A retail security fail!

Standing in line for 15 minutes to pay for my new jeans seemed to take forever. Things always seem to take ten times longer when you’re strapped for time like I was. Finally, approaching the till point I was ready to pay before I had to dash for the bus home. That was until the lovely girl at the till noticed the price tag was wrong. In this instance I think they had been applied with the wrong label as it was in tact. However, having five years experience in the retail industry you’d be amazed how often people change price labels in stores. Which is essentially stealing, and the reason stores now use tamper proof labels. Once the correct price was found I dashed off with my new jeans and didn’t think much of it. I planned to wear them the following day. That was until I found the big metal security tag was still attached to them. How I never the store alarm off I’ll never know but they’re so annoying! You can’t remove them by yourself, I tried, they’re like magic.

A recent article from Fresh Plaza highlights that 49% of people find tamper proof labels annoying when shopping for clothes, food, shoes or general items. Those labels which are a necessity to deter theft and keep items secure actually cause more annoyance to potential customers.

When these safety labels are removed, customers complain that they can cause marks and defects to clothing items. The survey, carried out by Data Label, confirms that almost half of the population would possibly be happier shopping without them but would this affect the safety of products?

Whilst working in retial as student I watched a lady take a price label from one handbag and change it with another, she then proceeded to try and purchase it. Once informed teh price was incorrect she battled it out. “The Customer is always right” she said, “you HAVE to honour the price on the item” she exclaimed. Really? No, you’re not and no we don’t I thought. Some people are ruthless and will try anything to ‘save’ themselves a little.

Following my jeans debacle and my experiences in retail I’m a fan of security tag/labels in all forms as a whole, they’re there for a reason. Although I can see why they annoy people, I never got to wear those jeans when I wanted to and I missed the bus!

Would you rather have a annoying label or risk the economy by people changing price tags?