Usually with an adhesive pad, sometimes with a clamp or through the charging port - and the adhesive is the weak point.

Adhesive pads bond to the back of the device and are quick to fit, which is why they dominate.

They fail on textured, curved, oily and cold surfaces, and on some coatings they leave residue that damages the demonstration stock.

Clamp-style holders grip the device physically and are far harder to defeat, at the cost of being product-specific and bulkier.

Port-connected tethers use the charging socket, which combines power and restraint and is the neatest arrangement where the product allows it.

Test the attachment on the actual product. A pad that holds a demonstration unit on the bench may not hold it after a week of handling.

For live display it has to - a demonstration unit with a flat battery sells nothing, and charging through the tether is the usual solution.

Powered display stands supply charge through the same cable that restrains the item, so there is one connection rather than two.

That makes charging failure a display failure: nobody notices until the product is dead.

Voltage and connector compatibility is product-specific, so a stand bought for one device generation may not suit the next.

Some stands report charging status, which is worth having on a large display.

Include a charge check in the daily routine. It is the fastest way to spot a failed cable or a disconnected supply.

Sound locally when the cable is cut or the product detached, loudly enough to attract attention, and not when a customer merely handles the item.

The local sounder is the deterrent: an alarm at the fixture is immediate and public in a way a remote alert is not.

A repeater at a staffed position helps in large stores where the fixture may be out of earshot.

Sensitivity has to tolerate normal handling. A device that alarms when a customer picks the product up trains staff to ignore it within a day.

Arming and disarming for stock changes needs a controlled key or code, and those keys need the same control as any other.

Log activations. A fixture that alarms repeatedly is either being targeted or misconfigured, and both are worth knowing.

Recoiling for a tidy display and a defined working radius; fixed-length where cost matters more than appearance.

Recoilers retract the slack automatically, which keeps the fixture presentable and prevents cables tangling between adjacent products.

They also impose a working radius, so the product can be lifted and used but not carried away from the stand.

Fixed cables are cheaper and more robust but produce the tangle that makes live displays look neglected.

Cable length should be set by how the product is actually demonstrated - a phone needs enough to be held comfortably, a power tool needs enough to be swung.

Too much length defeats the point: a cable long enough to reach an aisle is long enough to work on out of sight.

A daily check that products are charged, attached and alarmed - all three fail silently.

A flat demonstration unit, a detached pad and a dead alarm all look like a working display from a distance.

The check takes a minute per fixture: lift each product, confirm it is charged, confirm the tether is attached, and confirm the alarm arms.

Frayed cables are both a weakened device and a snag hazard, and should be replaced rather than tolerated.

Adhesive pads have a service life and should be replaced on a schedule rather than when they let go.

Log the check. It is the record that shows whether a loss happened on a protected display or an unprotected one.

They are independent systems, but the tether itself often incorporates an EAS component, so the item alarms at the door if it does leave.

The cable lock protects at the fixture; EAS detects at the exit. Neither replaces the other.

Combined devices carrying an EAS element mean a detached product still triggers the pedestals.

Check technology compatibility - a built-in element has to match the store's system.

The till process needs to handle both: releasing the tether and deactivating or removing the EAS element, in the right order.

Where the product is sold boxed from stock rather than from display, the tether is only protecting the demonstration unit, and the boxed stock needs its own protection.

Anything where the customer needs to handle a working product and the unit value justifies the device and the maintenance.

Phones, tablets, laptops, cameras, headphones, power tools and small appliances are the standard cases.

The test is whether handling the working product drives the purchase. If it does not, a dummy unit or an empty display box is cheaper and needs no maintenance.

Dummy models are widely used on that basis and remove the theft problem entirely at the cost of a less convincing display.

For boxed stock behind the display, safers, spider wraps or a stockroom collection process are the appropriate protection.

Review the protected list against actual losses. Displays are frequently protected out of habit long after the products stopped being targeted.