Jason Swanson is a seasoned expert in the field of LP, with a career spanning both the retail and restaurant sectors. As a business development manager for retail at Hanwha Vision, he strives to push the boundaries of LP technology while improving the safety, operations, and profitability of retail businesses. He was previously director of LP at MOD Pizza, where he helped implement a robust asset protection and food safety program to drive measurable results that bridged the gaps between LP, empathy, being people-first, and driving operational excellence and profitability. He can be reached at j.swanson@hanwha.com.
LPM: As stores’ surveillance and business needs change, does the role of the manufacturers have to change to keep pace?
Jason Swanson: The role of surveillance technology manufacturers has to continue to evolve to ensure we are strategic partners, helping retailers adapt their physical and digital operations to meet changing customer needs. Retail technology, specifically in the loss prevention and asset protection spaces, moves so fast because it’s a small group of close-knit people.
Everybody knows everybody, and everybody sees the trends shifting, helping us move quickly to adapt. The ongoing progression of technology is important, and much of it occurs by simply talking to people to understand their needs.
I’ve sat in that retail chair, and most of our team has been in that chair. Hanwha Vision has made strategic business development investments to strengthen its team with subject matter experts—professionals with retail experience who can bridge the gap between the manufacturer and customers to foster strong, collaborative relationships. This approach ensures customers are informed about emerging technologies and empowered to actively contribute to the development of future products. By prioritizing customer feedback, Hanwha ensures its products align with the evolving needs of retailers.
LPM: Are stores feeling increased pressure to make sure their employees and customers feel secure and safe?
Swanson: Absolutely! More than ever, patrons and customers are experiencing safety issues. These range from verbal altercations to active shooter situations, and everything you can possibly imagine in between. Operators can best communicate with employees and customers through their actions, system implementation, and using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles. Proper staffing levels, sequence of service, greeting patrons upon entry, proper interior and exterior lighting (even in remote parking lots), good signage, overt video camera placement, public view monitors at entry doors, and a clean environment with clear lines of sight are all ways to show employees and customers that the operator is meeting all their safety needs. If customers or employees don’t feel safe, they will go somewhere else.
LPM: How can surveillance technology help ease retail staff burdens?
Swanson: Stress and mental exhaustion in the retail industry are huge factors, driven by factors like holiday anxiety, demanding work schedules, work-life balance, and unsafe working environments.
Technology like surveillance cameras with analytics can help alleviate some of these burdens by improving safety, security, and staff efficiency. When people feel safe, they do safe things. Retail store employees already have enough to manage without having to react to every possible incident detected. Hanwha Vision has combined artificial intelligence with many of its IP surveillance technologies, leading to fewer false alarms. Our cameras with built-in white LED lights deliver highly accurate detection and provide brighter, safer environments, functioning as a deterrent rather than a reaction, and microphones that can detect loud noises such as screaming and gunshots add another layer of protection.
LPM: Everyone talks about AI and the cloud, but are there other areas related to surveillance that are not getting enough consideration?
Swanson: We’re always focused on physical safety and cybersecurity, but one area we often don’t touch on enough is the risk department. That’s one place where there is a huge potential benefit. I’m referring to the use of cut gloves or burn sleeves, identifying wet spots on floors, monitoring for customer accidents that may happen in the store, and reducing worker’s compensation claims resulting from employee accidents. Developing analytics that will identify these issues can help to ensure the safety of the customer and employee while making a company more profitable.
We must keep asking ourselves: What can we do to improve our threat assessments and threat detections in the store to keep our customers and employees safe? Are there behaviors that the cameras can identify? As audio surveillance technologies improve, can they listen for certain key words indicating that a person might be a threat to themselves or someone else in the business? Answering these questions will help keep people safe and reduce risk while improving the customer experience.
LPM: What is on your retail technology wish list for the new year?
Swanson: Long-term success is based on taking all the AI-driven data and analytics we have at our disposal and turning it into real, actionable intelligence. How do we fully use everything coming from a camera, from a POS, from a kitchen deployment system, from an organized retail crime tracking software—how does it all go into a single pane of glass to help you make informed business decisions?