Gallery Furniture Expands Web Camera Coverage

July 30, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on July 2007 Gallery Furniture is expanding its use of Web cameras for both security purposes and assisting customers with online shopping, according to an announcement Monday by True Sentry of Winston-Salem, N.C., which has provided the retailer’s TrueLook IP network camera system for seven years.

The company’s 100,000-square-foot showroom recently added cameras and implemented additional security features. As an example of the system’s security capabilities, George Branch, Gallery’s IT Lead, said the system captured images of employees improperly giving televisions to individuals at the store. With the images the system captured, Gallery was able to turn over proof of the improper exchanges to authorities.

The system also enables shoppers to view furniture throughout the store using 30 separate cameras that can zoom in on item tags to display price and item numbers for use in placing orders with a call to the retailer. The system’s LiveCARD feature enables customers to send a snapshot of any item to any e-mail address. The recipient can then click on the image to get an up-close look of a video image of the product.

More than 266,145 unique users viewed the Webcams during 2006. Store managers also make use of the system to ensure that customers are being assisted promptly.

”TrueSentry has (definitely) saved us thousands of dollars in merchandise and easily allows us to turn video over to proper authorities to help track down thefts,” Branch said. “TrueLook and TrueSentry provide us with many uses to help increase our business and improve productivity.”