Store owners used EPOS system to help get shoplifter conviction

“On Christmas Eve, I got confirmation that a shoplifter who had targeted my store had been formally charged by the police and now has a criminal record.
“The CCTV and till reports/information supplied played a big part in providing 100% factual evidence and helping get the full conviction.”
“We reset the stock figures, zoomed the CCTV cameras in on the problem products and did eight-hourly stocktakes on the products. Within 24 hours the tills picked up a discrepancy – I knew the issue was within an eight-hour period so it was just a case of watching those eight hours back to find my shoplifter which I did and I got him.”

Hewson said that when he looked back over three weeks of the CCTV footage, he discovered that the shoplifter had targeted KeyStore Middleham nearly every day during that period.

“Luckily, only small value items were taken but it was all adding up and I believe he would have got braver as time went on,” Tony added. “There’s no doubt that our till system played a key role in getting the full conviction and – firstly and most importantly – alerted me to a problem.

“With delivery reports, stock reports, daily timed till receipt reports and sales reports all saved, I was able to prove the amount of goods taken.”

Hewson continued: “Filshill’s IT guys do a fantastic job in the background keeping the system running and it’s this hard work that has helped my KeyStore limit the losses.”

Filshill’s chief sales and marketing officer, Craig Brown, said he was hugely encouraged to hear that KeyStore Middleham had secured a conviction for theft at a time when many retailers are struggling to get the police to take this type of in-store incident seriously.

“Retail theft is very much in the news just now and has been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis,” he said. “However, it is gratifying to have proof from one of our customers on the frontline that our cutting-edge technology and EPOS system is doing its job so efficiently and effectively.

“This is a story of our times but one with a favourable ending – and while the main purpose of our technology is to help us work with our customers to identify instantly what is selling in their stores and what is not, tweak planograms accordingly, help them generate profit and increase margins, this security aspect of our EPOS system is also an invaluable tool when used correctly.”