£48,833 stolen per minute from stores at Christmas

Retailers should prepare themselves for an onslaught of crime in the lead up to Christmas as £431.2 million of stock will be stolen from UK stores, according to research carried out by The Centre for Retail Research on behalf of Checkpoint Systems. The research predicts that 105,000 incidents of theft will occur during this time, a rise of 206 per cent from a normal four-week period.

£2.93 million of stock will be lost every hour of trading in 687 separate incidents of shoplifting, totalling some £26.4 million on the year's busiest shopping day, Saturday 22 December. The findings warn that the products most at risk of being stolen are perfumes, alcohol, women's wear, cosmetics, and electronic media.

David Nuttall, managing director of Checkpoint Systems UK, said: "Christmas is a busy time for retailers. Ensuring product availability, customer service, and adequate staff levels is crucial but in order to maximise profits, management must ensure security solutions are in place to protect stock. With a packed store it is difficult for staff to monitor the shop floor effectively and, therefore, it is the time that technology solutions come into a world of their own."

The research found that the number of incidents at Christmas rises by 206 per cent and the value stolen by 236 per cent. Amongst the shoplifters that are arrested, the value of items is normally around £77.95 but at Christmas thieves target higher priced goods resulting in the value reaching £85.71. During Christmas period, Saturdays are the highest day for theft, however during the rest of the year retailers need to be more concerned about Thursdays.

www.checkpointeurope.co.uk

Auchan chooses NCR FastLane Deli

Auchan, the international retail group, has selected NCR FastLane Deli, a new self-service kiosk which enables shoppers to order and pay for freshly prepared food and drinks themselves at quick service restaurants, for deployment in four stores in Italy.

NCR FastLane Deli enables consumers to select one or more products or services from a set list and pay by cash, debit or credit card. Consumers can take advantage of loyalty card offers and collect their receipt before picking up their items.

The self-service solution enables staff in the snack bars in Auchan supermarkets to focus staff on food preparation and delivery activities, eliminating the need for them to handle cash and card payments. The solution integrates with Auchan's existing POS gate and standard management with traditional NCR FastLane self checkouts.

The self-ordering kiosks have been installed in an existing Auchan store in Cesano Boscone, Milan, a new store in Venaria, Turin, and soon will be available in the Cinisello Balsamo store in Milan.

"We chose NCR due to its self-service solutions, experience and because it is able to understand and respond to our needs," said Marino Vignati, Auchan's IT director.

www.ncr.com

Bakery chain commits to a further 500 tills

Specialist manufacturer of PC-based touchscreens, J2 Retail Systems (J2), has secured a further contract from its largest bakery client, Greggs, for the supply of 500 additional J2 560 tills.

J2 was selected in May 2006 to supply hardware into the 1,353-strong Greggs and Bakers Oven store estate. With some 800 new tills now already installed, this latest contract marks the next milestone in the baker's point-of-sale replacement programme.

As Greggs' head of IT, Roy McDougal, explains: "We find the J2 560 the ultimate in flexibility. We can easily convert the tills ourselves to be flat counter-mounted, or mounted on the glass serving counters with the screen on a bracket at the server's eye-level."

Greggs' requirements have played a major part in the design of the J2 560, which is J2's latest machine. The reliability issues and environmental issues which Greggs had experienced with previous tills have been eliminated. The J2 560 is a rugged and simplified terminal that it easy to operate and maintain and uses a Compact Flash card which, in case of problem, can be immediately replaced by the user.

Continues McDougal: "Being fanless, the J2 560s can't overheat or suck in dust and flour. The result is a space-efficient, practical and hygienic unit, ideal for our retail bakery environment."

As a result of acquiring a number of regional bakery chains, Greggs enjoys presence from Scotland to the south coast of England. More than 5 million customers are served every week, with two-thirds of trade deriving from shop-made sandwiches, drinks and freshly-baked savoury items to go, and the remainder from cakes and sweet items.

Greggs' ambitions now include becoming Europe's finest bakery-related retailer. Its recent expansion into Continental Europe has seen it open 11 branches in Belgium, each of which is equipped with J2 560s.

www.j2retailsystems.com

Dixons Tax-Free stores to trial MAX BOX

DSGi PLC has agreed with FELIX Group plc to trial its MAX BOX kiosks in Dixons Tax-Free stores in Gatwick and Heathrow Airports.

Aim-listed Felix Group plc hopes a successful trial will see a wider rollout of its kiosks across the Dixons Tax-Free and Currys estate.

The machines feature an array of digital services including a mobile phone top-up and charge service, 24-hour flower ordering facility, Christmas hampers, fun games and digital downloads.

Sophie Woollard, trading manager of Dixons Tax Free at DSGi PLC commented, "Mobile phone top-up and charging, and other digital services give us the opportunity to take care of all passengers' technology needs when they fly. We are pleased to trial these services via MAX BOX to our customers."

DSG international PLC is one of Europe's leading specialist electrical retailing groups. It operates a multi-channel approach to electrical retailing and trades through more than 1,300 stores and online stores, spanning 28 countries and employing nearly 40,000 people. The Group operates the Dixons Tax free, Dixons.co.uk, Currys and PC World brands in the UK as well as many others across Europe.

www.themaxbox.com

Coinstar selected to power Somerfield's gift card programme

Shoppers will be able to select from a wide selection of popular high street gift cards as Coinstar E-Payment Services Limited (UK), and the local fresh and convenience grocer Somerfield, have agreed to roll-out Coinstar's Gift Card programme in stores throughout Britain.

The programme features popular gift cards in one convenient location and provides the host retailer with a turnkey product to drive incremental traffic, sales and profits into the store.

"Securing Somerfield gives us a strong presence in the convenience grocery sector" commented Mohit Davar, managing director - Coinstar E-Payments Services Limited (UK). "We are very excited about the potential of this deal with Somerfield, which marks a significant step for Coinstar as we continue to establish ourselves as the leading UK Gift Card Programme enabler. We are building on our initial retail success with this Somerfield launch, broadening the reach of our innovative gift card programme to millions of UK shoppers".

"Somerfield customers demand choice and convenience, and we feel our Gift Card Shop will surprise and delight them" remarked Mark Grayson, Somerfield's category manager for concessions. "Nothing is easier than buying a gift card as a gift, and what could be more convenient than doing that at your local Somerfield?"

The programme will be rolling out in Somerfield stores through winter 2007 in time for Christmas.

www.coinstar.co.uk