● Black Friday weekend shopper traffic increased by 34.2% compared to 2020, showing a progressively favorable outlook for retailers

● Shopper traffic data indicates that visits to physical stores during the 2021 Black Friday weekend decreased by -21.7% compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic year


NEUHAUSEN, Switzerland--Sensormatic Solutions, the leading global retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls, today released a comprehensive recap of U.S. shopper traffic during the extended 2021 Black Friday weekend, from Black Friday, November 26, through Sunday, November 28, 2021. These results are informed by retail traffic data analytics within the company’s intelligent operating platform, Sensormatic IQ.

Sensormatic Solutions found that store traffic for the 2021 Black Friday weekend was down -21.7% compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. Store traffic on Saturday, November 27, decreased by -17.6% and traffic on Sunday, November 28, resulted in a -8.1% decrease from two years ago. Compared to 2020, Black Friday weekend shopper traffic increased by 34.2%.

Traffic on Cyber Monday

Sensormatic Solutions also looked at the effect of Cyber Monday on brick-and-mortar retail traffic on Monday, November 29, and found that this year’s foot traffic decreased -9.9% compared to 2019. Cyber Monday traffic levels were similar to typical fall 2021 numbers. In the week leading up to Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend, in-store traffic was down -11.4% compared to 2019.

Read more here
 

Police On High Alert Across The Country Amid Theft Wave
As organized theft rings hit stores nationwide, local police are on alert
From California to Connecticut, police say organized theft rings are hitting retail stores in brazen smash and grab crimes. Thieves are hitting both high-end retailers like Louis Vuitton as well as loading up cart fulls of laundry detergent at grocery stores.

“When we see things starting to gear up, that’s when we start watching closer and worrying whether they will hit our area,” said Lake Saint Louis Police Chief Chris DiGiuseppi.

The Lake Saint Louis Police Chief has handled his fair share of thefts, helping bust up theft rings in 2012 and 2017. These organized groups hitting retail stores is nothing new, but its happening at an alarming pace. According to the National Retail Federation, 69 percent of retail stores reported an increased in organized crime in the last year.

Chesterfield police say this month they had a group of women push carts full of items out of Walmart. Richmond Heights police report more than $4,000 worth of stolen goods at the Saint Louis Galleria this November. And that’s just what’s reported.

“When we get into situations where we don’t have it reported, then the word spreads and that criminal activity increases,” said Chief DiGiuseppi.

Police across the area are increasing patrols, not just at retail centers but also neighborhoods, because while other cities are seeing stores targeted, the biggest target of organized criminals in the St. Louis region are cars.

Police say they need your help to stop the criminals. First off, call 911 if you see something suspicious, but also don’t make your vehicle an easy target. Don’t leave purses, wallets, guns or holiday shopping bags in plan sight for thieves to see. kmov.com

Current Crime Trend Update: Retail Theft Mobs
LA County Sheriff's Department Details Arrests, Investigative Efforts, and Enforcement & Preventive Strategies as California's Theft Wave Worsens
Incidents are occurring at high end retail businesses, primarily in the West side of Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley. Suspects are primarily concealing themselves with hoods and masks, and most are wearing gloves. Also, vehicles primarily used are either with paper plates or no plates. Many of our suspects are from the South Los Angeles area and some are linked to criminal street gangs.

Arrests and Investigative Efforts:

There have been 9 arrests over the past few days through traffic stops, probation rollback searches, and warrant services resulting from investigative leads. Large quantities of recovered merchandise have been seized during follow-up investigations.

We have been leveraging our partnerships with the FBI Task Force to locate potential suspects. And aggressive filing strategy has been made to present for filing consideration.

Enforcement and Preventive Strategies:

● Agencies are working closely with neighboring jurisdictions to pre-identify potential suspect crews
● Monitoring of social media for suspects posting planned crimes or bragging about recent seizures.
● Police vehicles parked strategically at businesses.
● High visibility patrols require police vehicles to have emergency lights on while driving.
● California Highway Patrol is assisting with extra patrols.
● Uniform foot beats at shopping locations.
● Overtime funding approved to augment uniform presence.
● Aviation: One dedicated helicopter to primary areas of occurrence has proven effective as deterrent.
● Mounted Unit Deployment: Officers on horseback are assigned to high risk retail locations

Business Strategies:

● It is encouraged to increased lighting and expanding security cameras.
● Retail and business owners should work closely with law enforcement by providing updates. lasd.org

Progressive DA Pushes Looting Charges for Organized Retail Thieves
Chesa Boudin is pursuing looting charges against Union Square theft suspects.
It’s a legal gamble
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s decision last week to pursue felony looting charges for a recent wave of organized retail theft across the city is a legal gamble that may require his office to prove the crimes were the result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Looting — for which Boudin charged nine people who were arrested in connection with burglaries at the Louis Vuitton and other Union Square retailers, a cannabis dispensary and a Walgreens on Nov. 19 — is an offense under California law that encompasses grand theft, petty theft and burglary during a state of emergency or evacuation order resulting from a natural or manmade disaster, such as an earthquake, fire, flood or riot.

California has been under a state of emergency for the pandemic since March 2020, and Gov. Gavin Newsom recently extended the order through the end of next March. During that time, district attorneys across the state, from Stanislaus to Mendocino counties, used the looting statute in at least a handful of cases during the early days of the stay-at-home order last year, and again months later amid the civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd.

But as the COVID-19 emergency, which Boudin cited as the basis for the recent charges, stretches toward two years, his filing strategy is entering uncharted territory where it is likely to encounter a legal dispute over the very definition of looting.

The prolonged nature of the pandemic could make it more difficult to directly relate these burglaries to the state of emergency, Banteka said, though it will be up to the jury to decide whether prosecutors establish a compelling link — or whether they even need to make that connection.

Boudin, who faces a recall election in June, is under tremendous pressure to crack down on the surge in retail theft — even from Newsom, who at a recent press conference called on local officials to “step up” and get tough on these incidents.  sfchronicle.com

Preparing for a Retail Active Shooter Event
After string of mall shootings, experts speak out about safety while shopping
Following recent mall shootings in the United States, some experts are speaking out about the importance of being prepared if you were ever find yourself in that situation here in the Upstate.

One of those recent mall shootings happened in Durham, North Carolina. Three people were shot and three had other injuries following a shooting on Black Friday. Another mall shooting happened in Tacoma, Washington on Black Friday. Police say one man was seriously injured at the city’s largest shopping mall, the Tacoma Mall.

“I think we’ve seen violence increase across the country as a whole,” active shooter training expert Chad Ayers said. Ayers says we’re never exempt from something like that happening in our area.

“There’s a lot of stress across the United States right now, and the holidays can also bring a lot of stress out, where people are trying to provide for their families,” Ayers said.

Ayers says shoppers should do everything they can to be prepared if it were to take place.

“Just being aware of your surroundings and not being stuck on your iPhone or stuck on checking off that Christmas list, but just knowing, if something does go bad, if violence does take place, where is my quickest avenue of escape, because evacuation gives us the best chance to live,” Ayers said.

He says nowadays, people want to get everything on video, but during an active shooter situation doing that could mean risking your life: “I don’t know if they’re trying to gather evidence for law enforcement, but that’s not your job. Your job is to survive,” Ayers said.

Ayers says it’s just as important for malls to be prepared and to have the proper equipment for emergencies.

“We recommend having bleeding control equipment there, totally different than your basic first aid. Your basic first aid kits have tweezers, your Band-Aids, your eyewash stuff, but we’re looking at ways to stop massive bleeding in that critical window of time,” Ayers explains.

For more tips on how to handle an active shooter situation, click here. wspa.com

South King County cities calling for collective approach to combat rise in violent crime

US: 49.4M Cases - 803K Dead - 39.2M Recovered
Worldwide: 263.2M Cases - 5.2M Dead - 237.7M Recovered

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

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 328  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 542
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Signs for Optimism as New Variant Puts World on Edge
The U.S. is better prepared to fight omicron variant, CDC director says
In the face of mounting concerns and lingering questions over the effects of the new omicron variant, health officials reassured the public Tuesday, arguing that the United States is overall better prepared to fight and contain the mutation than it was with previous variants.

“To be crystal clear — we have far more tools to fight the variant than we had at this time last year,” Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a White House coronavirus briefing.

Walensky added that as part of the ramped-up efforts to ward off new variants, the U.S. has significantly increased genomic sequencing from 8,000 samples a week earlier this year to 80,000 samples a week. It has also expanded its surveillance to the John F. Kennedy, San Francisco, Newark and Atlanta airports, four of the busiest in the country, for increased testing for specific international arrivals. washingtonpost.com

Amazon's 'Hidden Pandemic'
Labor group says Amazon massively underreported Covid cases contracted at work
Amazon had at least 20,000 employees test positive for Covid-19 last year. But it reported that only 27 of those cases were contracted while the employees were at work. The company's reporting amounts to a "hidden pandemic," according to a coalition of four unions interested in establishing representation for Amazon workers.

"The company systematically failed to record Covid-19 cases in its warehouses, recording only 27 work-related illnesses for all of 2020 in the category that includes Covid-19 infections," said the report from the Strategic Organizing Center, which is made up of the Teamsters union, the Service Employees Union, the Communication Workers of America and the United Farm Workers of America.

The group notes that Amazon put out a statement to employees on October 1, 2020, in which it said that 19,816 US employees had tested positive for Covid through September 19 of that year, prior to the late-year surge that increased the number of cases nationwide.

The labor group has sent a complaint to Assistant Secretary of Labor Douglas Parker, urging the Occupational Health and Safety Administration to investigate Amazon's "disturbing pattern of misleading or grossly incomplete information provided to authorities around Covid-19 cases in its warehouses."

"Amazon, the nation's second largest private employer, put workers' lives at risk by depriving OSHA of information about Covid-19 cases in its facilities, undermining the agency's ability to identify workplace hazards and to hold the company accountable for unsafe conditions," the group said. cnn.com

New York AG Seeks Emergency Court Over Amazon COVID Protocols
Amazon rolled back Covid safety protocols in warehouses, says New York attorney general

New York Attorney General Letitia James claimed Tuesday that Amazon has rolled back its coronavirus safety protocols in at least one of its warehouses.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking an emergency court order to force Amazon to implement stricter Covid-19 protocols, arguing the company’s decision to roll back safety measures in at least one of its warehouses leaves employees at a higher risk of exposure to the coronavirus.

James sought the motion for relief on Tuesday as part of a lawsuit she filed earlier this year, which claims the online retail giant prioritized profit over worker safety at its New York facilities and retaliated against employees who voiced concerns for their safety during the pandemic.

As part of the motion, James urged the court to appoint a monitor to oversee worker safety at Amazon’s New York facilities. James is also asking for a court order that would require Amazon to rehire Chris Smalls, an employee who was fired last March after speaking out about working conditions.

“The State now seeks preliminary injunctive relief because Amazon is rolling back its already inadequate public health measures and acting as if the pandemic is over when the risk of virus transmission is increasing, and a new variant threatens to cause even higher rates of transmission, illness, and death,” the motion states. cnbc.com

Could Omicron Variant Boost Retail Sales?
Concerns over omicron could shift spending away from experiences, NRF says

National Retail Federation CEO Matt Shay said Tuesday that the new coronavirus variant could direct more dollars toward electronics, toys, apparel and other items

As Americans bought gifts during the peak Thanksgiving shopping weekend, the discovery of the omicron variant made headlines and prompted action by public health officials.

National Retail Federation CEO Matt Shay said Tuesday that the coronavirus strain could shake up spending patterns this holiday season and direct more dollars toward electronics, toys, apparel and other items instead of vacations and movie tickets.

“We know, unfortunately, that when the variants have had a real impact on the economy, the goods side of the economy has actually benefited from that because people change behavior away from the experience side of the economy and spend more time and more dollars engaged in the goods side of the economy,” he said on a call with reporters.

Holiday sales are expected to grow to an all-time high of between $843.4 billion and $859 billion of sales in November and December, which represents growth of 8.5% to 10.5% this year, according to the National Retail Federation. The trade group reiterated its rosy forecast for the holiday season on Tuesday. cnbc.com

57% of Employers to Mandate Vaccine
Majority of U.S. Employers Will Require Vaccination, Survey Finds
As OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) works its way through the courts, many employers will require employees to be vaccinated.

That could be challenging, given that nearly one in five employers (19%) believe that their employee vaccination rate is under 50%, while only one-third believe that at least 75% of employees are vaccinated, according to a new survey from Willis Towers Watson.

The survey also found that 57% of respondents require or are planning to require their employees be vaccinated. A further breakdown of that majority shows that 18% already require vaccinations and 7% plan to regardless of the ETS status. However, 32% of employers only plan to require vaccinations if the ETS takes effect.

One major concern those employers cite: staff turnover. Thirty-one percent of respondents are very concerned a vaccine mandate could contribute to employees leaving their organization. Only 3% of respondents with vaccine mandates reported a spike in resignations. And many more (48%) said that vaccine mandates could help retain and recruit employees. ehstoday.com

Tougher Travel Requirements Coming
Biden administration considering requiring stricter coronavirus testing for everyone traveling to US
Top US government officials are considering requiring everyone who enters the country to be tested for Covid-19 the day before their flight and having all travelers -- including US citizens and permanent residents -- be tested again after returning home, regardless of vaccination status, sources familiar with the discussions have told CNN.

Officials were deliberating the potential changes Tuesday night and no final decisions have been made, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed in a statement that the agency is working to revise testing requirements for travelers because of the new Omicron variant. cnn.com

‘This is not going to be good’
Moderna CEO on what scientists are telling him about the omicron variant

CDC Expands Omicron Variant Monitoring to 4 Airports Servicing South African Flights

Facial Biometrics Hits Legal Roadblocks
Legal Cases and Privacy Rulings Aim to Curtail Facial Biometrics

Decisions in the UK and Australia, and lawsuits in the United States, could force facial-recognition providers to remove data from their machine-learning models.

New York-based Clearview AI is paying the price for launching a facial-recognition service based on publicly posted pictures, as the company has become a focus of numerous privacy investigations and lawsuits alleging that the firm violated individuals' rights by collecting online pictures and making them searchable.

On Monday, the top privacy official of the United Kingdom levied a potential fine of more than £17 million, or about US $26.6 million, for the company's collection of facial data from images posted online without gaining the consent of the subjects. The ruling, stemming from a joint investigation with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), also ordered the company to stop processing the data of UK citizens. A separate ruling is expected from the Australian government.

The decision comes three months after an Illinois court ruled that a lawsuit against Clearview AI for allegedly violating the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) could continue and dismissed a variety of legal defenses argued by the company.

"The Court favors [allowing the application of BIPA], fully recognizing that this may have an effect on Clearview's business model," Judge Pamela McLean Meyerson wrote in her ruling. "Inevitably, Clearview may experience 'reduced effectiveness' in its service as it attempts to address BIPA's requirements. That is a function of having forged ahead and blindly created billions of faceprints without regard to the legality of that process in all states."

Policy Catches Up With Technology

The privacy cases highlight the problems that occur when policy finally catches up to technology. BIPA, passed in Illinois, following the meltdown of fingerprint biometric service Pay By Touch in 2008, requires that a private entity inform citizens when it intends to use a biometric information or identifiers, set specific terms and uses for the information, and obtain permission from the subject. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued Clearview AI in May 2020 on behalf of Illinois residents who are required to be notified of any biometric data collection.

A Trio of Lawsuits

Currently, at least three lawsuits have targeted Clearview AI in Illinois courts, while Facebook settled a lawsuit in Illinois for identifying people as part of its "tag suggestions" feature. Some 21 other states are considering — or have considered — legislation regarding the collection of biometric information and the use of biometric identifiers, Ward and an associate wrote in a legal analysis. darkreading.com

Facial Recognition Tech Under a Global Microscope
Facial recognition deployments with lax regulation under scrutiny worldwide
Several facial recognition projects around the world have recently come under scrutiny, spurred by concerns of privacy advocates that the technology is not being properly regulated.

In Russia, digital rights group Roskomsvoboda is calling for more transparency in handling citizens’ biometric data collected as part of Face Pay’s Moscow Metro card, and in Singapore, an investigation by Rest of World aims at shaking the “almost uncritical faith in technology” of governmental agencies.

Also, three civil society groups have called for a ban on automatic facial recognition devices and video surveillance technology in Switzerland; RFA reported a widening of China’s alleged use of technology to repress Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, and OpenGlobalRights suggested emotion detection surveillance systems may be used to spot individuals unfavorable to the government in North Korea. biometricupdate.com

UK threatens Clearview AI with nearly $23M fine over its facial recognition tech
 

Homicides Hit 15-Year High in Canada
Canada murder rate in 2020 hits 15-year high, pushed up by mass shooting
The murder rate in Canada last year rose to its highest level since 2005, pushed up in part by the country's worst-ever mass shooting, in which 22 people died, Statistics Canada said on Thursday. Statscan also noted societal stresses it said had been caused by lockdowns linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadian police reported 743 murders in 2020, up from 687 in 2019. The murder rate increased to 1.95 per 100,000 people, the highest in 15 years, from 1.83 per 100,000 people in 2019.

"While homicide continues to be a relatively rare occurrence, representing less than 0.2% of all violent crimes in Canada in 2020, homicide rates are considered benchmarks for levels of violence," Statscan said in a commentary.

By comparison, the overall U.S. murder rate in 2020 was around 6.5 homicides per 100,000 people, according to FBI data. The Canadian increase was driven by more murders in the provinces of Alberta and Nova Scotia.

Gabriel Wortman killed 13 people in Nova Scotia on the night of April 18, 2020, and another nine the next day before police shot him dead. This contributed to an "uncharacteristically high homicide count and rate for the province," Statscan said.

The two most populated cities in Alberta, Calgary and Edmonton, recorded large increases, and each contributed 15 more murders to the national tally than in 2019.

Toronto, Canada's largest city, saw a 22% decrease in the rate of firearm-related homicides from 1.03 per 100,000 population to 0.80. reuters.com

Pharmacy Robbery Wave Sweeps Across Calgary
Calgary, AB: Police issue warning about pharmacy robberies after back-to-back incidents
After two pharmacies were robbed in as many days, the Calgary Police Service issued a warning about the incidents on Friday. On Nov. 17, two suspects entered the dispensary area of the Walmart Pharmacy at 1212 37 Street S.W. at around 11 a.m. The suspects confronted staff with a knife and demanded drugs. The two fled the store with a number of items in a black Adidas duffle bag.

On Nov. 18, four suspects ran into the Pharmasave at 79 Martindale Blvd. N.E., yelling at staff and customers to get on the ground at around 8:15 p.m. Two of the suspects were carrying guns and demanded staff open the drug safe. Police said an employee was kicked and pistol-whipped by one of the suspects.

Police are warning pharmacy staff of what officers are calling an “ongoing crime trend of pharmacy robberies” occurring in Calgary.

“Similar robberies are also taking place at cannabis stores and cellphone stores at a growing rate and these types of robberies have become increasingly violent over time,” Staff Sgt. Rob Harbidge said.

“These events have a damaging impact on the victims, businesses, and citizens present while a crime is in progress, and we are asking for the public’s help to notify police when they see suspicious or criminal behaviour.”

In 2021 alone, police have been called to 80 pharmacies in Calgary. In most cases, armed suspects approach staff, rush behind counters and demand access to secured drugs and cash. globalnews.ca
 

Vaccines Up, Shopper Hesitancy Down as Canadians Flock to Stores
Canadians Returning to Shopping Centres and Brick-and-Mortar Retail: Study
The 2021 Retail Holiday Survey, by the company, found that 85 per cent of shoppers say they are going to return to shopping centres this holiday season and they’re going to be spending more time and more money in those malls.

“This is a great news story. I think it means that people want to go out and be in that environment and not sit in their pajamas and shop online,” said Tim Sanderson, Executive Vice-President, Retail, for JLL.

“I think people have done a lot of that going on two years now and I think it gets a little tired. I do believe that we’re social creatures and we want to get out and we want to touch and feel product and we want to see other people.

“When you walk through a shopping centre and you see lots of people in a great mood – it’s kind of hard to see people smiling, we’re all wearing masks – but when they’re carrying bags and they’re enjoying themselves, everybody gets caught up with that.”

The report also found that 72 per cent of shoppers will visit physical stores to buy or pick up goods, which is higher than last year’s 64 per cent. It’s also higher even than pre-pandemic levels, when 67 per cent of shoppers visited physical stores.

The report said curbside pickup has found a niche, especially among intentional buyers. In 2021, 18 per cent are ordering online and driving to the store’s designated pickup area. This is the same percentage as last year when the option first appeared in the survey.

“Canadians of all ages, genders, regions, and incomes are returning to shopping centres this holiday season. With a large majority of the adult population fully vaccinated, 85 per cent of shoppers reported that they’re going to do holiday shopping in shopping centres,” said JLL.

“Shopper hesitancy seems to be in steady decline in Canada as more people feel comfortable with resuming physical shopping activities, including those in enclosed malls. retail-insider.com

Vaccine Mandate Hitting Canadian Mail Delivery?
Canada Post employee COVID-19 vaccine mandate disrupts small town parcel service
The only Canada Post location in Lamont, Alta. was “temporarily closed” Monday, the same day a nation-wide COVID-19 vaccine mandate took effect for Canada Post workers.

As of Nov. 26, employees were required to be at least partially vaccinated or were place on leave without pay, the company said.

The local president of the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association (CPAA), which represents more than 500 rural Canada Post employees in Alberta, told Global News at least six other Canada Post locations could not open Monday due to staff shortages.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the vaccine mandate was the reason for the closure in Lamont, but residents drew their own conclusions. “(I’m) very upset,” said resident Dianne Prusak. “I’ve got parcels coming in. How do I get them?”

In a statement to Global News, Canada Post said the vast majority of its employees are in compliance with the “Mandatory Vaccine Practice.”

“We are not anticipating any major service disruptions. There may be a few isolated cases where a post office may see reduced hours or temporarily close due to staffing issues,” the statement read. globalnews.ca

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