Survey: 87% of Retailers Contemplate Move to Network Surveillance System
CHELMSFORD, Mass. — A new study conducted by the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) reports that 87 percent of retail companies that currently use analog surveillance technology are considering switching to network video.
The study, titled “Surveillance Survey Report,” was sponsored by Axis Communications and surveyed loss prevention executives from 49 national and regional retail businesses. Each participant was asked a series of questions about their company’s use of video surveillance technology and their thoughts on IP-based versus analog systems. Participants were also queried on the effects video surveillance has had on loss prevention and their impressions of other possible uses for video surveillance beyond security and loss prevention, such as marketing and merchandising analytics.
Results showed that almost all companies (98 percent) currently deploy video surveillance in their stores; however, only 25 percent of respondents said they had an all IP-based surveillance system. Nearly 42 percent of survey participants reported high cost as the reason for not deploying IP video technology.
Additional study findings include:
- 98 percent say that video surveillance reduced internal loss (employee theft, etc.)
- Nearly 75 percent claim that video surveillance reduced external loss (shoplifting, return fraud, etc.)
- Of the respondents who indicated that poor image quality was one of the top four negative effects of video surveillance, 100 percent of them had analog technology as part of their system.
“Our research indicates that retailers have plenty of opportunity to expand their surveillance systems to go far beyond loss prevention, especially if and when they switch to IP,” says Dr. Read Hayes, director, LPRC. “It is great to see positive results from the overall effects of video surveillance regarding safety and crime prevention, but it’s evident that the more areas of a retailer’s business that can utilize video surveillance, the greater the ROI.”
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