Mauro Perez’s Post

NRF Takeaway #3: The Changing Face of Retail Crime Post-Pandemic One noteworthy shift in the retail landscape is a change in the nature of retail crime since the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, retail crime was primarily related to theft, with perpetrators taking products and attempting to evade store employees. However, post-COVID, there has been a disturbing shift towards more violent behaviors. Stores are now dealing with an increased threat to staff and customer safety and property damage. The distribution of this trend and the response to it varies throughout the industry. Stores selling everyday goods in high-traffic urban locations are generally at higher risk than specialty retailers and those concentrated more in suburban shopping centers.  In some regions, retailers have started implementing drastic measures, like using tasers to subdue thieves. However, these measures are currently limited to specific areas and are generally implemented when other retailers in the area adopt similar tactics. Retailers are navigating a delicate balance - they don't want to be seen as overly aggressive, yet they also don't want to be perceived as the most lenient and become a target. Finding the right balance between ensuring safety and avoiding negative publicity is a complex challenge many retailers are facing. Agilence Case Management is a powerful tool designed to help retailers respond effectively to the increased risk of violence and theft in their stores by allowing retailers to track and analyze incidents and identify patterns, enabling them to evolve their security measures as necessary. Store Audit is complementary, providing a preventative approach, helping retailers maintain high standards of store upkeep which can deter potential thieves. #retail #nrf #nrf2024 #retailcrime #lossprevention

$100 billion. This is an astonishing number. 📌According to the NRF, organized retail crime (ORC) is now responsible for $100 billion in shrink that retailers have to absorb annually. 📍 Target is estimating it will take a $500 M hit this year to profitability due to retail theft. We've all seen the videos in the news of flash mobs hitting everyone from value retailers to high-end shops, ransacking the stores in minutes. Some retailers are forming in-house ORC teams, while others are installing locked displays or putting cops in stores. 📍One Walmart in Atlanta will be the first to include a police substation within the store. (GroceryDive via GlobeSt.com) That's crazy. There has to be a better way. 📌 Congress is working on an Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center within the Department of Homeland Security. The goal would be for federal, state, and local law enforcement to join forces to combat ORC. How are you seeing retailers combat retail theft? What can be done? Its a multi-faceted approach as its not just external theft, but employee internal theft, damage in-store from employees, etc.. I think it will come down to technology. Stopping them from organizing on social media, getting to the target before they do, and using technology to track them through their phones and the merch. Also, likely additional penalties in the criminal justice system are needed. Thoughts? ⬇️ Read more here https://bit.ly/3t01zp2 #TSCG #CREtail #RetailStores #CRE #Retail

Headlines this week have been alarming, citing shoplifting as an epidemic. According to The British Retail Consortium, there were approximately eight million incidents of shoplifting in the 12 months leading up to March 2023. The police recorded a staggering 339,206 cases in the same period, representing a 24% increase from the previous year. It's time to take action and reduce these numbers. Check out Part 1 of our series to learn how to reduce theft in retail: https://lnkd.in/g_iEx4Jb

Shoplifting has reached a new level with the emergence of smash-and-grab attacks and organized retail crime. Retail theft will total $100 billion this year and losses are starting to make a dent on major retailers' balance sheets. Despite the industry-wide monetary losses, retailers and consumers are most concerned about the violence associated with ORC. Over 80 percent of retailers surveyed reported criminals are more aggressive and violent now than they were a year ago, including 36 percent who said they were “much more” violent. Get the details in my latest on The Robin Report. #organizedretailcrime #orc #smashandgrabretailtheft #shoplifting #retailtheft #theftprevention #criminaljusticesystem #fightingcrime https://lnkd.in/e3wSKBtP

The #NationalRetailFederation has dedicated this October 26 as Fight Retail Crime Day — an annual event that mobilizes the entire retail business community to advocate for effective solutions in combating this problem. The article below highlights how shoplifting and retail theft are at an epidemic level.

NEW RELEASE: Shoplifting, especially “smash and grab” incidents, has received widespread news coverage and caught the attention of state and federal policymakers. Retailers have cited shoplifting as their reason for closing store locations and placing items in locked cases. But what does the data show? Drawing on reports from 24 cities, a new analysis for CCJ’s Crime Trends Working Group tracks shoplifting patterns from 2019 (pre-pandemic) through June 2023. It’s a mixed picture. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gAEEKJdg

Retailers are struggling with shrink due in part to an increase in theft. The most current figures from the National Retail Federation say shrink is a $100 billion problem. Since the pandemic, retailers have seen increases in violence (89.3%), shoplifting (73.2%), ORC and employee theft (tied at 71.4%). Retailers are turning to police officers for physical security to help mitigate these ongoing challenges. Police officers have proven to be highly effective when it comes to stopping criminals in their tracks. Read more about how Summit can help keep product on the shelf and people safe. https://hubs.li/Q021Tgkf0

What do police, military, emergency services, and Coles have in common? 🤯   This week Coles announced it is using staff worn body-cameras to combat retail crime. Here's what we know:   🔎 It has been trialled already and is rolling out into 'high-risk' stores 🔎 It is not just for stock loss but for combatting cases of customer aggression 🔎 Employees have to tell the customer they are turning it on   How did we get here? Retailers are reporting an increase in loss over the last financial year, including organised crime, opportunistic crime (see photo), and employee theft.   While the body-worn cameras are welcomed by the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees' Association for protecting staff from customer abuse, I can’t help but wonder how my 17 year old self would go in this situation. I used to work alone at a small Liquorland store and when I felt unsafe I would definitely have preferred a hidden button approach than saying ‘excuse me sir, I am turning on my camera to record you now’.   I have to agree that there has to be better ways to manage shoplifting - perhaps a combination of low and high tech interventions:   Low tech: 💁♀️ Mirrors 📦 Product cages 🛒 Trolley locks 🎥 CCTV   High tech: 🤖 Smart gates (old school alarms; some shut if no payment made) 🤖 Smart tags (in stickers: track it on exit, track origin if it is found) 🤖 Self-check out cameras (of people as they checkout, of product as it is scanned) 🤖 AI tracking biometrics in store 🤖 AI tracking objects (products) as they move through the store   But these high tech solutions have ALSO come into question this week, raising an old concern that customers do not want to feel surveilled (https://lnkd.in/gP2E-YP) So for the high tech solutions to be effective, we must ask ourselves:   Are we willing to accept AI to reduce crime so the stores can stay open and citizens have a job? Should we give up a little bit of our privacy to keep retail stores open? (@ Stefan Leipold in Forbes) To which I responded in the Guardian earlier this week (https://lnkd.in/gbK3qygk): 💡 Until we can come together to give that social licence to operate … and they get some kind of informed consent, I don’t know how effective these measures are going to be in having longevity. 💡 Retailers need to have more involvement with the customer voice to look at what is the trusted technology that’s going to benefit customers without making them feel like they’re being surveilled as a criminal.    What do you think? #retail #innovation Professor Gary Mortimer Dr. Nadine Ostern Mark Scanlan, MSc, CISSP Australian Retailers Association (ARA) Emmeline Taylor Adrian Beck

Whether organized retail crime is actually rising is up for debate. Retailers including Target , Foot Locker , Walgreens and Ulta have said theft is a growing problem in recent years. But few have said how often it’s happening or how much money they’re losing from it, fueling accusations from some experts and analysts that they’re blaming crime in order to mask operational missteps. The National Retail Federation estimates that retailers lost $40.5 billion to external theft, including organized retail crime, in 2022. That represented about 36% of total inventory losses — slightly lower than the 37% in 2021.