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The D&D Daily's Publicly Reported
Q1 2020 Robbery Report

• Robberies Up 37% From 2016, 14% From 2019
• Most Incidents Ever Reported in Q1
• C-Stores & Jewelry Top Retail Sector
• Chicago New Hot Spot
• Monday Top Day

Click here to read full report

 

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Whitepaper: The 5 Stages of [Shoplifting] Grief
Retailers are expected to lose a staggering $50.6 Billion this year (NRSS 2019). Approximately $18.5 Billion of that is from shoplifting alone. That buys enough cans of red bull to circle the earth 32 times. Listen, do you hear that sound? That is the sound of retail loss prevention executives grieving the loss of their merchandise, profitability, and sanity.

The five stages of grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance) are universally experienced by people from all walks of life and all cultures – including many LP executives across all retail verticals. Not everyone will experience all five stages, or in order. But one thing is certain – retailers are under siege and their loss prevention leaders are suffering as a result.

Here we will focus on just three of the five stages. For more download the entire white paper here.


Clearview AI Has Promised To Cancel All Relationships With Private Companies
Clearview AI — the controversial face-tracking company known for scraping more than 3 billion photos from social media sites including Facebook and Twitter — said it is ending its relationships with non–law enforcement entities and private companies amid regulatory scrutiny and several potential class action lawsuits.

Responding to one of those lawsuits, Clearview claimed in legal documents filed in an Illinois federal court on Wednesday that it was taking those voluntary actions and would “avoid transacting with non-governmental customers anywhere.” That specific suit, which argues Clearview violated an Illinois statute regarding the use of biometric data for commercial purposes, is seeking a temporary injunction that would prevent the company from using the information of current and past Illinois residents for its facial recognition software.

Clearview’s shift away from private businesses comes after months of mounting legal threats and scrutiny from lawmakers, activist groups, and news organizations. In February, a BuzzFeed News investigation found the company had provided its facial recognition tool to more than 2,200 police departments, government agencies, and companies across 27 countries. Despite public assurances from Clearview CEO Hoan Ton-That that its software was meant for law enforcement, internal documents reviewed by BuzzFeed News showed numerous private companies had used the service including Macy’s, Walmart, Bank of America, and Target.

“Clearview is cancelling the accounts of every customer who was not either associated with law enforcement or some other federal, state, or local government department, office, or agency,” the company said in a filing, which argued that a federal judge should not grant the injunction because it was taking voluntary steps to comply with the state law. “Clearview is also cancelling all accounts belonging to any entity based in Illinois.” buzzfeednews.com

 

Coronavirus Tracker: May 11

US: Over 1.3M Cases - 81K Dead - 258K Recovered
Worldwide: Over 4.2M Cases - 285K Dead - 1.5M Recovered

U.S. Law Enforcement Deaths | NYPD Deaths: 41
Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 95+
 

Staffing in a pandemic:
Which retailers have furloughed, laid off, or hired employees

Of 67 apparel retailers, 41 have furloughed employees, 9 have laid off employees

Of 144 retailers Retail Dive has been tracking during the pandemic, over half have announced furloughs of some kind. That count includes large retailers like Macy’s, Best Buy, J.C. Penney and Ross, young companies like Casper and b8ta, and many companies that were struggling with their finances long before the pandemic hit.

To interact with the graphs below, with the ability to hover over each square to see the names of each retailer, click here: retaildive.com

Over half of retailers studied have furloughed employees in response to the pandemic

A small portion of retailers have announced layoffs

Very few retailers are hiring new employees

 

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Retailers' In-Store COVID-19 Safety Programs
Fitting Rooms To Remain Closed & Returned Goods Quarantine

Aside from Kohl’s, Gap will also be closing all fitting rooms and restrooms when it reopens more than 800 stores this month, as will Urban Outfitters and Target. Nordstrom will close most fitting rooms, but will leave a few open — two or three, depending on the store.

For the retailers who are keeping fitting rooms open, like Saks Fifth Avenue, clothes that are tried on are being cleaned and taken off the sales floor for 24 hours before being put back on display

The variance in how brands are treating fitting rooms comes from the fact that, while most states in the U.S. have guidelines on whether stores can reopen and how they should clean, there are few guidelines on how brands should deal with the handling of product by so many people.

Here's the list of various in-store safety initiatives retailers are using or have installed: See the List - Updated Daily

 

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18 to 24 More Months To Go
This Is the Future of the Pandemic
By now we know — contrary to false predictions — that the novel coronavirus will be with us for a rather long time.

“It’s going to be a matter of managing it over months to a couple of years. It’s not a matter of getting past the peak, as some people seem to believe.”

A single round of social distancing — closing schools and workplaces, limiting the sizes of gatherings, lockdowns of varying intensities and durations — will not be sufficient in the long term.

In the interest of managing our expectations and governing ourselves accordingly, it might be helpful, for our pandemic state of mind, to envision this predicament — existentially, at least — as a soliton wave: a wave that just keeps rolling and rolling, carrying on under its own power for a great distance.

“We must be prepared for at least another 18 to 24 months of significant Covid-19 activity, with hot spots popping up periodically in diverse geographic areas.”

What is clear overall is that a one-time social distancing effort will not be sufficient to control the epidemic in the long term, and that it will take a long time to reach herd immunity.

“The ‘herd immunity threshold’ in the model is 55 percent of the population, or the level of immunity that would be needed for the disease to stop spreading in the population without other measures,” Dr. Kissler said.

“But if infection leads to immunity, successful social distancing also means that more people remain susceptible to the disease. As a result, once we lift the social distancing measures, the virus will quite possibly spread again as easily as it did before the lockdowns.”

So, lacking a vaccine, our pandemic state of mind may persist well into 2021 or 2022 — which surprised even the experts. nytimes.com


COVID-19 Leading Cause of Death for Security Officers - @95
Security Officer Death Toll Passes 100 Mark
This year so far, we have seen a decline of private security officer deaths from violent attacks, vehicle accidents, homicides and sudden medical emergency deaths.

This is largely in part of the closure of thousands of businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and stay at home orders.

The 95th death was a security guard working in a Boston grocery store.

But even with this decrease of activity, the death toll of security officers today, stands at 113.

- COVID-19: 95
- Firearm Homicide: 9
- Knife Homicide: 2
- Vehicle Accident: 4
- Medical: 1
- Tornado Deaths: 2

While we have confirmed that 113 Security Officers have died, we know that there are others who have passed away from the virus or died on-duty as the result of violence, and they have not been memorialized in online obituaries, news media reports, press releases or other public acknowledgment.

As states begin to reopen businesses, and the summer approaches, security officer assaults and deaths will surely rise as will those associated with the COVID-19 virus. privateofficer.com

Businesses manage expectations, safety while reopening amid coronavirus


What should retailers do about social distancing renegades?
High-profile retail incidents involving rebellion against social distancing mandates have made headlines in recent weeks, including the fatal shooting of a security guard at a Family Dollar in Michigan who told a customer to wear a face mask.

More common are the minor confrontations on selling floors between customers and associates or between customers over social distancing requirements.

In store aisles, it’s fairly common to see customers sidestepping workers restocking shelves or brushing by customers in violation of the six-feet apart rule. Incidents of shoppers openly or mistakenly disregarding one-way aisles have also been reported.

The more contentious issue is the requirement to wear masks in some states, cities and among a few chains, including Costco. The opposition comes from several sources. The New York Times reports, “The decision not to wear a mask has, for some, become a rebellion against what they regard as an incursion on their personal liberties. For many others, the choice is a casual one more about convenience than politics. The choice can also be a reflection of vanity, or of not understanding when or where to wear one.”

How should stores manage the minor and major confrontations stemming from social distancing mandates? What advice would you give to store associates who are asked to deal with infractions?

See responses here: retailwire.com

Birmingham, AL: Off-duty officer body-slams upset Walmart shopper who refuses to wear mask in store
An Alabama woman who was body-slammed last week at a Walmart in Birmingham by an off-duty police officer after refusing to wear a face mask and allegedly acting disorderly is facing criminal charges, police say, and the officer is under investigation.

The charges for the unidentified woman and the inquiry into the unnamed officer, who was working security for the store, are the result of a widely watched Facebook video showing the masked officer slamming the woman to the ground. washingtonpost.com


OSHA Releases Three New Quick Tip Videos For...

Delivery Safety Workers

Retail Workers Drive-Thru & Curbside Pick-Up

Not Sharing Equipment
(phones - desks - offices)

Downloadable Poster from OSHA: 10 Steps All Workplaces Can Take to Reduce Risk of Exposure to Coronavirus


RILA Grows BOD, Retailers Focused on COVID-19 Collaboration
Today the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) held its semi-annual Board of Directors meeting and welcomed JCPenney CEO Jill Soltau and Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh as new board members.

RILA’s Board of Directors shapes the Association’s focus areas each year, providing expert guidance and leadership on the retail industry’s key challenges and opportunities. As the industry and broader economy navigates the public health crisis of COVID-19, the Board, along with an expanded network of retail CEOs, has been instrumental in shaping the industry’s response. A recent output of this cross-functional work is RILA’s Blueprint for Shopping Safe, which outlines key measures retailers are taking to keep customers and employees safe, as well as a three-phased recommended approach to reopening. rila.org

NRF: Imports to see double-digit annual declines even as stores begin to reopen
Imports at major U.S. retail container ports are expected to see double-digit year-over-year declines this spring and summer as the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue, according to the Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

“Factories in China are largely back online and stores that closed here in the U.S.. are starting to reopen, but volume is far lower than what we would see in a ‘normal’ year,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Shoppers will come back and there is still a need for essential items, but the economic recovery will be gradual and retailers will adjust the amount of merchandise they import to meet demand.” nrf.com

2.1 Million Retail Jobs Disappear in April
Retail was one of the hardest-hit sectors in a dismal jobs report

An additional 5.5 million jobs were shed in food services and drinking establishments. businessinsider.com

Stage Stores Files for Bankruptcy, Seeks Buyer as It Sells Off Inventory
Stage Stores Inc., which operates banners including Bealls and Gordmans, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to start selling off inventory at its 557 locations while looking for buyers. The retailer, which plans to begin reopening stores in a phased approach beginning on May 15, has said it will stop inventory clearance sales at locations where a buyer is found. wsj.com

TJ Maxx reopens to hordes of shoppers, many without masks

Castle Rock, CO: Restaurant reopens to Mother’s Day crowds, defying state's public health order

While Total US Restaurant Traffic Declined 22% in March, Digital & Delivery Orders Jumped 60%

Subscription service sales accelerate as consumers wait out COVID-19 at home


Last week's #1 article --

Nordstrom to close 16 full-line stores