The Fight Against Theft with Security Labels
Over the last few years, Tide laundry detergent has become one of the hottest items on the American black market. Not only is it being sold for half of its retail price, it’s also being used as currency on the street. Tide theft has gotten so bad that one St. Paul, Minn. man was arrested after making off with more than $25,000 worth of the detergent over the course of 15 or so months.
And if there’s anything we can learn from this surge of Tide detergent theft, it’s that the importance of security labels cannot be understated. In previous posts, we’ve discussed how these types of labels can be used to prevent counterfeiting and how they can protect your brand, but it’s worth mentioning again.
As it stands now, Tide detergent is selling for between $5 and $10 per bottle on the black market, well under the retail price. An article in The Daily points out the reason for this laundry soap thievery: “it’s a staple in households across socioeconomic classes.” Essentially, everybody needs it. And because of that, it’s become a hot commodity. But is there a solution to this problem?
In short, no. But labels like Whitlam’s security labels can offer more brand and product protection and help put a dent in the rate of Tide theft. One of the benefits of security labels is the ability to keep track of your products with tracking software. And the best part of this technology is that it’s easy and effective. In order to track your products, all you would have to do is scan a security barcode label when a product is shipped and then delivered. Not only would this help with general inventory upkeep, but you could glean useful information about where your product is at all times.
This is the nut of Tide’s problem. Somerset Police Department Detective Larry Patterson told The Daily, “There’s no serial numbers and it’s impossible to track.”
But if Tide were to have security labels printed onto individual products, or even specific pallets, it would have the wherewithal to keep better stock of its inventory. And while security labels alone won’t solve the problem, it would help prevent the theft of Tide if potential thieves knew the product could be tracked.
If you’d like to know how security labels can help increase the protection of your company’s product, don’t hesitate to contact Whitlam today!