CCTV for Shops in Pune — What Actually Works

Shop CCTV is its own discipline. A 4-camera home kit won't cut it; what you actually need is camera placement that prevents shrinkage at the counter, deters shoplifting, and gives clean evening / shutter-down footage when no one is around.

The five camera angles every shop needs

1. Cash counter (overhead) — looking down at the till and customer hands. This is the single most important angle.
2. Customer-facing counter view — captures faces of everyone paying, not the back of their heads.
3. Entry / exit door (wide-angle, eye-level) — clear face capture as people enter.
4. Shop-floor overview — wide shot of aisles or display area.
5. Storage / godown door — anyone going in or out of stock.

Skip any of these and you lose specific kinds of evidence: counter cam = staff shrinkage, customer cam = identity, door cam = entry/exit timeline.

Resolution that actually matters

- Counter overhead camera: 4MP minimum. You need to count notes and see card-swipe details.
- Customer-facing counter: 4MP+ with no IR glare on the face.
- Door cam: 4MP wide-angle (2.8mm lens) for face capture in the 1–2.5 m range.
- Shop floor: 2MP is fine.
- Godown door: 2MP.

A common mistake is splurging on 4K cameras for the shop floor and leaving a 2MP camera over the counter. Reverse that.

Night recording

Most shoplifting and break-in attempts happen after closing. Your night-time setup should include:

- Cameras with starlight / colour-night-vision at door and shop floor
- A motion-triggered hooter or siren (₹2,500–₹5,000)
- A motion-push notification to your phone via the Hik-Connect / gDMSS app
- 24×7 recording, not motion-only — never trust motion detection alone after dark

Storage — how many days back can you look?

For a typical 6–8 camera shop in Pune, with 2 TB HDD:

- 2MP @ H.265 main stream: 30–45 days of 24×7 footage
- 4MP @ H.265: 15–25 days
- 4K: 7–12 days

Most shrinkage gets noticed within 7–14 days, so 30 days is a safe target. We almost always recommend 2 TB HDD as the default for shops.

Compliance & privacy

A few things to put in place:

- Display a small “CCTV in operation” sign at the entrance — required for evidentiary use under Indian law.
- Avoid pointing cameras into changing rooms or staff toilets.
- Keep the DVR / NVR in a locked cabinet or above false ceiling — burglars will look for and steal the recorder if it’s visible.

Recommended starter setup for a small shop

- 4 cameras (counter overhead 4MP + counter-front 4MP + door 4MP + shop floor 2MP)
- 4-channel hybrid DVR + 2 TB HDD
- Motion siren at the door
- Mobile app setup
- All-in: ₹26,000 – ₹38,000 installed

Get a free quote

Drop your shop address and a photo of the counter area on WhatsApp and we’ll send a sized quote within 30 minutes.

FAQs

Q: Will CCTV reduce my insurance premium?
A: Many shop insurance policies in India give a small discount (5–10%) for documented CCTV cover.

Q: Can my staff watch the cameras from their phone?
A: Yes — you can create restricted accounts that see only certain cameras.

Q: Is wireless / Wi-Fi CCTV good enough for a shop?
A: No. Wired (HD-TVI or PoE) is far more reliable. Wi-Fi cameras drop frames, and shop owners regret them by month 3.