Loss Prevention

The very nature of a good retailer is to be agile. This ability is not only useful in deftly navigating changing customer demands, supply chain challenges, and competitive threats, but also in surviving the complex risk environment that we find ourselves in. Without a doubt, the last 24 months have certainly proven themselves to be…

Recent “spontaneous” smash-and-grab incidents, like the one at Nordstrom in San Francisco, have been anything but spontaneous. The impact of these events are more than simple theft and loss for retailers; they deter customers, disenfranchise employees, and add insurance costs. The way those committing theft, robbery and crime have adopted technology has become a new…

In a letter to Congressional leadership, 20 CEOs of leading retailers expressed urgent concern over the growing impact of organized retail crime on retail employees and communities across the U.S. The signatories representing apparel, electronics, health and beauty, home improvement, and general merchandise sectors implore lawmakers to pass the INFORM Consumers Act, legislation that will…

While one may have expected retail theft would decrease during the lockdown periods caused by COVID-19, burglary continued, with rates varying across the country depending on location and store as well as crime type. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), organized retail crime perpetuated by professional groups of criminals is also continuing to grow,…

The evolution of in-store shopping behaviors combined with the continued e-commerce boom has increased the importance for retailers to secure profit margins. Loss of inventory due to customer and employee theft can impact these margins significantly, meaning theft prevention should be a key focus area for retailers. The numbers prove this: According to a survey…

Counterfeiting may have once catered to consumer temptation — a way to access and flaunt expensive brands at a fraction of the price. However, the proliferation of e-commerce has also translated to the counterfeiting industry: not only has it grown, but an increased number of consumers are unintentionally purchasing fake items. Counterfeiters are leveraging online…

Frictionless checkout is rapidly becoming the future of retail, especially with Amazon.com's push to expand its checkout-free “Amazon Go” stores, which leverage digital imaging to redefine the checkout experience. We can expect to see increasingly fewer cashiers, registers and lines as more retailers turn to frictionless checkout to improve efficiency, convenience and satisfaction. While retailers…

Retailers face a number of threats, some specific to their brand and merchandise, others based on their geographic location. Keeping employees and customers safe requires a two-pronged approach: establishing the right culture and providing a safe and secure physical environment. For employees, this means investing in security awareness training for staff, which is simply a…

Now more than ever, cybersecurity is a crucial form of protection for businesses across industries working to combat a variety of threats. It's easy for organizations and individuals to grow complacent about security, but implementing measures to protect the data of customers, partners and your own business is a key step in mitigating cyber risks,…

Retail transactions during peak shopping periods, especially online and mobile sales, continue to increase each year — with the 2018 holiday shopping season serving as a prime example. The season saw record sales, with Black Friday far exceeding expectations and Cyber Monday becoming the largest online shopping day in U.S. history. E-commerce and m-commerce retailers…