The Retail Council of Canada reports that retailers coast-to-coast collectively lose $3 billion The Atlantic branch of the national industry association hosted a workshop on risk assessment and loss prevention Monday to which about 30 local retailers attended. Stephen O’Keefe, Retail Council of Canada vice-president of operations, and formerly VP of LP for Wal-Mart Canada, said there are four things a shop owner must do first. "We want to give members an understanding of what they can and cannot do," O’Keefe said Monday. "They can identify the risk, transfer the risk by purchasing insurance, accept that risk — still open their doors knowing that there is a criminal element out there — and mitigate the risk. What tactics retailers employ to mitigate the risk is up to the retailer and typically depends on the type of products for sale," O’Keefe said. "People steal for three reasons: need, greed and opportunity," he said. "So what is the opportunity in the minds of a criminal? It’s typically being able to get away with something without being exposed." Items deemed high in value, and most notably those that are easy to resell, remain top picks for shoplifters. Meantime, increased violence is an alarming trend reported in recent shoplifting cases, which has spurred the council to consider drafting a victim impact statement to be presented in court, O’Keefe said. "It would give more attention to what really is a theft and sometimes a robbery," O’Keefe said. "The term shoplifting downplays the magnitude of the crime - so this would give our members a tool to go to court with." The council is also considering lobbying government for stiffer sentences for repeat and violent offenders. (Source thechronicleherald.ca)

"Thousands" of Canadian retailers are already ready for mobile sales - They're leading the way All that's needed is an agreement between banks, credit card companies and telecoms, and that appears to be coming soon, promising to transform how Canadians pay for everything from their morning coffee to a tankful of gasoline. If consumers embrace the system - and that's still a big "if" - clip-and-save coupons, transit passes, library cards and perhaps even driver's licenses could become things of the past. They have been way ahead of us in the states with debit cards and cashless transactions. So this comes as no big surprise that they may be ahead of the U.S. in this arena. (Source reuters.com)