Retailers face mounting pressures to safeguard profits, protect assets, and maintain seamless operations. From traditional shrinkage to increasing theft, the challenges grow more complex by the day.
Retail access control systems are transforming how businesses protect assets and manage store security. Solutions like Gallagher SMB offer retailers advanced tools to prevent unauthorized access, reduce internal theft, and streamline operations.
Read on to explore how retail access control solutions like Gallagher SMB help prevent internal theft and improve security for retailers.
Reimagining Loss Prevention with Retail Access Control
Shrinkage remains one of the most persistent issues for retailers. Whether it’s shoplifting, employee theft, or errors in inventory management, these losses chip away at profit margins, costing North American retailers nearly $100 billion annually according to the National Retail Federation. A significant contributor to shrinkage is internal and external theft, with findings from Auror’s 2025 Retail Crime Insights Report showing a 9% increase in the value of retail crime loss compared to the 12 months prior.
Among the various forms of shrinkage, internal theft continues to be a particularly persistent and costly issue for retailers. When staff have free access to stockrooms, safes, and cash offices, there’s often no reliable record of who went where, or when. With dozens or even hundreds of sites, Security Managers are left with blind spots – and losses that only show up after the damage is done.
The Challenge of Free Access
In many retail chains, staff still share keys, codes, or cards that give them unrestricted access. These are difficult to track, often passed between employees, and rarely revoked when someone leaves. In other chains, doors to sensitive areas are simply left unlocked during staffed hours. This creates an environment where too many people have unchecked access — and no accountability.
How Gallagher SMB Changes This
Gallagher SMB is a cloud-based security system managed through a simple mobile app. Staff use the app on their smartphones to unlock doors, giving you full visibility of who accessed which areas and when. Sensitive spaces like stockrooms, safes, and cash offices are locked down so only authorized staff can enter, and every entry is logged in real time. Suspicious behavior becomes visible immediately, and staff are always accountable for their movements.
Local Control, Faster Response
SMB is designed to push oversight and control to the store level. Local managers can see and respond to activity as it happens, or retrospectively check logs during a theft investigation, without waiting for head office. At the same time, Security Managers maintain visibility across every site in the chain — ensuring consistency, compliance, and control at scale.
Key Capabilities in Action
With SMB, free access is replaced with controlled, recorded access:
- Controlled access to sensitive areas: Only the right people can enter high-risk zones such as stockrooms or safes
- Tracked and recorded entries: Every door swipe is logged in the app, showing exactly who accessed an area and when
- Instant credential management: Add, revoke, or update staff access in seconds, across multiple stores and at no cost
- Cloud-based and scalable: One simple platform that standardizes security across the chain
Why This Matters
With a store security system like Gallagher SMB, every movement is visible, tracked, and controlled. Store managers get the tools to act immediately, while Security Managers gain the oversight they need to prevent theft before it happens.
The Bottom Line
Gallagher SMB transforms retail security from reactive to proactive. By replacing free access with tracked access — and empowering both store-level managers and Security Managers — it delivers the visibility and control needed to protect profits and run a tighter operation.
If you’re ready to upgrade your store security system and tackle employee theft, contact our team to learn how Gallagher SMB can help.