Eas Security System

Everything You Need to Know About EAS Tags

What’s an EAS?

Before we move on to the tags, let us first define what EAS means. EAS stands for electronic article surveillance. They are systems designed to help retailers and anyone else who needs to secure and keep track of merchandise and other assets do just that using various technologies like RF, magnetism, acoustics and even microwave.

What’s an EAS tag?

An EAS tag is one of the three basic components of an EAS system. It is essentially a security device that is attached to a product or any other similar asset to make it constantly visible to a reader and an antenna (the other two components of the system) and ultimately prevent theft.

In most cases, alarms are triggered whenever anyone tries to bring unpaid tagged merchandise out of a store or forcefully removes a tag from a product.

What kinds of EAS tags are available?

 There are two basic categories of EAS tags: active and passive. Simply put, active tags have a built-in power source and are designed to withstand extreme conditions and possess over 100 meters of read range, while passive ones rely on readers and antennas for power to work and have a much smaller read range (up to six meters maximum).

In terms of physical design, however, a tag can come in so many different forms. It can be a hard tag, a sticker, a label, a cable, a hang tag or even a sewn-in piece of cloth. Some are small and practically invisible, while others are big enough to act as a deterrent for would-be shoplifters.

How do they work?

Active EAS tags constantly send out signals to the antennas and readers in fixed time intervals. Passive ones, on the other hand, wait until they receive a request from an antenna and a reader before they can send a signal back. They wouldn’t be able to function otherwise because they work by converting the electronic requests they receive the power that they need to generate and send out a signal of their own.

In either case, the signal the tags send out contain various types of information that the reader then interprets or sends to a data analytics software.

How much do they cost?

In general, active tags cost so much more than their passive counterparts. You can get them for anywhere between $20 and $100 per piece, while passive ones typically cost less than $1.

Why the big price difference? Well, active tags are designed to withstand much harsher working conditions and are able to transmit more information to a wider read zone than passive ones. This is why they are more popular in heavy industries like mining, logistics, gas and oil.

Does this mean you should count passive tags out? Of course not. While active tags may have the advantage in some industries, passive tags are still more cost-effective solution in industries like retail, payment processing and manufacturing.

So, which one should I use?

At the end of the day, it all depends on your needs and budget. But regardless of the option you go for, the bottom line is that EAS tags are a great way to secure your products and other similar assets.

Get More Out of Your Retail Store Software with a Good EAS System

At the heart of every EAS system is a tiny tag that does wonders when it comes to boosting in-store security. But did you know that it can do so much more? You can actually use it to maximize the different retail store software you use. Let’s take a look:

Inventory management

One of the keys to running a successful retail store is effectively managing your stocks, especially if you have a big inventory with a wide selection of products. This is why it is usually a good idea to have some form of inventory management software hooked up to a POS system in place so you can get real-time updates on your stock levels.

The problem, however, is that POS systems only keep track of actual sales. They are not designed to account for misplaced or stolen items. The good news is that by simply attaching an EAS label to each product in your inventory and then installing an EAS detector, you’ll know exactly how many items go out the door and how many items are left in the store at all times. The detector does all the work for you.

Automated ordering

You can even take things further if your inventory management software also has automated ordering functionality. All you really need to do is set a lower limit in terms of stock levels and then have the tool automatically place an order for you whenever it is reached. Just imagine how much less work – if at all – you and your staff would have to do once you get this system up and running. You would then have more time and energy to focus on creating more value for all your customers.

Data gathering and analytics

EAS labels (also known as tags) can also be used to keep track of sales based on how many of them are deactivated per day. In fact, you can even use them to take note of the times when most of your sales happen, which items are selling well and which ones need a little more push. All you really have to do is hook it up to a data analytics software so you can make sense of all the data it collects.

At the end of the day, EAS systems do so much more than beef up in-store security. Pair them with good retail store software and they’ll provide you with useful insights that you can use to better manage your store and ultimately boost sales.