Face Forward With Facial Recognition:
Privacy, convenience and security battle it out
Many smartphone users are familiar with facial recognition, which they use a million times a day to access their devices. While that may be one of the more obvious uses, the technology has other applications.

Facial recognition technology is becoming a fixed part of some public infrastructure, requiring more high-definition cameras and lighting focused on and around doorways and gates. Some iterations of the technology got started with border control and at airports as a way to identify people. The technology is increasingly prevalent and sometimes controversial as it makes inroads into retail stores and stadiums.

Biometrics and privacy concerns

In facial recognition, cameras typically leverage a biometric software application to verify or identify a person’s facial features against a database. Other biometrics include iris recognition and fingerprints. However, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, facial recognition is the fastest and most accurate in real-life scenarios, where people are presented in a variety of angles and change with age.

Retail to target shrink

Banking is not the only industry using facial recognition to beat crime and fraud. Some stores are turning to facial recognition to identify suspicious individuals, whether they are casual opportunists or linked to organized crime.

In fact, with cameras already deployed at entrance and exit points, many stores have made a fairly seamless transition to including facial recognition in their surveillance. The system can quickly identify someone connected with previous theft, especially if it took place at that store.

“It’s clear that RFID and facial recognition each have very bright futures ahead of them. Many retailers will want to use these two solutions in combination, since doing so will positively impact the monetary value and success rate of cases that proceed to prosecution,” Marshall Kay, director of retail transformation services at Avery Dennison Smartrac, Mentor, Ohio, said.

Replacing some manual security

Store associates can’t always have their eyes on the front door. And expecting a human to recognize all the known offenders among thousands of store customers is an impossible task, said Dara Riordan, president and COO of tech company FaceFirst, Austin, Texas.

Companies such as FaceFirst create probable matches and send notifications for individuals who have been enrolled into the retailer’s private, curated database of known offenders. ecmag.com


How to Respond to Retail Crime
C-Store Leaders Discuss the Evolution of Theft & How to Fight It

C-store industry leaders discuss how retail theft is evolving, and what retailers need to know going forward.

Fighting back against retail crime is no small feat in the c-store industry — it requires attention, a plan of action and thorough training of employees. To dive deeper into what c-store retailers are facing today, CStore Decisions Editor-in-Chief Erin Del Conte sat down with industry experts in an exclusive webinar.

Panelists in attendance included Kristy Clement, loss prevention manager at Walters-Dimmick Petroleum, and David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations at the National Retail Federation (NRF).

To kick things off, Johnston talked about the evolving nature of theft, which has increased coming out of COVID. Some of these new tactics, according to Johnston, include brazen smash-and-grabs and mob thefts.

Clement noted that while incidents of theft are up and evolving, Walters-Dimmick has not seen a notable uptick in violence, which she mentioned she is trying to get ahead of in case it begins to follow industry trends in the future. To do this, Clement said it is important that the crimes are reported and cataloged.

A lot of this information can come as a result of proper training — managers need to not only be aware of potential theft, but they need to be trained to actively try to combat it in a variety of ways.

Johnston agreed that training is essential for loss prevention, but another tactic that can be helpful is technology.

The panelists covered a wide range of other topics, including surveillance, artificial intelligence (AI), RFID chips, body cameras and much more.

To download the full webinar, click here. cstoredecisions.com


California's Progress Against Retail Theft Makes More Headlines
California Announces Retail Crime Crackdown Progress
California continues its crackdown on organized retail crime with 621 investigations statewide so far in 2024, leading to 1,123 arrests and $8.1 million worth of stolen goods recovered.

The state’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force (ORCTF), led by California’s Highway Patrol, recovered more than $300,000 of stolen items in September 2024 alone, according to a press release from California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office.

Newsom has made combatting retail crime a priority for his current term, especially after high-profile spikes in retail crime across major Californian cities contributed to stores shuttering and perceptions of higher personal risk in urban centers.

The state distributed $267 million to 55 law enforcement agencies in California in 2023 to address organized retail crime.

“These funds have enabled cities and counties to hire more police, make more arrests, and secure more felony charges against suspects,” the press release said. “In just the first six months of the grant cycles, local law enforcement agencies that received the grants reported more than 6,900 arrests for retail theft, motor vehicle theft, and cargo theft offenses.”

Meanwhile, in August, Newsom signed into law 10 new bills designed to make it easier to catch, prosecute, and punish property theft offenders.

In addition, AB 2943 expands probable cause, enabling law enforcement to arrest individuals based on sworn statements from eyewitnesses, video surveillance footage showing a person shoplifting or committing another crime, or possessing “a quantity of goods inconsistent with personal use and the goods bear security devices affixed by a retailer that would customarily be removed upon purchase.”  asisonline.org


Retail Theft Task Forces Continue to Make Progress
MPD: Cordova area sees 60% increase in retail theft arrests with the help of retail theft taskforce
A task force in one Memphis police precinct is making a major impact on retail theft with the help of business owners. Command staff at the Appling Farms station say enough is enough when it comes to retail theft in their precinct.

“The word is getting out that in Appling Farms station, if you come and steal, that we will catch you,” said Sergeant Vaughn Brown.

Major Byron Braxton says arrests for retail thefts in the Cordova area are up 60% since last year.

They credit it to the Appling Farms station’s Retail Theft Taskforce and their Retail Theft Collaborative with area businesses.

“We are out there, and we’re making a big difference,” said Sergeant Brown. “Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. Shoplifting is hurting all of us. It makes products, the prices go up. Not only are we seeing increased prices, but we have businesses thinking about leaving. That’s crucial to our city and to the economy in our city to keep these businesses here.”

More than 50 businesses with 160 loss prevention representatives, officers and managers are in constant communication with police about thefts in the area.

At a collaborative meeting Tuesday, Sergeant Brown said they’ve handled 1,500 cases this year alone and says sharing pictures and information on thefts can eventually lead to arrests, prosecution, and at times, banning shoplifters from businesses altogether. actionnews5.com


Gift Card Scams Surging
Santa Clara County DA: Be wary of store-bought gift cards
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office is warning the public about a gift card scam. Think twice about purchasing store-bought gift cards.

Organized criminal networks steal gift cards, tamper with them, and put the doctored cards back on the rack for consumers to buy. After the gift cards are purchased and loaded with funds, the culprits deplete the funds.

Experts say that the scheme is rising as we approach the holiday gift giving season. To raise awareness, the DA’s Office has released a short public service announcement that can be used by the media or public.

Americans spend about $230 billion on gift card purchases annually. “Please be cautious about buying gift cards from stands or shelves at stores,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “You could inadvertently be giving a thief a gift this holiday season.”  da.santaclaracounty.gov


Proposition 36: The Right Solution?
Ten years ago, California voters passed Proposition 47 which classified certain crimes as misdemeanors that had theretofore been charged as felonies. In recent years, media coverage suggests an uptick in property crime for which some law enforcement groups have long-blamed proposition 47.

Is the perception of a surge in crime fair, or has crime remained near historic lows? For that matter, has the increase in property crime in San Francisco or Oakland different from what we see throughout rest of the country?

Proposition 36 is being offered in response, purporting to address three of our largest hot-button issues: property crime, the opiate crisis and homelessness. Some, such as former California Senate President Darryl Steinberg, have called into question whether Proposition 36 offers the right solution to these problems; others, including the San Francisco Police Officers Association have pointed to their increased use of technology and dramatic drops in such property crimes as auto burglary. Governor Newsom has commented that the surge in organized retail theft was not only not common at the time proposition 47 was passed, but would never have been affected by proposition 47, that is, those large thefts remain chargeable as felonies. kalw.org


New retail crime laws set to take effect in California

Retail Shrink and ORC: Expert Roundtable Shares Strategies To Combat Retail Theft
 

 
Stronger Retail Sales Than Expected
Retail sales rose 0.4% in September, better than expected; jobless claims dip

Retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% on the month, up from the unrevised 0.1% gain in August and better than the 0.3% Dow Jones forecast.

Consumer spending held up in September, underscoring a resilient economy that is now getting a boost from the Federal Reserve, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% on the month, up from the unrevised 0.1% gain in August and better than the 0.3% Dow Jones forecast, according to the advance report.

Excluding autos, sales accelerated 0.5%, better than the forecast for just a 0.1% rise. The numbers are adjusted for seasonal factors but not inflation, which rose 0.2% on the month as measured by the consumer price index. cnbc.com
 

Shoppers Plan to Spend Most This Holiday Since 2018
Consumers to shop at discount department stores this holiday

In response to higher costs, shoppers will spend more time looking for deals this season, according to an ICSC survey.

In search of deals, 63% of consumers will shop for gifts at discount department stores, according to ICSC’s 2024 Holiday Shopping Intentions survey of 1,009 people. Meanwhile, a third will shop at traditional department stores.

On average, shoppers plan to spend $706 on gifts and other holiday items, the most since 2018, according to the survey. Among the top items on shoppers’ list are gift cards (58%); accessories, apparel and jewelry (52%); and toys, games, sporting goods and other hobby items (50%).

While nine in 10 consumers said inflation will affect their holiday purchases, 37% of respondents plan to spend more this year. Of the consumers who plan to spend more this year, 42% are doing so because of higher prices, the survey found.  retaildive.com


AI-Powered Gateways Instead of Checkout Lanes
Sam's Club just opened its first new location in 7 years. It doesn't have any checkout lanes.
The Walmart-owned warehouse club had experienced a period of pullback in its store portfolio: It had last opened a new location in 2017, and it abruptly closed 63 stores in 2018. The store count remained flat as the company increased net sales by nearly 50%, to $86.2 billion, last year.

The fate of the Grapevine store changed after Sam's Club announced last year that it planned to open 30 locations by 2030. The location, which reopened on Thursday, gets to be the first in a wave of high-tech stores that aim to tap into a digital shopping experience.

Notably, this location eschews checkout lanes. Shoppers ring up their orders on an app and roll their carts through an AI-powered gateway to confirm their purchases. Instead of conveyer belts and cash registers, the front of the store features patio furniture and a Mercedes-Benz SUV tagged with QR codes that shoppers can scan to purchase online for delivery. businessinsider.com


Rite Aid offers buy now, pay later payment in stores

Bed Bath & Beyond brand gets an in-store renaissance

Popshelf announces new store format, loyalty program & app