again. If your business has suffered from any type of theft, anti-social behaviour or any other incident, it's vital that you first identify how it happened and then what would have prevented it. Even if you already have an older CCTV system in place, many cameras are not placed correctly or are simply not of a great quality, for example.

2. Will the cameras be used indoors or outdoors?As a rule, the key point to look out for with any CCTV system (aside from the obvious image and storage qualities!) is how robust they are. Systems that are for use outdoors will need toexist in often difficult, extremely changeable weather. Depending on the nature of your business, the same could also be true for some indoor environments too.

3. How large is the area I need the security camera to cover? Whilst upgrading your retail loss prevention arsenal with a new CCTV installation is a great idea, it can be easy to choose something that is actually more sophisticated than what you need, potentially costing you more money than you need to spend. The area you need to cover being particularly important to think about – if you have to cover a particularly large area, then a Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) will be the ideal security camera for any indoor or outdoor space; a robust system, it provides a great level of picture quality, regardless of the angle and zoom level it's operated at. If the area you need to monitor isn't particularly large and therefore won't need to be panned, tilted or zoomed to any great level, then you will have even more flexibility when choosing your ideal system– potentially saving you money through more choice.

4. Would having CCTV with audio capabilities improve my security? Whilst their main function will be to capture pictures, digital CCTV has made it possible for microphones to be integrated within cameras, allowing the operator to easily capture sound. The addition of audio to CCTV cameras may help some businesses to better interpret any incidents or staff or customer complaints – not only helping security but creating a better atmosphere too.

5. Is business expansion a possibility?Expansion equals success, so if there's room in your current location(s) for your business to expand, then your CCTV coverage will need to expand too.Modern digital CCTV offers the perfect solution to retail loss prevention. Many older analogue cameras operate on the traditional closed-circuit basis, meaning they are wired together – making it difficult to then add additional cameras. With digital cameras (such as IP cameras), there is no wiring involved, they simply need an internet connection to be added to a network – exactly like when you access a Wi-Fi network on your phone (in fact, you can actually use your phone to view footage captured by the IP Camera!). This easy-adding ability also allows you to add as many cameras as you need (over multiple sites, linking them all together) – something else that isn't possible with many older systems.

Improve Your Security With Tagmax

If you're looking to improve your CCTV security – whether you need to cut down on your profit-affecting losses or are looking to create a better atmosphere in your property, we are able to help you to establish your ideal security camera solution.

For over 20 years,the team here at Tagmax have been providing the latest innovations in security camera technology. Having seen the quality of systems change vastly in the last two decades, we can say with some confidence that there has never been a better time to invest in such a system. With HD images and Wi-Fi networking being relatively common in today's society, the cost of a bespoke security camera network is not as expensive as it may sound –this provides all businesses with a better opportunity to improve the prospect of their stores.

It isn't just security that they benefit either; with the latest cameras, footfall analytics can be successfully collated, stock levels can be monitored, staff can be better positioned – CCTV cameras can even help to bring down the cost of an insurance tariff.

Why not get in touch with the retail loss prevention experts here at Tagmax to learn more? Call 0800 044 3160 or send an e-mail to sales@tagmax.co.uk and we'll be in touch as soon as possible.