The unprecedented cost of gas and electricity[1] is hitting the retail industry twice: store running costs are at an all-time high, plus more shoppers are spending less, or staying away completely, as they cut back in their struggle to pay household bills. This means it has never been more important for retailers to make savings where they can.

While many stores will have already turned down their heating thermostats and dimmed the lights in a bid to conserve cash[2], there are less obvious ways that can lead to huge savings, including reviewing the energy consumption of loss prevention hardware.

Controlling the controllable

Like lighting and heating, store security is essential to retailers. But this crucial tech does not need to be energy inefficient - RF-EAS antennas, for example, are considered more energy efficient, saving retailers significantly when compared to Acousto-Magnetic systems. However now, these security savings have been quantified, thanks to Checkpoint Systems, which is calculating both the energy costs and savings made when using three of its RF-EAS-based systems: EVOLVE, NEO and NEO Element.

A store using two EVOLVE EAS single-aisle antenna systems and four EAS deactivators per store at a cost of €0.2401 per kilowatt hour[3], for 12 hours a day over a period of 365 days could see 10-year energy savings of approximately €5 million. This is based on the retailer operating 1,500 stores, with anticipated growth to 2,000 stores over a ten-year period.

Checkpoint’s NEO Element makes similarly impressive energy savings of €4.2 million over a ten-year period, while the NEO RF-EAS inventory management and loss prevention system can save companies just over €3 million over the same period.

These savings are in part a result of the technology’s dramatically reduced energy use. For example, one of Checkpoint’s Evolve RF-EAS antennas has a detection power draw of just 0.38 kWh/day, compared to the 2.116 kWh/day seen for two Acousto Magnetic EAS antennas.

Saving energy whilst protecting your products

By transitioning to Checkpoint’s Evolve and NEO RF-EAS systems, retailers gain energy-efficient product protection and inventory management alongside market-leading performance and the ability to be customised with add-ons and optional features. In fact, its NEO NP range is the only antenna system that can be put into sleep mode to wake by itself when it is needed, rather than being turned off. This key feature means other non-Checkpoint solutions use between 50-70% more power than NEO antennas.

NEO also has a longer detection range, meaning antennas can be placed further apart to be less visually intrusive. It offers integrated wireless technology, making NEO antennas easier to install with less cabling and they connect directly to store networks, mobile and Checkpoint’s cloud platform.

Evolve antennas offer retailers multiple data management and remote service options and there are various upgrades are available, including people counting, ad panels and metal detection. It is also fully customisable to suit store size and layout, can be upgraded to support RFID, and like NEO, has an enhanced detection range of up to two metres.

Preparing for the future

Even before Europe’s more recent cold spell, department store chain Beales reported that its energy bills had more than trebled from £45,000 to £150,000, while other fashion retailers said they were looking at four-fold increases in energy costs[4]. This is a problem unlikely to disappear in the near-term, so now is the perfect opportunity to remove energy-sucking loss prevention solutions from an estate in favour of new, energy-efficiency hardware.

To understand how Checkpoint Systems’ RF-EAS could save on your energy costs – and offer enhanced loss prevention and inventory management performance, get in touch at https://checkpointsystems.com/contact/.

 

 

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/11/uk-power-prices-hit-record-high-amid-cold-snap-and-lack-of-wind-power

[2] https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2022/12/john-lewis-heating-lighting/

[3] Based on EU average for 2022-S2, Electricity prices for household consumers, Eurostat 2022.

[4] https://www.drapersonline.com/insight/analysis/fashion-industry-adds-up-true-cost-of-energy-crisis