Sales reducing transactions (SRTs)
Sales reducing transactions (SRTs) are business transactions that reduce sales volume incorrectly, as measured by number of transactions, size of transaction, and/or price of items sold.
What are sales reducing transactions?
Sales reducing transactions (SRTs) are basically any transactions at the point of sale (POS) that cause a decrease in sales. In this case, sales can mean a decreased number of sales, number of items per sale, the sales price of a specific item, or any other sales volume metrics.
For example, returns decrease sales by canceling out a previous sale. Discounts and coupons decrease the price of items sold, as do price overrides due to incorrect prices in the POS or old sales signs being left on shelves. Voids decrease the number of items sold in a transaction or eliminate a transaction entirely.
SRTs are found by searching through point of sale (POS) data. There are many ways to perform these investigations, but exception-based reporting paired with video security footage of each transaction provides the complete picture of each transaction.
Exception-based reporting (EBR) is a form of statistical analysis focused on outlier data. By reviewing high-risk transactions (voids, no-sale till opens, price overrides, discounts, etc.), EBR can inform you about potential SRAs. Then, paired security camera footage gives you complete insight into whether the SRT represents a legitimate transaction or is indicative of theft.
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Why are sales reducing transactions important?
According to Larry Foster, Managing Consultant at The Store Consulting Group, LLC., most retail businesses today are not reviewing their SRTs in an aggregated way. This is concerning because SRTs are a great way to uncover theft.
Setting up a dashboard that shows the number of potential SRTs by employee can help you narrow down your loss prevention activities to the employees who might be stealing. Then, paired security camera footage and transaction data can help you confirm whether those transactions are legitimate or SRTs.
