CCTV Installation for Shops and Stores | Falcon Security Systems

What shop owners actually need cameras to do

A retail camera system has three jobs that pull in different directions: deterring theft, resolving disputes with customers, and monitoring staff at the till. Most shop installations fail at the second and third because every camera is aimed at the door.

The till is the most valuable camera position in any shop and the one most often missed. You want a camera that sees the hands, the counter surface and the customer's face at the same time — which usually means mounting it in front of and slightly above the cashier, not behind them. A camera behind the till sees the back of everyone's head and settles no argument.

The second position that pays for itself is the stockroom door. Retail loss in Egypt is far more often quiet stock walking out the back over months than a dramatic break-in at night. A single camera on the back door with clear timestamps has settled more cases for our customers than any other point in the shop.

For the shopfront itself, mount high enough that the camera cannot be knocked or sprayed, and angle it so that people entering are lit from the front rather than silhouetted against the daylight outside. Backlighting at the entrance is the most common reason a shop camera records a black shape instead of a face.

Priority order for a small shop

• Till area — face, hands and counter in one frame
• Stockroom or back door
• Shopfront entrance, angled to avoid backlight
• Display area with the highest-value goods
• Recorder hidden and locked, not on a shelf behind the counter