Convenience store group KeyStore is working with retailers across its estate in Scotland and the north of England to promote its EPoS system, after it helped play a “key role” in convicting a shoplifter.

Many KeyStore owners have praised the system, owned by Filshill, for enabling them to stay on top of their business. However, for Tony and Rachael Hewson the technology assisted in convicting a shoplifter who targeted their Keystore Middleham store in the Yorkshire Dales.

“On Christmas Eve, I got confirmation that a shoplifter who had targeted my store had been formally charged by the police and now has a criminal record,” said Tony. “The CCTV and till reports/information supplied played a big part in providing 100% factual evidence and helping get the full conviction.”

Tony works closely with the EPoS team at his wholesaler JW Filshill in Glasgow, praised Richard Morgan and his colleagues for their support.

“Richard and the guys work hard in the background – I’m constantly asking Richard to fix little barcode bugs and so on, which helps keep my stock figures as real as possible.

“This means that I have a very well run till/stock system which enabled me to pick up on a few stock figure discrepancies in late October/early November. Once I had confirmation that no picking/delivery/staffing issues had caused the stock figures to be wrong, it was time to trust the till system.

“We reset the stock figures, zoomed the CCTV cameras in on the problem products and did eight-hourly stocktakes on the products. Within 24 hours the tills picked up a discrepancy – I knew the issue was within an eight-hour period so it was just a case of watching those eight hours back to find my shoplifter which I did and I got him.”

Tony said that when he looked back over three weeks of the CCTV footage, he discovered that the shoplifter had targeted KeyStore Middleham nearly every day during that period.

“Luckily, only small value items were taken but it was all adding up and I believe he would have got braver as time went on,” Tony added. “There’s no doubt that our till system played a key role in getting the full conviction and – firstly and most importantly – alerted me to a problem.

“With delivery reports, stock reports, daily timed till receipt reports and sales reports all saved, I was able to prove the amount of goods taken.”

Tony continued: “Filshill’s IT guys do a fantastic job in the background keeping the system running and it’s this hard work that has helped my KeyStore limit the losses.”

Filshill’s chief sales and marketing officer, Craig Brown, said he was hugely encouraged to hear that KeyStore Middleham had secured a conviction for theft at a time when many retailers are struggling to get the police to take this type of in-store incident seriously.

“Retail theft is very much in the news just now and has been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis,” he said. “However, it is gratifying to have proof from one of our customers on the frontline that our cutting-edge technology and EPoS system is doing its job so efficiently and effectively.

“This is a story of our times but one with a favourable ending – and while the main purpose of our technology is to help us work with our customers to identify instantly what is selling in their stores and what is not, tweak planograms accordingly, help them generate profit and increase margins, this security aspect of our EPoS system is also an invaluable tool when used correctly.”

Meanwhile, another KeyStore retailer, Chris Cobb of Cults Stores in Cults, Aberdeen, praised the EPoS system which he operates with integrated Dojo card machines.

He had been informed by Cashzone, with no prior notice, that his in-store cash machine was to be removed.

“I was told at the very last minute by Cashzone it was to be removed so I wanted to look at the possibility of doing cashback for my customers,” Chris explained. “I sent a message to EPoS support on Slack in the morning. Callum from EPoS support checked, dialled in, and had it all set up and integrated on our EPoS system within one hour.

“This was fantastic service and it resolved the problem of the cash machine being removed. I would not hesitate to recommend any KeyStore retailer to have the EPoS system installed and you have the assurance of a great back-up service.”