Suggested Merges: the Future of Linking Retail Criminal Activity

By Tom Batterbury, Co-CEO & Co-Founder at Auror, the Retail Crime Intelligence Platform working with retailers across the world.

As an industry, efforts to connect criminal activity remain largely manual, time-consuming, reactive, and ineffective. As one ORC investigator called it "it's based on individual investigators to link, it's not systemized".

We know that offenders enjoy the anonymity of retail crime. According to the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention (NASP), chronic offenders say they are arrested just once in every 100 times they steal. As an industry, we need to address this otherwise there is very little perceived risk associated with shoplifting. By pairing high quality source data with emerging technologies such as AI and Machine Learning the ability to systematically remove offender anonymity is within reach.

Click here to read the full article which covers:
● Four building blocks to the industry effectively linking retail criminal activity
● Why offenders enjoy anonymity
● How AI and Machine Learning is being used to suggest links to retail criminal activity

 

2020 National Retail Security Survey

Shrink Up 17.3% - Crime Internally Up 73% & Externally Up 35.3%
2020 National Retail Security Survey finds shrink at an all-time high
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2020 - Theft, fraud and losses from other retail "shrink" totaled $61.7 billion in 2019, up from $50.6 billion the year before as industry security executives reported increases in the number of shoplifting, organized retail crime and employee theft incidents, according to the annual National Retail Security Survey released today by the National Retail Federation.

"Between an increase in incidents and new ways to steal, shrink is at an all-time high," NRF Vice President for Research Development and Industry Analysis Mark Mathews said. "Loss prevention experts are facing unprecedented challenges from individual shoplifters to organized gangs to highly skilled cybercriminals. Retailers are responding with both traditional methods and the latest technology, but this is an ongoing challenge that can only be won with the support of lawmakers and law enforcement."

According to the report, shrink averaged 1.62 percent of sales during 2019, up from 1.38 percent in 2018 after hovering around 1.4 percent over the past few years. The number of cases was up, with an average 560 employee theft apprehensions per retailer surveyed (up from 323 last year) and 689 shoplifting/ORC apprehensions (up from 509).

While 49 percent of those surveyed said the largest increase in fraud occurred in stores, 26 percent said it happened online and 19 percent cited multichannel sales, including those where the purchase is made online but the merchandise is picked up in-store.

Of challenges that have grown in priority for LP teams over the past five years, 61 percent cited ORC, 59 percent ecommerce and cybercrimes, 58 percent internal theft and 54 percent return fraud.  nrf.com
 

Click here to download the 2020 National Retail Security Survey
 

UK's a Step Ahead of U.S.

UK Police To Enforce Mask Rule, Not Shopworkers!
Prime Minister Takes Charge - But More Guidance is Needed?

UK Mandates Face Coverings in Shops
Wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets will be mandatory in England from 24 July, the government is to confirm today (14 July). Many European nations, including Germany, Spain, Italy and Greece, already require masks to be worn in enclosed spaces.

Health secretary Matt Hancock is expected to confirm later that government guidance will be updated to make the wearing of face coverings in stores compulsory. The new rule does not apply to retail staff, children under 11, and those with certain disabilities.

"The prime minister has been clear that people should be wearing face coverings in shops and we will make this mandatory from 24 July."

The rule will be enforced by the police, and anyone disregarding the rule will be at risk of a fine of up to £100 ($125), which will be reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.

In response, Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman said: We are pleased that the legal responsibility for enforcing this policy will rest with the police rather than shopworkers, but in reality it will be retailers and their colleagues trying to communicate and explain this to people with different views and approaches to complying with this policy.

"We have produced a poster for retailers and guidance for people working in shops, and we will work with the government, local enforcement and members to implement this successfully."

Retail trade union Usdaw has welcomed the news, but warns that it can only be effective alongside existing social distancing and hygiene procedures. Usdaw calls on the government to publish detailed guidance and safety procedures that are agreed with the union and retail employers. courthousenews.com/uk talkingretail.com

Will Walmart require shoppers to wear masks nationwide?
CEO says mandate is 'something on our minds'
The retail giant's CEO Doug McMillon didn't rule out the idea Monday during an interview on the Bloomberg's online television show, "Leadership Live with David Rubenstein."

"We don't currently, as we're doing this interview, mandate that in our other stores but that's obviously something that's on our minds," McMillon said. usatoday.com

Apple Testing Employees @Home
Apple asks retail staff to work remotely as stores shut again
The Cupertino, California-based technology giant is pushing retail staff to work remotely as the virus forces the company to shut some of its stores again, according to a video message sent to employees. It is also shipping Covid-19 test kits to employees' homes, and told staff in a memo that a full return to U.S. offices won't occur before the end of the year.

"If your store is closed, please sign up for Retail at Home, please talk to your manager, because we really need to make sure that we shift our teams to greet our customers remotely in this time," O'Brien told staff in the video. "We may need to be working remotely for some period of time."

Of Apple's 271 U.S. retail locations, more than 90 have had to close again due to Covid-19 spikes. The company has also shut some stores again in the U.K. and Australia. For locations that remain open, the company is requiring face masks for customers and employees as well as temperature checks upon entry. "The way we have been managing the protocols has been really effective," O'Brien said in the recent video. detroitnews.com

Malls Shut Down in California
California Governor Shuts Down Businesses - COVID Continues to Spread
Effective immediately, California closes some indoor business operations statewide and additional indoor operations in counties on Monitoring List for 3 consecutive days.

Statewide indoor closures include restaurants, bars and breweries, wineries & tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums, and cardrooms. County indoor closures include fitness centers, places of worship, indoor protests, offices for non-critical infrastructure sectors, personal care services, hair salons and barbershops, and malls. County closures apply to counties that have been on the County Monitoring List for 3 consecutive days. Learn more. covid19.ca.gov

Houston Mayor Facing a 'Lockdown'
Texas Hospitals Are 'Bulging' From COVID Increase - Fox News Report this morning
The Army has sent over 500 medical personnel to assist throughout the state. And hospitals are rotating patients and staff to be able to flew to the changing patterns and problems.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, both Democrats, said this weekend that a stay-at-home order is needed for America's fourth largest city to cope with the surge of covid-19 cases.

The call comes after a week in which Texas continued to break records for confirmed covid-19 cases and deaths linked to the disease. State health officials reported 8,196 new cases Sunday, another 80 deaths and a total of 10,410 people hospitalized because of the virus. triblive.com
 

U.S. Arming Up Continues
June Gun Checks Up 136% - Highest #Ever
Pandemic and racial equality protests lead to big increase in gun sales
Buyers and gun store owners cite the coronavirus pandemic, George Floyd's killing and efforts to defund the police.

Gun sales began rising to unusual highs in March, as coronavirus cases began surging in the U.S. and government-ordered lockdowns led to the highest unemployment levels since the Great Depression. The Federal Bureau of Investigation processed 7.8 million background checks for gun purchases from March to June, according to National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade group.

Background checks for guns in Georgia tripled last month versus last year, according to NSSF data, and have more than doubled in Oklahoma, New York, Illinois and Minnesota.

All state governments allowed gun stores to operate after the Trump administration said they should be considered essential businesses. wsj.com

NYC Gun Violence Continues Into Weekday
At least 17 people shot in NYC on Monday as gun violence continues to soar
"Those numbers would be high for a Friday or Saturday, but for a Monday they are astronomical," said one high-ranking Brooklyn cop. No borough was spared from the gunplay, but Brooklyn saw the most violence with 10 shooting incidents and a total of 12 victims, sources said. nypost.com

Soho High-End Retailer - 'NYPD Failed to Stop Looting'
NYC store owner suing Gov. Cuomo over looting damage,
says cops were told to 'stand down'
A New York City, Soho, store owner is suing Gov. Andrew Cuomo, accusing state and city leaders of failing to send in law enforcement to respond to the rioting that happened during recent protests, according to the attorney handling the case.

"My law firm believes [that] through depositions, through discovery we're going to be able to find that the city or state had intelligence in regards to these criminals that looted these stores and didn't do anything about it," he added.

He added that he believes more businesses will join as plaintiffs to make it a class-action lawsuit, seeking more than $100 million in damages. foxnews.com

Blocking Ads on BLM Content
Target, MTV Blocked Ads From News Mentioning 'George Floyd' and 'Protests'

Terms related to protests were on 'blocklists' companies use to avoid ad placements in sensitive content

Last month Target Corp. told a leading online news publisher not to run its ads in stories related to the Black Lives Matter movement. Articles mentioning police-brutality victims such as "Breonna Taylor" and "George Floyd" were off limits, as were those with the word "protests."

Target and other advertisers that compiled similar "blocklists" say they were respecting the sensitivity of the issue and wanted to avoid the appearance of exploiting tragedies. News publishers say such moves effectively punish media companies for covering important issues, since they earn less money from content where ad-blocking is prevalent.

Before this year, many brands already were sidestepping articles with words like "shooting," "bomb," "immigration" or even "Trump," hoping to avoid associations with controversial topics. The ad blocking went to a new level in 2020-first, as the terms "Covid-19" and "coronavirus" made it onto many blocklists, and more recently with the addition of terms related to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Black Lives Matter coverage was Vice's most popular news in June, yet commanded ad prices 57% lower than news about other topics because so many brands are actively avoiding placing ads in those articles, he said. wsj.com

Pentagon's New Non-Lethal SPECTER Is A Game Changer For Crowd Control
 

Amazon Dash Cart
Amazon Unveils Shopping Cart That Knows What You're Buying
The cart, which Amazon unveiled on Tuesday, uses cameras, sensors and a scale to automatically detect what shoppers drop in. It keeps a tally and then charges their Amazon account when they leave the store. No cashier is needed.

It's the latest attempt by Amazon to shake up the supermarket industry and offer a solution to long checkout lines. The online shopping giant opened a cashier-less supermarket in Seattle that uses cameras and sensors in the ceiling to track what shoppers grab and charge them as they leave. Amazon.com Inc. also has roughly 25 cashier-less convenience stores with similar technology.

The cart, called Amazon Dash Cart, will first show up at a new Los Angeles supermarket Amazon is opening later this year. The store will have cashiers, but Amazon said it wanted to give shoppers a way to bypass any lines. In the future, it could be used at Amazon's Whole Foods grocery chain or other stores, if Amazon sells the technology, but there are no plans for either right now.

Several startups are already making similar smart shopping carts that are being tested in stores, but many require scanning groceries before dropping them in. nytimes.com

It May be a Boom Market For Security
Security Industry Expected to Fare Well Post-COVID-19
Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, Post-Pandemic Growth Opportunity in the Global Security Industry, finds that the security industry has tremendous investment opportunities despite the economic slowdown witnessed due to COVID-19. Under an aspirational recovery scenario, the global security industry is likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.3 percent, garnering revenue of $140.6 billion by 2025 from $109.3 billion in 2019. The conservative forecast scenario predicts that the industry will generate $131.01 billion between 2019 and 2025, at a CAGR of 3.1 percent.

In the pre-COVID-19 forecast, the industry was estimated to increase at a CAGR of 7.1 percent, generating revenue of $164.97 billion over the forecast period.

"COVID-19 will cause a brief slowdown in the security market after almost a decade of uninhibited progress," said Danielle VanZandt, aerospace, defense and security industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "Additionally, while some security sectors may find themselves experiencing a slower recovery than others, much of the industry will witness a shift to more service-based solution offerings after years of hesitance by customers to adopt these solutions."

The following trends are forecast to generate growth opportunities in this sector:

● Digitalization priorities: Remote/cloud-connected access to security systems and monitoring tools will witness a drastic rise in demand as manned guarding will become extremely limited due to stay-at-home orders issued by state or federal governments, and likely not recover once those orders expire.

● Emphasis on contactless technologies: In the post-pandemic period, contactless technologies such as biometrics, remote access and authentication, and multi-use analytics solutions will attract investments.

● Plug-and-play surveillance: Customer willingness to deploy plug-and-play surveillance equipment over permanent system additions due to cost-effectiveness will offer vendors repeat business opportunities.

● Sensors-to-action: Vendors must prioritize the development/enhancement of data analytics and sensor networks' capabilities to provide increased value to customers without having to purchase new solutions or equipment. sdmmag.com

The Top 10 Most Valuable Global Brands of 2020
Amazon maintained its position as the world's most valuable brand, according to the 2020 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking compiled by Kantar and WPP. The online giant's brand value jumped 32% this year to $415.9 billion and accounts for a third of the Top 100's total growth.

Apple held on to the second spot as its brand value rose 14% to $352 billion. Microsoft came in third, at $326.5 billion, followed by Google, at $323.6 billion, and Visa, at $186.8 billion. (The top 10 brands are listed at end of article.)

The retail sector gave a strong performance, growing the fastest (21%) in brand value driven by the major e-commerce players. Workout apparel retailer, whose brand value rose 40% to $9.7 billion, was one of the fastest risers as it expands its focus to include work-appropriate clothing and online fitness classes for people at home. chainstoreage.com

FDA Releases New Era of Smarter Food Safety
Welcome to the New Era of Smarter Food Safety
To keep pace with this evolution, FDA is taking a new approach to food safety, leveraging technology and other tools to create a safer and more digital, traceable food system.

On July 13, 2020, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn announced the New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint, introduced by Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas. Watch the video.

Smarter food safety is about more than just technology. It's also about simpler, more effective, and modern approaches and processes. It's about leadership, creativity, and culture.

Our ultimate goal is to bend the curve of foodborne illness in this country by reducing the number of illnesses.

New Era Blueprint

This blueprint outlines the approach FDA will take over the next decade to usher in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety. fda.gov
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Security Director job posted for Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits in St. Louis, MO
The Security Director (SD) will provide a secure environment by developing physical and technical security programs. The SD will implement security programs and procedures to protect company personnel, property and reputation. The SD will ensure that security procedures are properly executed by employees. The SD will conduct internal and external investigations to resolve theft, workplace violence and misconduct at company facilities. The SD will be the primary administrator of physical security components such as alarms, video assessment, access control and guard force management.  jobs.southernglazers.com

 

UK: G4S plans more than 1,100 job cuts at cash-handling business

New York & Co. Owner Files for Bankruptcy Protection - Plans to Liquidate most if not all 378 Stores

REI Lays Off 5% of retail staff - 400 jobs

Swatch Cuts 6.5% of Staff, Closes 260 Stores of its 1,800


Quarterly Results
Swatch Group sales down 46.1% first half