Agilence Webinar Tomorrow @ Noon ET
Combatting Instacart Fraud, Theft & More

E-commerce platforms like Instacart have seen their overall footprint within the grocery and retail industries skyrocket during the pandemic. While more consumers move to buying products this way, brands are being left to decipher how to best optimize this new relationship with Instacart.

Join us for a new webinar that covers the latest trends, tips and tricks on how to best leverage your Instacart data.

This webinar will cover:

● Analyzing the impact of Instacart on the retail and grocery industries
● Tracking the specific fraud and theft cases rising across the Instacart Shopper landscape
● Digging into the correlation between your In-Store vs. Instacart sales
● Leveraging your Instacart data for Category and Pricing Analysis
● And more...

Register Here
 

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Protests & Violence

The Post COVID-19 Future of Retail Loss Prevention (Pt. II)
- with Tony D'Onofrio, Global Retail Influencer

Crime patterns are changing and getting more violent

In my last video I discussed the increased retail violence in the United States. An additional challenge is the growth of organized retail crime or ORC. National Retail Federation research points out that ORC cost retailers an average $719,548 per $1 billion in sales, up 2% from 2019. This was the fifth year in a row the figure has topped $700,000 and is up significantly from just over $450,000 in 2015. 75% of retailers saw an increase in ORC in 2020 and 57% saw more violence. Watch here

Crime Increase Lines Up With 1st Stay-at-Home Order
In line with National Trends & Revolving Jail Doors With Quick Releases

Minneapolis violent crimes soared in 2020 amid pandemic, protests

Pandemic, shutdowns, unrest triggered a domino effect, leaders say.

Violent crimes soared by 21% in Minneapolis last year, adding a painful coda to the city's struggles in coping with a deadly pandemic and widespread protests against racial injustice.

The city recorded 5,422 violent crime incidents, including homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults, according to preliminary year-end Minneapolis police statistics. That is a dramatic jump over the previous five years, which averaged roughly 4,496 such crimes. Property crime saw a more modest 10% increase.

A range of mental health experts and community leaders say that the increase in violence is unlikely due to any one factor. But most lay the blame largely on the pandemic, which has left many jobless and struggling to pay their bills, shuttered schools and worsened the lack of affordable housing.

Violent crime climbed in almost every part of the city, but it continued to exact the heaviest toll in poorer neighborhoods, a Star Tribune analysis found.

Minneapolis is in line with a national trend that saw homicide rates jump 30% in other large U.S. cities, according to a new report by the Council on Criminal Justice and Arnold Ventures, which suggests the coronavirus pandemic and unrest over racial injustice were factors. At the same time, those cities saw declines in property and drug crimes, the study found, where Minneapolis did not. The increase in crime, the Star Tribune analysis found, dates to last spring, when the state imposed its first stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the virus.

Police officials point to what they see as a revolving door for suspects in some crimes, with arrests followed by quick release, under new rules aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 in jails. Often they would only be rearrested for the same crime. Others blamed the rise in crime on reductions in certain traffic stops after criticism about racial profiling, and new pursuit guidelines that bar officers from chasing fleeing suspects in all but the most serious cases. startribune.com

Minneapolis: George Floyd Murder Trial Begins March 8th
Minneapolis & St. Paul Expecting Unrest - Will Stores Board Up?

Gov. Tim Walz to activate Minnesota National Guard for Derek Chauvin's trial

Derek Chauvin to be tried in death of George Floyd.

Gov. Tim Walz is activating the Minnesota National Guard ahead of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in March.

The preparation of the National Guard is one of many steps the state is taking in anticipation of potential unrest around the trial, which is set to start March 8. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in George Floyd's death last May.

The upcoming trials of the former officers involved in the death of George Floyd have raised the potential of civil unrest in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and nearby communities," Walz said in a statement Friday.

Walz said this week that in addition to peaceful protests, the trials will be a "magnet" for people who want to do more than just express their First Amendment rights.

Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington on Wednesday described how he started that day talking with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces about trial preparation, then met with Black church leaders in north Minneapolis about what they can do to protect their congregations and churches.

He said he followed that with a conference call with 213 chief law enforcement officers about how the state and dozens of local law enforcement agencies will work together to block crime during the trial. startribune.com

Retail Violence & Harassment Investigation
H&M Responds to Gender-Based Violence at a Facility That Makes Its Clothing
H&M has responded after Jeyasre Kathiravel, a 20-year-old garment worker at the brand's supplier Natchi Apparels (which is owned by Eastman Exports) in Kaithian Kottai, Tamil Nadu, was found dead near her home.

According to police reports obtained by The Guardian, a man who was her supervisor at the supplier's facility confessed to killing her and has been charged with her abduction and murder. Her family and coworkers claim that prior to her death, she was repeatedly harassed and intimidated by her supervisor. They say that Kathiravel reported the abuse on several occasions but nothing was done about it.

A union leader for the workers at the factory told the outlet that gender-based harassment was commonplace.

After public outcry on social media from several activist organizations like Clean Clothes Campaign, Remake, and Asia Floor Wage Alliance, H&M released a statement saying that they would conduct a third-party investigation into the harassment claims at Eastman Exports and work toward ending gender-based violence in its supply chain.

In the fashion industry, regulating the supply chain in a way that protects the workers - 80% of whom are women - has been one of the most pervasive problems that often results in unsafe working conditions that go unreported. Regular, structured oversight and third party investigations are a critical step in moving toward a more equitable fashion industry.  msn.com

Threats by white supremacists in state continue to be serious, officials say
Supremacist groups are more likely to operate covertly, FBI agent says.
Minnesota continues to face a serious threat of violence from white supremacists and other domestic terrorist groups, two of the state's top law enforcers said Friday. startribune.com

They Supported 'Defund the Police.' Then the NYC Mayoral Campaign Began.
Most of the leading mayoral candidates have been wary of embracing the "defund the police" movement, which has lost some mainstream political momentum.

 

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COVID Update

US: Over 27.6M Cases - 475K Dead - 17.3M Recovered
Worldwide: Over 106M Cases - 2.3M Dead - 78M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 273   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 233
*Red indicates change in total deaths

UK Variant Doubling Every Week and a Half
U.K. coronavirus variant spreading rapidly through United States, study finds
The coronavirus variant that shut down much of the United Kingdom is spreading rapidly across the United States, outcompeting other strains and doubling its prevalence among confirmed infections every week and a half, according to new research made public Sunday.

The spread of the variant, officially known as B.1.1.7, and the threat of other mutant strains of the virus, have added urgency to the effort to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible. The variant is more contagious than earlier forms of the coronavirus and may also be more lethal, although that is far less certain. washingtonpost.com
 

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CEO's Start Speaking Out As Quarterly Results Coming Out

What the CEO's Are Saying & Expecting
It's All Contingent on a Successful Vaccine Roll-Out

Slow Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout, New Variants Shift Some Business Plans
Consumers are unlikely to resume travel, dining out and shopping in stores at a pre-pandemic cadence until later this year, chiefs of some large companies told Wall Street analysts and investors in recent weeks. Some CEOs said consumer activity could pick up as soon as spring. Others pointed to a recovery later in the year-or even 2022.

"Let me underscore that progress on economic growth is contingent on an effective vaccine rollout program globally," said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO David Solomon. "In its absence, economic recovery will be unnecessarily delayed."

The pandemic has unevenly bolstered and derailed growth prospects; divided workforces into staff able to shelter at home and those who must report in person for duty; and reshaped consumer purchasing as stay-at-home orders change. The rapid shifts have complicated financial forecasts and made consumer behavior hard to predict.

Walgreens Worries COVID-19 Will Require Annual Vaccines

Rick Gates, senior vice president of pharmacy and health care at Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., said in an interview the company expects a return to normalcy as the vaccine is distributed, but much will depend on how long immunity lasts. The company worries that Covid-19 could turn out to be a more permanent fixture of life, a serious and deadly flulike illness that will require annual vaccines, he said.

While the early months of 2021 are likely to be challenging in terms of continued lockdowns and restrictions, many executives said they are hopeful that by spring, enough people will be vaccinated that consumer confidence will grow. wsj.com

Fashion brands see sales rebounding-eventually. Europe's murky outlook could snag growth
Retailers including Nordstrom, Coach owner Tapestry and Michael Kors parent Capri Holdings are beginning to give investors a glimpse into when their sales might start to grow again from pandemic lows.

These businesses will soon lap a period during the Covid crisis when stores were shut for months and shoppers retreated to their homes, only rarely venturing out to buy groceries and other essentials. But most outlooks remain murky, at best.

Many apparel, footwear and accessories brands are reporting a strong rebound in China, and are starting to see the same trends emerge in North America. But Europe remains a trouble spot, with renewed lockdowns in the region still hampering shopper demand and threatening forecasts. The rollout of the Covid vaccine is a hopeful development, but companies are reticent to provide specific financial estimates.

'Normal' isn't going to be the same

"We don't think normal is going back to pre-pandemic levels," Nordstrom Chief Executive Erik Nordstrom told CNBC. "But this is a strange time, particularly [in] big urban centers, you don't have office workers. ... For what we sell, there's headwinds that the pandemic has brought for a lot of fashion."

"They're still being guarded," said Craig Johnson, founder and president of retail research firm CGP. "Few retailers are putting out any kind of guidance at all, maybe real long-term guidance. ... It's like aiming at a dart board. Who really knows?"

Kohl's Amazon Injection in January

CEO Michelle Gass also told CNBC that sales strengthened into January, in part due to more shoppers visiting its stores to make Amazon returns after exchanging holiday gifts. cnbc.com
 

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The Vaccination Effort

FEMA/National Guard Objective:
200 Teams of 222 Personnel Each - 6,000 Shots Daily Per Team
Active Now: 100 Mobile Vaccination Teams Delivering 50,000 Shots Daily
Making Mass Vaccination Centers Safe & Secure

Pentagon deploys troops to fuel COVID-19 vaccine drive
The Pentagon will deploy more than 1,100 troops to five vaccination centers in what will be the first wave of increased military support for the White House campaign to get more Americans inoculated against COVID-19.

President Joe Biden has called for setting up 100 mass vaccination centers around the country within a month.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked the Pentagon to supply as many as 10,000 service members to staff 100 centers.

Each of the Pentagon's current five military teams includes 222 personnel, including 80 who will give the vaccines, as well as nurses and other support staff. The teams would be able to provide about 6,000 shots a day.

The five teams represent a growing use of the active duty military to a vaccination campaign that already involves nearly 100 National Guard teams in 29 states across the country. National Guard leaders told The Associated Press that they are now considering training additional Guard members to give shots, so that they can also expand vaccinations in more remote and rural portions of their states.

The Guard has the ability to field about 200 additional teams and the more likely going to be filled largely by active duty troops operating in their home states.

Guard leaders said the close to 100 mobile vaccination teams already active are delivering more than 50,000 shots a day.

Hokanson noted that while the Guard could staff as many as 600 vaccine teams, he has to cut that number about in half because of those types of civilian job restrictions. startribune.com

Biden plans to take up NFL offer to use stadiums for vaccines
During an interview on CBS' Super Bowl pregame show, Biden said "absolutely we will" when asked whether the federal government intends to use all the stadiums to try to ramp up vaccine distribution.

Seven NFL stadiums -- the Carolina Panthers' Bank of America Stadium, Arizona Cardinals' State Farm Stadium, Atlanta Falcons' Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Baltimore Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium, Houston Texans' NRG Park, Miami Dolphins' Hard Rock Stadium and New England Patriots' Gillette Stadium -- are already being used as vaccination sites. Goodell's offer extends to the rest of them.

Along with Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden is set to virtually tour the State Farm Stadium vaccination site on Monday, according to the president's public schedule. espn.com

100M Vaccines Per Month
US pharmacies could administer up to 100M doses of Covid vaccine a month
Twenty-one "national pharmacy partners and networks of independent pharmacies representing over 40,000 pharmacy locations nationwide" are taking part in the program, according to a government fact sheet, which includes a list of all participating pharmacies or networks. Some experts have suggested that pharmacies nationwide will have the capacity to administer 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine once supply is available. cnn.com

   Pfizer expects to cut COVID-19 vaccine production time by close to 50%

   AstraZeneca's Vaccine Not Effective Against Virus Variant in South Africa
 

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Post-Super Bowl Superspreader Event?
Thousands of maskless Tampa fans flooded the streets, celebrating the Super Bowl win while risking a superspreader event
Outside Raymond James Stadium on Sunday night, three barefaced Buccaneers fans jumped up and down on the roof of a white car, waving their arms. One man held out his phone and recorded the largely maskless Tampa crowd cheering, flying flags, hugging and colliding into each other as the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers won the franchise's first Super Bowl in 18 years.

Throughout Tampa this weekend, hordes of football fans crammed into bars, clogged streets and belted chants - many without masks, despite dire warnings from public health experts that the Super Bowl could become a superspreader event.

A report posted on the preprint server medRxiv on Sunday found that a more contagious and possibly more deadly mutation of the virus first discovered in the United Kingdom is rapidly spreading in Florida. The study said that the state has the most cases of the variant in the country. washingtonpost.com

   Will the Super Bowl Cause a Coronavirus Surge?


COVID is Everywhere Now - Any & All Activities Have Risks
COVID-19 exposure on flights is more common than you think. The US doesn't share details, but Canada does
Canada has been posting public COVID-19 exposure alerts online for flights, trains and cruise ships throughout the pandemic. Flights are listed as soon as authorities receive word of a positive test of a recent traveler, regardless of where and when they might have been infected, factors that are hard to pinpoint in most COVID-19 cases.

Incidents are posted as little as two days after the flight, so other recent travelers can search to see if someone on their flight tested positive and watch for symptoms. The flights fall off the list after two weeks because of Canada's mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival. One major Canadian airline, WestJet, keeps a running list of its affected flights (more than 700 to date) on its website for recent passengers and would-be ticket buyers to see.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn't publish a list of affected flights, nor do U.S. airlines, who prefer to tout their pandemic safety protocols and studies that show a low risk of virus transmission on planes.

Canada's approach has two major public health benefits: 1) Allowing the public to easily see if someone on their flight tested positive so they can take the appropriate steps in an effort to stop the spread is essentially public contact tracing, he said. 2) The regularly updated lists of flights also help would-be travelers, "It gives someone an idea if they're debating on whether or not to fly, of what the risks are,'' he said. "The more information the public has on the risk of everyday activities, the more informed those activities are going to be.''

"You could do the same study on Greyhound buses or Amtrak trains or the subway. The fact is, that with so much community spread, when you go anywhere, you're going to be around people with COVID,'' he said. "I think that people just don't realize that this virus is everywhere right now. Any activity you do is going to have risk.'' usatoday.com

Applicable for Any Group or Business Sector
Giving People Peace of Mind & Showing Your Organization Cares

A Return to Meetings: COVID Protocol Document
When in-person meetings resume post-pandemic, meeting professionals will need to consider several new elements of meeting execution, as well as develop additional documentation, including a COVID protocol document.

"Your protocol document is your standalone document that states everything your association is doing to keep everyone safe," Schmidt said. "It encompasses several elements-from cleaning, to screening and testing, to transportation, and everything in between."

While the document will likely be something that your meetings team consistently refers to, Schmidt said it's also good information for all participants and adds a layer of transparency to your meeting. "If you post it on your website, you'll likely give people peace of mind by showing them that you're keeping their safety top of mind," she said.

Schmidt recommends starting the document with an executive summary before diving into the details. "This basically lays out what this document will cover and why it exists," she said. "From there, you can break it out into how COVID protocols will be applied to different segments and sections of your event."

While each event's protocol document will be unique, here are some sections that Schmidt recommends: associationsnow.com

What to Consider When Moving to a Hybrid Work Model
With a large-scale vaccine rollout underway, more organizations will be wrestling with how best to transition workers back into their offices this year after spending most of 2020 working from home.

Hybrid work models, in which some employees are onsite while others work from home, have become the keystone to corporate reopening plans. Google was one of the first to announce in December 2020 that its planned return to the office-set for September-would feature a pilot program in which employees would be expected to work at least three days a week onsite and the rest of the time remotely.

Weddle said that beyond 2021, data suggests "that we could be in a hybrid workforce situation permanently." She cited McKinsey research that found 80 percent of remote workers said they enjoy working from home, and 69 percent are just as or more productive at home than in the office.

But business leaders need a plan to help smooth the transition from completely remote work to a hybrid arrangement, said Paul McDonald, senior executive director at staffing firm Robert Half in Los Angeles. "A starting point can be a wider embrace of remote work and making a hybrid workforce model a long-term strategy for the business," he said. "They'll need to decide how many people and how much real estate they'll need to support a hybrid model." shrm.org

Kroger Invest $1.5B In Rewarding Front Line Workers
Kroger Launches New Round of Worker Bonuses
The company plans to spend at least $50 million more to thank and reward its associates, including offering a $100 store credit and 1,000 fuel points to its hourly front-line grocery, supply chain, manufacturing, pharmacy and call center associates. Kroger will also provide a one-time payment of $100 to all associates who receive the full manufacturer-recommended doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. That's a total investment of $1.5 billion in fiscal 2020 in rewarding front-line associates since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. retaileader.com

Store UV Disinfect Robot
Badger Tech robot fights COVID-19 in grocery stores
NICHOLASVILLE, KY - Badger Technologies' newest automated solution, the Badger™ UV Disinfect robot, is an ultraviolet (UV) disinfecting robot designed to combat COVID-19 and high-risk pathogens commonly found in grocery, foodservice and retail environments. Testing results showed that the robot can decontaminate 40,000 square feet in approximately two hours, enabling rapid disinfection of typical store spaces, including shelves, aisles and checkout areas. supermarketperimeter.com

The Pandemic Has Stopped The Spread Of Nearly Every Virus Besides COVID
Epidemiologists theorize that the global shutdown and non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand-washing have helped with containing the coronavirus. However, other viruses such as influenza A and B, norovirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza, and human metapneumovirus - as well as bacterial infections such as pertussis (whooping cough) and pneumonia - have all gone down in reported levels. yahoo.com

 

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Fraud Trends to Watch in 2021
LexisNexis Risk Solutions Reveals the State of Fraud in the United States and Canada Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Analysis Stems from Multiple Studies Conducted in 2020 by LexisNexis Risk Solutions to Uncover Key Fraud Trends in the U.S. and Canada as 2021 Begins

LexisNexis® Risk Solutions unveiled findings on the current State of Fraud, detailing key fraud trends occurring in 2020 for organizations in the United States and Canada while also looking ahead at what to expect in 2021. LexisNexis Risk Solutions compiled these findings from a review of multiple studies it conducted in 2020. The consolidation of the report findings uncovers a perfect storm of trends that have impacted fraud throughout the past year and those that may linger into the new year.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused 2020 to be a year of unique circumstances and disruption to the global economy. One thing that has stayed the same is fraudsters' willpower to gain access to money and confidential information. While many believe that fraud victims are mostly the technologically naïve, 2020 validated that anyone can be a victim. LexisNexis Risk Solutions examined consumer behavior, popular fraud methods, social uncertainty due to the pandemic when compiling this data and suggests what organizations of all shapes and sizes can do to protect their business.

The Shift of Consumer Behavior Towards Digital Transactions
2020 saw major changes in the ways in which consumers behave. Digital transaction in the U.S. and Canada increased 42% year-over-year leading up to June 2020 with 60% representing mobile transactions; 67% made via a mobile app and 33% made by a mobile browser.

Methodology
The 2020 State of Fraud Report examines key fraud trends occurring in 2020 for U.S. and Canada, along with solutions to help organizations navigate these trends while growing their businesses in 2021. Findings come from three LexisNexis® Risk Solutions reports: 2020 LexisNexis® Risk Solutions True Cost of Fraud™ e-Commerce/Retail and the 2020 LexisNexis® Risk Solutions True Cost of Fraud™ Financial Services & Lending; LexisNexis® Risk Solutions Cybercrime Report January - June 2020; and an internal analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behavior and fraud trends. prnewswire.com

For more information, please visit www.risk.lexisnexis.com and www.relx.com.

January Was a Strong Month - With Online Still Booming - Up 62%
Former Saks CEO Says - $600 Stimulus Checks Fueled Jan's Positive Gains
Former CEO Analysis's of Jan numbers - Great Call-Outs

Department Stores Show New Signs of Life With Rare Sales Gain
Sales at U.S. department stores just grew for the first time in more than a year after stimulus checks and holiday returns drove Americans back to the mall.

After a difficult 2020 that saw consumers eschew brick-and-mortar shopping in favor of delivery giants like Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc., department-store sales rose 1.5% in January, marking the first positive month since December 2019, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. In fact, every retail sector -- besides apparel -- posted positive year-on-year gains in January, it said.

"There's no question that within these numbers, there's a reflection of the impact of the $600 stimulus checks that came out right at the very end of December," said Steve Sadove, senior adviser for Mastercard and former chief executive officer of Saks Inc. "People got the checks and they went out and spent them."

The hardware and furnishing sectors saw the biggest growth in January, with Americans still spending to improve the homes they've been stuck in throughout the pandemic. But even department stores logged a rare month of growth, which Sadove attributed to holiday gift-card redemptions and in-person gift returns -- which often translate into a new, bigger sale. Department stores performed better in the Southwest and on the West Coast, with the double-whammy of weather and Covid restrictions weighing on East Coast retail.

Total retail sales, excluding cars and gasoline, rose 9.2% last month from a year earlier, said Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks online and in-store retail sales across all payment methods. Online sales grew 62.1%. The estimates are 95% correlated with the official retail sales figures the Commerce Department will release later this month, it said. bnnbloomberg.ca

4 smart tricks that make the Zoom chat function more powerful
From emoji to files, acquire these Zoom chat superpowers in order to have more fulfilling conversations.

Belk Reaffirms Its Plan to Complete a "Pre-Packaged, One Day" Reorganization

Price Chopper, Tops Markets to Merge
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

National Director of Security job posted for Nature's Medicines in Phoenix, AZ
The National Director of Security will be responsible for maintaining a safe and secure environment internally and externally for all retail and cultivation locations nationwide. This position will be responsible for developing, establishing and maintaining all safety and security policies, access control procedures, risk management efforts, fire, safety, emergency management and asset protection. This position will also be instrumental in designing, creating and hiring security teams for all locations nationwide. indeed.com

Sr Manager, Security job posted for JB Hunt in Lowell, AR
Under general direction, this position is responsible for providing oversight to a team of of managers and/or higher level individual contributors. This individual will lead them with all aspects of their security duties to ensure protection of J.B. Hunts' personnel, property and equipment. This individual will possess a high level ability to make time-sensitive decisions, manage multiple competing priorities, and work in a fast paced environment. jbhunt.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
 

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Last week's #1 article --

Best Buy is quietly closing US stores across 4 states