Retail store security cameras that alert you, not just record
Retail store security cameras in a small shop usually record round the clock, and nobody looks until something is missing. With the same cameras you can be told when it matters: the till left open with nobody there, the shutter still down at opening time, motion in the stockroom at 3am.
What really goes wrong in a small shop
- The till drawer left open, or cash on the counter, with nobody behind it.
- A customer waiting at the till and nobody coming to serve.
- The shutter not up at opening time, or not down at closing.
- Someone in the stockroom after hours, or the back door opened at night.
- A camera turned to face the wall, a few degrees at a time.
- A delivery left outside the door all morning.
Rules for retail store security cameras
- Till camera: “Tell me if the till drawer is open and nobody is there.”
- Till camera: “Tell me if a customer is waiting at the till and nobody is serving.”
- Counter camera: “Tell me when cash changes hands away from the register.”
- Stockroom: “Tell me if anyone is in the stockroom after 10pm.”
- Back door: draw an area as a motion alarm. The alert arrives within a second.
- Shop floor: mark the TV screen or the window display as ignored.
Opening and closing checks
A scheduled check is a time and what should be so. At that time Puw looks; if it isn’t so, your phone gets the photo.
- “09:05, shutter open.”
- “19:15, shutter down.”
- “19:15, nobody at the till.”
Questions from your phone
- “What time did the shop open this morning?”
- “Did anyone come in after closing?”
- “How many times did someone go into the stockroom today?”
- “Send a photo of the till now.”
- “When did the supplier come today, and what did they drop off?”
Tampering and privacy
Puw remembers what every camera should see. If a camera is turned away, covered or unplugged, you get an alert, and the last 20 minutes before it are kept as a black box. A camera shaking in the wind or the lights going off at closing doesn’t count.
Keep cameras on the shop floor, the till, the doors and the stockroom, not in fitting rooms or restrooms. Use the alerts for theft, safety and nobody being there, not to rate how people work. Puw does not recognize faces.
Puw: the cameras your shop already has, made useful
Puw is a Windows 10/11 app. It connects to your shop’s existing cameras or recorder over RTSP or ONVIF; Hikvision, Dahua and most other IP brands work. No new cameras, and the recorder keeps recording.
The AI runs on that PC and the footage stays there. Alerts come to your phone as a Telegram message with a photo. Puw learns each camera’s usual day too, and reports motion at an hour that is always quiet.
- A quiet shop’s ordinary PC is enough. A busy till camera wants an NVIDIA graphics card.
- The PC must stay on.
- One yearly plan, unlimited cameras, up to 3 PCs. 30 days free, the full version, no card.
30 days free · full version · no card
Frequently asked questions
Can AI cameras catch shoplifting?
Don’t count on it. Puw doesn’t promise to spot shoplifting. It is best at clear situations you can put into words, like an open till with nobody there or someone in the stockroom at night, and it can miss events.
Where should security cameras go in a small shop?
Over the till, at the entrance, along the main aisles, at the back door and in the stockroom. Not in fitting rooms or restrooms.
Do I need a new security camera system?
No. If your cameras or recorder offer RTSP or ONVIF, which most IP systems do, Puw uses them as they are.
Can I get alerts by text message or WhatsApp?
No. Puw sends alerts through Telegram only, with a photo. Telegram is free on iPhone and Android.
Hikvision, Dahua, Lorex, Reolink and other brands are trademarks of their owners. Puw is not affiliated with them.