Leading tracking device manufacturer, Digital Matter has seen an increase in retailers wanting a cost-effective solution to trolley theft which costs Australian businesses millions in replacement and retrieval.
A recent Finder survey found 16% of Australians (or 3.3 million people) have taken a trolley or basket from the shops over a 12-month period.
The Digital Matter trolley tracking system uses long-life battery GPS devices that send alerts when shopping carts and trolleys leave a predetermined location which allows businesses to quickly recover and manage trolley assets before incurring expenses.
The devices are compact and weatherproof and can be configured to the specific needs of retailers including tamper alerts, run hour monitoring and geofencing. They are being used by businesses including shopping centres, airports and garden centres across Australia.
Retailbiz spoke to Digital Matter CEO, Ken Everett to learn more about the trolley tracking system and the key factors behind its successful uptake.
How does the technology work?
“Utilising GPS, Wi-Fi and cell tower location technologies, our tracking devices can be discreetly installed on all types of trolleys, in order to maintain their visibility, no matter where they travel.
“Whether indoors or outdoors, our trackers ensure retail owners can identify trollies, reduce theft and be alerted in the instance of unauthorised use. Retail owners can set up geofences which describe boundaries around their premises, and receive notification if trollies exit that area.
“In addition, activating recovery provides live tracking, to allow authorities to track the trolley in real time to increase the instance of retrieval. Retailers may also opt to utilise other features such as impact/orientation detection, to be notified if trollies are misused or knocked over, or tamper detection to be notified if someone tries to remove a device from a trolley.”
What are the success rates?
“We service one major retail outlet that uses industrial trollies which cost the business up to $1,000 each. They have rolled out our devices across many of their east coast stores, providing visibility for over 4,000 trollies. We see more enquiries for shopping cart tracking not just in Australia, but all around the world.
“With our devices, businesses have the benefit of reliable tracking both indoors and outdoors. With GPS, Wi-Fi MAC Address Scanning, Bluetooth and cell tower fallback, businesses can reliably find their trollies no matter where they travel.
“Our cellular devices mean that they work everywhere there is cell phone coverage. They are not limited to only being able to track such within a finite proximity like other technology (LoRaWAN) and do not need to set up additional infrastructure. Once devices are activated, they can simply be attached and tracked.”
Why do you think retailers are embracing this solution?
“Trolley theft is on the rise and is extremely topical. Not only does this cost businesses but impacts customer experience if there are not sufficient trollies available when needed. It also helps the recovery efforts of trollies that have been taken away from the premises to aid faster recovery, and proactively be notified in the event of theft.
“Councils are fining retailers for every trolley that winds up in the community, putting the onus on them to stay on top of things. If you have trolleys, you need to ensure you can track them so that you can retrieve them before someone else finds them.”