Theft from the floor.
Small, expensive goods taken without paying: cosmetics, alcohol, batteries, razor blades. This is where cameras that see the floor and the exit help most.
Guide · 5 November 2026
Shoplifting. Where stock goes missing and what cameras show.
Most stores only find out about theft at stocktake, weeks after the goods have gone. The cameras recorded everything, but nobody watches them live, and finding a specific moment in the footage takes hours. Below: where the losses come from, three patterns existing cameras can flag on their own, and what staff do when the signal arrives.
Where the losses come from
Not every stocktake gap is theft from the floor.
The gap between what the system shows and what is on the shelf usually has four sources. Cameras help a lot with the first and little with the rest, so it’s worth knowing which is which from the start.
Losses on the staff side.
Goods taken out the back door, unauthorised discounts, voided receipts. These show up mainly in till reports and at goods-in, not only on camera.
Errors at goods-in and at the till.
Wrong quantities at goods-in, mis-scanned codes, prices not updated. It isn’t theft, but at stocktake it looks the same.
Damaged or expired.
Torn packaging, expired dates, written-off goods never removed from the system. Fixed with record-keeping, not cameras.
What cameras can flag
Three patterns that existing cameras can flag.
No new devices at the door: the same cameras that count visitors follow movement, not the person. Checking takes ten seconds instead of an hour searching through footage.
Exit that bypasses the checkouts
A person goes from an aisle straight to the exit without stopping at the checkouts. The alert includes the camera and the second.
18:42:07 · camera 3 · exit without checkout
Unusually long dwell
Someone lingers in the aisles with expensive goods, outside the usual pattern for that hour. An employee stepping into the area usually settles it.
16:15:40 · camera 2 · 6 min at cosmetics
Item hidden in a pocket or bag
The system watches the gesture, not the product: a hand moving from the shelf to a pocket, bag or coat instead of the basket. It is active only in the zones you choose — cosmetics, alcohol, small expensive items. If the person then leaves without passing the checkouts, the alert gets top priority.
11:03:22 · camera 5 · reach toward a bag
When an alert comes in
An alert is a signal, not proof.
Someone who spends a long time at the cosmetics may just be choosing a present. That’s why the right response is presence, not accusation.
Look at the footage.
The alert carries the time and the camera, so you see the moment in a few seconds without scrubbing through hours of footage.
Send someone to the area.
A “Can I help you with anything?” stops many attempts before they become theft. It’s polite and it works.
The rest, agreed in advance.
How staff respond when someone leaves with unpaid goods is agreed in advance, with your lawyer and security. It isn’t improvised on the spot.
Without technology
What reduces shoplifting before any camera.
Most good measures are about the floor and the people. Cameras only show you where and when to apply them.
The way out runs past the tills.
If you can reach the door from the floor without passing the tills, theft is easier. Lay out the floor so the way out runs through the till area.
In sight, close to staff.
Cosmetics, alcohol and small, expensive items are better kept within sight of the till or a member of staff.
People on the floor when it’s busy.
When every member of staff is at the till, the floor is left unwatched. Counting visitors by the hour shows exactly which time slots that happens in.
Full shelves, but tidy ones.
A gap on a tidy shelf is noticed straight away. On a messy shelf, a missing item goes unnoticed until stocktake.
Personal data
We follow the gesture, not the person.
The system doesn’t recognise customers and builds no profile on them: it follows movements, not identities. The rules for cameras are Law No. 195/2024 in Moldova and the GDPR in Romania; informing customers is something you prepare with your lawyer.
Read also
Related pages.
Video analytics for stores
Conversion by hour, bypassed zones and checkout queues, in every store in the chain.
Read →Video analytics for pharmacies
How many come in, how many are served at the counter and how long they wait. Real installations in pharmacies in Moldova.
Read →Video analytics on existing cameras
What video analytics measures, which cameras it works on, what it costs and how accurate it is.
Read →People counters: which type to choose
Infrared beam, 3D sensor or your existing cameras: what each one measures and what it costs.
Read →Frequently asked questions
Questions about shoplifting and cameras.
Can CCTV cameras detect theft on their own?
They can flag patterns that usually go with theft: an exit that bypasses the tills, an unusually long stay by expensive goods and a gesture from the shelf to a pocket or bag. The decision stays with a person: the alert tells you where and when to look, not who is guilty.
Do I need new cameras?
Usually not. We use the cameras you already have, as long as they see the floor and the exit. Where coverage falls short, we add one or two ordinary cameras and tell you beforehand, from an image.
Does an alert mean the person stole something?
No. An alert is a signal, not proof. Someone who spends a long time at the cosmetics may just be choosing a present. Check the footage and send a member of staff to the area; how you respond after that, agree in advance with your lawyer and security.
Are customers’ faces recognised?
No. Customers stay silhouettes: the system follows the gesture and the route, not the identity, and builds no profile. We only recognise the staff you register, so we can take them out of the numbers.
How do I find out where I lose the most?
Put your stocktake by category next to the hours when the floor has no staff on it. Where losses are high on small, expensive items and the floor is empty at busy times, an extra member of staff and camera alerts help the most.
Contact
What can your cameras flag? Let’s look at it together.
Send an image from the camera that sees the floor or the exit. Within 24 hours we write back with which patterns can be tracked on it.
What happens nextThree steps, no pressure.
1We reply within 24 hours, in writing, with what can be measured at your location.
2Thirty minutes on a single location: together we look at what your existing cameras cover.
3If it makes sense for you, we propose a pilot on three locations. You can stop it at any time, with no penalty.