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Retailers urged to use IP-based video surveillance to stay on top

DUBAI — IT experts based in Sweden and Denmark have noted that fierce competition and slim profit margins will result in computerised and networked in-store processes from goods inventory to staff hiring.

And to stay on top, retailers have to seize every advantage that come their way, such as adding video surveillance to their list of priorities, said Jumbi Edulbehram and Eric Fullerton, authors of "A Smarter Way to Mind the Store: IP Video Surveillance", a white paper on retail security.

Key participants in a recent media event in Copenhagen sponsored by the Swedish IT firm Axis Communications said that cities having a vibrant retail sector such as those in Europe, the US and probably Dubai are in constant threat of losses in revenues due to various kinds of theft.

They said that IP (Internet protocol) video surveillance equips retailers with new tools and capabilities to prevent loss and improve store performance. This also allows staff to view, analyse and manage surveillance video, whose built-in intelligence enables cameras to detect and alert staff to potential theft and suspicious individuals. Edulbehram, director for strategic channel at Axis Communications and the president of Milestone Systems Inc., Fullerton, also said that this same "intelligent" video determines the effectiveness of store layout, display design and employee behaviour.

"What's more, through advantages in using common networking and digital camera technology, stores can achieve everything from a lower total cost of ownership to higher resolution imagery that improves forensic evidence..." they said.

Aside from providing security surveillance, the latest network video applications can also enhance shoppers' experience through streamlined in-store processes resulting in higher profits.

A top-of-the-line network video system, for instance, is equipped with people counting or heatmaps that can detect the number of people entering a shop, waiting in queue, or if certain parts of the shop are overcrowded.