Entry Alarm System for Retail Stores

When you own a small business, you will never want to miss a customer simply because you were in a back room. One easy solution is to add a bell to the door, like in an old fashioned ice cream shop. Of course, you may not hear that bell all the way in the back room. Other solutions for a louder bell (or even a wireless alert) include the beam, contact, and motion sensors. They give you the ability to have a sensor detecting the customer and a receiver in a separate location to let you know someone has arrived. The most accurate sensors would be a beam or contact entry sensor.

Beam type sensors are great for stores that do not keep their doors closed, or that have an open walkway. You simply mount the sending unit on one end of the opening and then point it at a reflector on the other side. When anything passes through the reflector and sender, an invisible beam is broken and the sender will alert the chime that the entryway has been crossed. Systems like our are perfect for small shops, since it is very accurate and does not give false alarms. The one drawback to these systems is that they are not wireless, which means the chime is attached to the sensor and can only be put up to 32 feet away. That range is generally good for most small shop owners since they can turn up the volume quite a bit.

Wireless contact sensors are a great solution for businesses which need a wireless chime solution for a back office or break room and have a front door that is always closed. With a system like our 6-Channel Wireless Alert System w/ Door Contact Sensor, you would simply mount one part of the sensor to the door and one part to the door frame. Contact sensors use a magnetic strip that detects when the two pieces are separated. When the door opens, the sensor sends a wireless signal to receiver, which will notify you. Since the receiver is wireless, it makes it ideal for situations where you may not want the customer to hear the tone. The drawback to contact sensors is, of course, if the door is left open the contacts will not alert you.

Motion sensors are generally used in situations where you need a wireless receiver, but you have an open space where contact sensors cannot be used. A motion sensor is mounted on the ceiling or wall pointed in the direction where a customer would enter. Most indoor motion sensors can see up to 20 feet in front of them, so they will cover a large area. The issue with having such a large area of coverage is getting false alarms while someone is simply walking around in the monitored area. One solution is to cover part of the sensor’s "eye", limiting the range of vision to a specific area. Once the sensor sees motion, it will send an alert to the wireless receiver.

Whether you go with an old timey bell, or a new-age motion sensor, getting an alert when a customer enters can save you stress, loss of a sale, or potentially prevent theft. You can also create a "magic" feeling by popping up from behind the counter when someone comes in!