Cross-functional use of network video provides more than just security surveillance. According to the 25th Annual Retail Theft Survey, businesses in the US continue to face the challenge of retail theft. Almost 1.2 million shoplifters and dishonest employees were apprehended in 2013 by just 23 large retailers, who recovered over $199 million from thieves.

Together with the recent availability and an increasing demand for higher quality video surveillance such as high definition (HD) and 4K, many retailers around the world are starting to review their existing security solutions; especially those who are still struggling with the old-fashion analog technology.

Many security and operational professionals from these organizations are trying everything they can think of to justify the spend.

While loss prevention is a valid reason from a security perspective, it is often much easier to get the budget signed off when colleagues from other departments can be convinced to support the proposal.

Collaborating with Sales and Marketing
The idea of gaining better image quality and stopping shop-lifting activities might not be the top priority for your Sales and Marketing department.

However, the concept of using the latest IP-based video surveillance solutions to provide better business intelligence for analytics is a different story.

Whether it’s a single shop or a whole retail chain, IP-based video surveillance makes a noticeable improvement in the top line.

The introduction of network cameras has revolutionized the way retail professionals work with not only loss prevention, fraud detection and security, but also store opti-mization and customer service.

Overall, IP-based video surveillance provides a whole new set of tools to reach operational and marketing excellence.

Examples of cross-functional use of network video include dwell time analysis to allow store managers to alert their team when extra customer assistance is needed.

The heat map function can be set up to proactively alert the staff about low-traffic in campaign areas so they can quickly rectify the situation. Lastly, people counting is useful for conversion rate and sales planning.

by Johan Åkesson, Director Business Development, Retail, Axis Communications