The Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) stickers are indeed one of the most common features on supermarket products with their main role being unknown or misunderstood by many Kenyans.
On some occasions, you may have even witnessed some Kenyans placing the stickers - usually white rectangular stickers with black bar codes - on the back of their phones with the belief that it improves a phone's network.
Contrary to this belief, the main function of the label - also known as the EAS Acousto Magnetic (AM) label - is to protect products in the supermarket from being shoplifted.
Supermarket attendants often place stickers on several pricey products likely to be shoplifted, such as cooking oil, and clothing, among others.
The EAS labels are also common in products sold in electronic shops.
How the Stickers Work.
The stickers work under the larger EAS security system, which also entails the scanners placed at the exit doors of supermarkets.
To prevent shoplifting, any products with stickers will always make the alarm at the door scanners go off should the product pass near the exit, as the antenna and the sticker are linked via a frequency.
Therefore, on most occasions, supermarket attendants often rip off the stickers when a customer makes payments.
However, the stickers are sometimes deactivated using a magnet placed on the counters.
Some supermarkets also have a magnetic scanner that deactivates labels so the alarm doesn't go off when the customer leaves the shop.
Apart from the EAS AM labels, supermarkets also have the EAS tags that also work in place of the stickers to prevent shoplifting.
"Basically, when a customer leaves the supermarket with the tags and stickers still active, the alarm will go off as the sensor and tags communicate through frequency.
"There are many types of tags and labels and they come in different shapes and sizes. However, their function remains the same," Sylvia Muenik, a former Supermarket employee told Kenyans.co.ke on May 27.
