Working in luxury brands means dealing with highly valuable and delicate items, where any damage, loss, or theft can lead to significant financial setbacks. That's why prioritizing loss prevention and safeguarding assets is crucial in managing luxury inventory. In this blog post, we'll explore how RFID plays a key role in protecting luxury goods in retail businesses.

Luxury retail security concerns

Luxury retailing stands out in the retail industry as a delicate sector, featuring a range of high-end, pricey products. Typically, luxury items, like designer goods, are produced in limited quantities, underscoring the significance of each piece. Considering the substantial value attached to each item, the loss or theft of even a single piece can have a notable impact on the business.

Luxury brand stores often become prime targets for thefts and robberies, given the high-value inventory they carry. While this is not new to the luxury sector, recent reports suggest a rising trend in losses and thefts.

Hence, numerous luxury brand retailers are vocal about their commitment to enhancing security and implementing robust loss-prevention measures in their stores over the coming years.

How does RFID help luxury retailers reduce theft and loss?

High traceability

In the realm of luxury goods, every piece holds significant value, making precise inventory management and tracking essential for a thriving business. RFID technology plays a crucial role in ensuring the traceability of each item, not only distinguishing them by type but also pinpointing each item uniquely. This capability enables accurate tracking, minimizing errors in the process.

Reduce thefts with RFID EAS

RFID deployment allows the integration between the POS (point of sale) system and the EAS(Electronic article surveillance), resulting in the precise assurance that unpaid items will not leave the store. For example, if someone is trying to leave the store with the unpaid pieces, it can trigger the alarm or trigger the doors to lock, preventing the item from leaving the store.

Using such technology can reduce theft in real-time as well as reduce the chances of shoplifting remaining undetected.

Hand free inventory counts

Besides loss, shrinkage can also result from damage, such as a contemptuous item that cannot be sold. To reduce the chances of getting items dirty or damaged you can use RFID to conduct a hand free inventory count for luxury goods.

As RFID doesn’t require a line of sight, you can count inventory with an RFID reader without actually touching or moving the assets. For example, if previously you had to pick each item to scan its barcode, now you can just quickly and effortlessly scan the shelf area, and even receive higher accuracy.

Identify counterfeits

By tagging each piece of item with RFID at the manufacturing point you can track the items along the supply chain and identify counterfeits from original pieces easily. Even if the fake items are tagged with RFID your system will be able to recognize that it does not belong to your inventory.

RFID can also identify where your original items have been lost, stolen, or replaced, which makes it very useful for tracking each item's journey.

Avoid fraudulent returns

With RFID, you can effectively handle returns in stores, preventing fraudulent returns. As noted earlier, each RFID-tagged item comes with a unique identification code, preventing any attempts to replace pieces with unauthorized items.

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To sum up, with the growing security challenges in luxury retail, RFID offers a compelling solution. Its high traceability, integration with Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS), and hands-free inventory counts, prove effective in reducing theft, shrinkage, and counterfeits. The unique identification codes for RFID-tagged items also help prevent fraudulent returns. As luxury retailers emphasize security, RFID emerges as a vital tool for ensuring a secure and resilient future in the luxury industry.

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