With Christmas inching closer with every passing week, many retailers are starting to roll out and promote a range of Christmas stock in their stores. Some of these items are high-value and are unfortunately a target for thieves and criminals. 

To combat theft this holiday season many retailers look towards retail security methods that can best protect stock in-store and make sure valuable merchandise isn’t the target of theft and shop stealing. 

There are several hot ticket items that many shoppers are planning on purchasing so it’s wise for retailers to know which products are more likely to be targeted this holiday period by looking into the research of which products are the most popular for gifts and presents this year. If we look at the 2018 Holiday Survey of Consumers by Deloitte, we can start to gauge which products might become the target of holiday thieving. 

Gift cards

Gifts cards are one of the most popular gift items for the Christmas period. Often thieves will try to hack into accounts that are linked to gift cards and use other online mediums to drain accounts linked to actual gift card accounts. 

Most theft is conducted online as gift cards require activation at the counter, but there have been cases where thieves will steal gift cards in bulk, take down their unique numbers (these can be gathered using a simple swipe device that can be purchased online for as little as $15) and then put the cards back in store.

By having unique numbers, thieves are able to set up accounts for these cards and monitor them. Once they become activated, they quickly move the money either into another account or exchange them for e-vouchers on other platforms.

By securing gift cards with EAS labels or stickers you can be sure your customers will be the only ones leaving the store with properly paid for and activated gift cards. 

Clothing

Clothing has been a popular gift for millennia and it doesn’t look like that’s slowing down any time soon. Christmas is the time retail outlets gear up for large sales and discount marketing to draw customers into their store. Unfortunately, with more customers, there’s a chance you will also invite more thieves into your stores. 

Securing clothing and other accessories like handbags, shoes, socks and underwear will enable your retail outlet to show display products on shelves or racks so customers can pick them up, but still, have them secure so an alarm system will sound or show a visual indicator if the items leave the store without being deactivated. Securing clothing with EAS hard tags is a simple way to make sure your clothing ranges are secure this Christmas. 

Non-electronic games, toys and dolls

When it comes to those that enjoy Christmas the most, it’s difficult to look past the kids. Waking up on Christmas morning and seeing a pile of presents, hoping some of them are your favourite toys is every kid’s wish no matter where they are in the world. 

As toys and high value or limited edition items like Lego and movie merchandise are highly sought after toys, it’s also likely they’re to be the targets of thieves – be they organised or opportunistic. We provide a range of label options – both hard tags and stickers for toys and games so your products can be secured this festive season. 

Books

No one can deny that a book revolution has happened online with the advent of products like the Kindle and Kobo e-book readers, BUT at Christmas, time books are a highly sought after present as they don’t require batteries, are easy to wrap and will give someone many hours of enjoyment at a relatively low price. 

Making sure books are secure is easy with Easitag’s range of EAS labels for books and magazines. Our EAS stickers for books are easy to apply and even easier to order. Call us today to discuss your requirements. 

Food / Liquor

For many, the holiday season is a great reason to relax, enjoy some good food with family and open a bottle to share amongst friends. Since consumption of higher-value foods (particularly meat) and alcohol tends to increase over holiday periods, so too do attempts to steal these items. 

Easitag can supply a range of hard tags for bottles and alcohol and we even have food grade EAS labels for meat and cold foods available. 

Cosmetics, beauty items and fragrances/perfumes

Everyone loves to feel special at Christmas time and one way to do this is to give gifts with a little bit of luxury or extravagance attached to them. Top shelf perfumes or makeup items are the type of gift people don’t often purchase for themselves but love to receive as a gift. 

They’re also highly targeted by thieves as they’re easy to resell and rank as some of the most stolen items in retail. Make sure your cosmetic and perfume products are protected this season by ensuring your retail outlet is stocked with high-quality EAS labels from Easitag. 

Jewellery 

Jewellery is a luxury item that is often targeted by thieves as they can be highly valuable, small in size and can be resold easily. Depending on the value of the items a retail outlet stocks, many types of jewellery is typically hidden behind a locked glass cabinet but for department stores or discount jewellery/costume jewellery stores, this might not be a viable option due to the high turnover of these types of products. 

Securing jewellery with EAS stickers or tags is one way to give would-be thieves a visual indicator that your store is alarmed and your products protected by security labels and also give staff time to concentrate on customer service instead of looking out for shop stealers. 

Sporting goods and athletic equipment

Australia is a sporting nation. We love a game of footy, or cricket, or netball, or soccer, or… well, you get the idea. Because of the size and packaging of some sporting equipment, it can be difficult to find an EAS security tag that will enable you to protect the product well without attaching it to a shelf or wall. Shoes can also be the target of thieves, particularly if they’re highly valued runners or stylish footwear from well-known brands that are in the higher price brackets. 

Easitag stocks a range of hard and soft tags that can be attached to sporting gear, clothing, merchandise and other types of equipment. If you want to enter the holiday season with all your sporting products protected with retail security tags, talk to us about your requirements today on 1800 077 375.

If your retail outlet requires security labels, tags or stickers for the holiday period, please feel free to contact us today with your requirements and we would be happy to discuss our range of security labels with you.