NRF PROTECT 2023

TalkLP's Wrap Up at NRF PROTECT Day 1

Watch what happened at NRF PROTECT 2023 Day 1 in this recap from host Amber Bradley and TalkLPnews!

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NRF PROTECT 2023 Panel Spotlight
How Inspire Brands, Albertsons and Helzberg Diamonds adapt to the everchanging challenge of online fraud

NRF PROTECT: Approaching fraud as an overall business problem helps companies tackle the problem holistically

Ecommerce continues to grow, and with it an increasing risk of fraudulent activity. On the second day of NRF PROTECT 2023, a capacity crowd gathered to hear insights on negotiating the current online fraud environment.

Participants in the panel included Patrick Finnegan, director of loss prevention and fraud with Inspire Brands; Flora Garcia, director of enterprise data and fraud prevention with the Albertsons Companies; and Kevin Morrison, director of loss prevention, fraud and payments risk with Helzberg Diamonds.

While their responsibilities vary from company to company and market to market, Finnegan, Garcia and Morrison all deal with issues around payments, the internal visibility of what they do, the need to understand the changing payment ecosystem, and the problem of card-not-present transactions.

They also share the need to protect their companies from fraud while avoiding friction with their customers — and avoiding friction with colleagues, whose responsibilities might lead to conflict with loss prevention and anti-fraud initiatives.

The panelists agreed that a partial solution is to foster agreement among departments as to what problems are being solved, or at least addressed.

“If there’s conflict between loss prevention and the sales force,” said Garcia, “we at least all need to be using the same data.” Inspire, for instance, has a cross-departmental digital fraud task force. “It’s a way to get people out of their silos,” Finnegan said. “We want to say yes.”

One way to make that happen is to look at fraud as an overall business problem. Part of this process, Morrison said, requires the people who dream up sales campaigns to run them by the fraud-prevention troops before announcing them to the customer base.  nrf.com


Sensormatic Solutions by Johnson Controls unveils Sensormatic Synergy Media Display at NRF PROTECT 2023

The brand’s new media display allows retailers to leverage prime storefront real estate to drive traffic, push targeted advertising and gain insights into customer behavior

NEUHAUSEN, Switzerland—June 6, 2023—Sensormatic Solutions, the leading global retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls, unveiled its newest storefront solution, the Sensormatic Synergy Media Display, at NRF PROTECT 2023. Expected to be available to retailers across regions in the summer of 2023, the Sensormatic Synergy Media Display enables retailers to install dynamic displays onto their Sensormatic Synergy (“Synergy) loss prevention pedestals at the front of the store, so they can do more with their most-visible touchpoints.

“Adding media displays to our Synergy line of exit pedestals helps retailers make the most of their electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems—both in terms of shopper experience and data analytics,” said Craig Szklany, vice president and product general manager for loss prevention and liability at Sensormatic Solutions. “Installing Sensormatic Synergy Media Displays onto existing Synergy deployments turns the exit-focused loss prevention systems retailers already have into end-to-end solutions that support more connected shopper journeys, generate ad revenue, and give retailers insight from customers’ first steps into the store.”

Read more here

TalkLP Podcast: NRF LP Council Chair Scott McBride & NRF's VP of AP & Retail Operations David Johnston talk future plans under new leadership
National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Vice President of Asset Protection & Retail Operations David Johnston and the newly announced Chair of the NRF Loss Prevention Council, Scott McBride, Chief Global Asset Protection Officer & CSO at AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS INC. joins TalkLP Host Amber Bradley to discuss the re-energized direction of the NRF Loss Prevention initiatives under David and Scott’s leadership.

Both loss prevention veterans talk what’s new and what’s coming for the NRF — and it’s time to get excited. Scott also gives a quick look at what asset protection executives need to be prepared for near term and long term for strategic planning.

Check out their take on the NRF’s future and how it impacts the loss prevention industry!

Watch it here
 

Backlash Over California's New Hands-Off Shoplifting Bill
Chamber of Commerce Reacts to California Bill’s New Shoplifting Policy
As controversy and confusion continue to surround rules around how retail store workers should handle the shoplifting epidemic, the California state senate last week passed SB 553, which would prohibit retailers from requiring staff to confront people trying to steal.

The move comes in response to a rash of incidences where sales associates trying to stop shoplifters has led to escalating situations, sometimes with fatal outcomes.

It also comes as a new National Retail Federation study finds that shoplifting is becoming an existential threat to brick-and-mortar commerce altogether and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the growing problem of retail crime.

Passed in the senate, the California bill heads to the assembly, where if passed and then signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, it would authorize labor unions to seek temporary restraining orders on behalf of employees based on workplace violence or credible threats of violence. It also would prohibit employers from “maintaining policies that require employees to confront active shooters or suspected shoplifters.”

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), said the bill was motivated by recent tragic incidences at California Walgreens and Home Depot, where a shoplifter at the former and an employee at the latter tried to stop shoplifters, per company policy in each case.

“With growing awareness of workplace violence, California needs smarter guidelines to keep workers safe in the office or on the job site,” Cortese wrote on his website. “Under my SB 553, employers would be prohibited from forcing their workers to confront active shoplifters, and all retail employees would be trained on how to react to active shoplifting. The legislation has other provisions that keep people safe at work. Let’s take every reasonable step to prevent another workplace assault or shooting.”

The California Chamber of Commerce, however, has reservations about the measure.

“California’s employers—both public and private—should be very concerned about SB 553 because it requires all employers to meet workplace violence standards that exceed even those applied to hospitals under present regulations,” the organization’s policy advocate Rob Moutri said in a statement. “Cal/OSHA staff specifically rejected using the hospital standard for all industries, and have spent years working on a general industry draft that makes sense for all of California’s workplaces. Sadly, SB 553 ignored those years of work and applies the hospital standard—with a few additional provisions—to even the smallest employer in the state.” sourcingjournal.com


Walgreens Chicago Theft Crackdown Making Headlines
An entire Walgreens store in Chicago has been redesigned in hopes of curbing theft

Walgreens has redesigned a Chicago store to put most of the products behind counters, and it could help cut down on theft

Walgreens renovated a store in Chicago & moved most products off the shop floor.

Walgreens has redesigned a store in downtown Chicago and put most of the products behind counters, which could help the company cut down on theft amid a rise in organized retail crime.

The converted store, which is located in the city's South Loop area, has just two low-rise aisles with low-cost essentials such as groceries, bandages, soap, and cosmetics. CWB Chicago reported that the shelves are no taller than five feet – meaning that staff are able to watch customers shopping.

CWB's photos of the new-look store show shoplifting sensors at the entrance of this section of the store. Customers can buy these items at self-checkout stations.

To get anything else, customers have to order it using an in-store tablet – accompanied by a sign saying: "Let us do the shopping." The customer will then pick these items up from a member of staff at the counter. This is the same for both retail items and pharmacy prescriptions, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The company told the Sun-Times that the redesigned store in South Loop had more staff than the average store. Some customers told local news site Block Club Chicago that they felt the store had been redesigned to cut down on theft. businessinsider.com


The Return of 'Stop & Frisk' in NYC?
N.Y.P.D. Anti-Crime Units Still Stopping People Illegally, Report Shows

Mayor Eric Adams revived the teams, promising they would be well trained and supervised. But a new report found widespread use of stop-and-frisk tactics against people of color.

The New York Police Department’s anti-crime units are still stopping, frisking and searching too many people unlawfully — almost all of them people of color — despite assurances from Mayor Eric Adams that new policies and training would end the practice, according to a new report by a court-appointed monitor.

The monitor, Mylan L. Denerstein, filed a report in federal court in Manhattan on Monday detailing what she described as unlawful policing. Ms. Denerstein, whose position was created in 2013 after a court ruled the Police Department’s use of stop and frisk was unconstitutional, is assigned to oversee the units, which have a history of targeting Black and Hispanic people.

Earlier versions of the units were responsible for a disproportionate number of police shootings, and they were disbanded in 2020. Mr. Adams reinstated and renamed them after he took office last year, but critics were skeptical that they could be run without racially profiling young men of color, as previous units had.

Almost all of the stops made by the rebranded “neighborhood safety teams” analyzed in the report — 97 percent — were of Black or Hispanic people, and 24 percent of the stops were unconstitutional. Of 230 car stops included in the sample, only two appear to have turned up weapons, the report said.

Police and city officials took issue with the report’s conclusions and said the units had been effective both in keeping interactions with the public lawful and in reducing killings. Fabien Levy, a spokesman for Mr. Adams, said the mayor’s office had serious concerns about the report’s methodology. nytimes.com


Mass Shooting Surge Leads to Store Closure
Gun Store Owner Decides to Close Shop in Response to Recent Mass Shootings

The owner of Duluth-based shop Georgia Ballistics says it's a matter of "conscience."

A gun store owner in Georgia says he’s closing up shop in response to recent mass shootings in which children were killed.

Jon Waldman, the owner of Georgia Ballistics in Duluth, spoke with regional outlet WXIA-TV last week about his decision and his larger concerns about gun violence. According to Waldman, who opened the shop in March 2021, seeing “kids after kids after kids” being caught up in gun violence has led him to this moment.

“This is just my conscience, and it’s more important to me than anything else,” he told the outlet, adding that moving forward on this issue will, in his opinion, require communities coming together on “both sides.”

Elaborating further on his decision in an interview, as seen up top, Waldman noted that the closure of his shop doesn’t mean he’s individually against people being armed.

“I just can’t sell items like this to people,” he said. Waldman also questioned the effectiveness of background checks, pointing out that merely passing one doesn’t necessarily mean a person “should” have access to such weapons. complex.com


Takeaways from Baltimore Police budget hearing: vacancies continue, low-level offenses in spotlight
The mayor’s proposed budget calls for a $594 million allocation for the police force, an uptick from this fiscal year’s total $579 million.

This year, the city is seeing slightly lower homicide and nonfatal shooting rates compared with the same time period in 2022. Data for the week ending May 27 showed 2023 homicides were down by 15% and nonfatal shootings down by 9%

Low-level offenses in the spotlight

Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates announced last week that his office would resume prosecuting low-level offenses, such as loitering, drinking in public and drug possession, through a new citation court docket.

Baltimore Police will begin to issue criminal citations for the “quality of life” offenses beginning Monday.

The Group Violence Reduction Strategy, a focused deterrence model of violent crime reduction piloted last year, has been touted by the Scott administration as a success as it has continued to expand to a new police district this year.

Eric Melancon, the department’s deputy commissioner for compliance, said Tuesday that there are 338 patrol vacancies, out of 522 total vacant budgeted and funded positions. The staffing plan, Melancon said, calls for 918 patrol positions, but there are roughly 650 currently filled. baltimoresun.com


How did Minnesota change its criminal laws this session?
In recent years, businesses in the Twin Cities metro have been targeted by groups of looters who stormed into stores and stole large amounts of merchandise.

Organized retail theft is set to become a specific offense under Minnesota criminal law. People found guilty of organized retail theft can now face a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison if the amount of theft is over $5,000. bemidjipiponeer.com


U.S. Congress Update: H.R. Bill 895 - Combating ORC Act of 2023 (118th Congress) Picks up Three More Co-Sponsors
Cosponsor - 22 current - 13 Republicans and 9 Democrats. New: D-TX-30, D-HI-2, D-MI-3. Is your Representative supporting? Check out the list here


UK: 'I’m burnt out from dealing with shoplifters in our London store'
One supermarket worker describes how there has been a significant increase in thefts and there is little they can do about it

Retail stores are locking up more items, leaving shoppers waiting for help

New York’s shoplifting hellscape: Letters to the Editor — June 6, 2023