Facial Recognition Tech Headed For Canadian Stores, And Saks Leads The Way
As luxury retailer Saks rolls out in Canada, a new report says it's bringing with it an unprecedented level of store surveillance - both for security and for the purposes of tracking customers. "None of the other retail work we've done has anywhere near this kind of security," an unnamed source close to Saks' Canadian development plans told The Guardian.

Besides battering ram-proof doors and metal bollards to prevent cars from crashing through, Saks is reportedly bringing its nascent facial-recognition technology to Canadian locations. Camera feeds will be viewable from the company's New York headquarters, The Guardian reports. (Saks is owned by Hudson's Bay Company but maintains head offices in New York.)

While shoppers may be used to the idea that online retailers collect detailed information about them, "I question how aware the average Canadian is about the level of surveillance that may be happening" at physical stores, White said.

It's not just Saks, or even luxury retailers. According to Bloomberg, Walmart, Macy's, Giorgio Armani and Benetton are among the retailers considering or testing facial recognition technology (though a few have officially denied this).

But even that is nothing compared to Britain. In the U.K. - which has long been an early adopter of surveillance technologies - one-quarter of retailers are reportedly already using facial recognition tech, including six out of 10 fashion retailers. huffingtonpost.ca

Target's Departure Gives Retailers Cause to Renegotiate or Break Leases
TJX Cos. Inc., which owns Winners, HomeSense and Marshalls, and Gap Inc., which also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic - want retailers to be able to invoke their so-called co-tenancy rights to get rent breaks and even permission to leave a mall without a penalty as a result of Target's closing.

The co-tenancy battle, which affects big retailers in situations where a key anchor tenant - Target, in this case - shuts down, could have wider implications for former Target landlords, pinching their financial results even further. theglobeandmail.com

U.S. shoppers, lured by the loonie, flock to Canadian e-commerce sites
The Canadian dollar- the loonie - has fallen about 18% against its U.S. counterpart over the past two years after flirting with parity several times in the last decade. At the same time, spending by U.S. shoppers using PayPal on Canadian websites jumped 20% in 2015 from the year before. Americans are finding the lower prices worth their while. Americans spent $3.2 billion on Canadian websites in 2015, part of a total cross-border spending spree of $27 billion that is expected to grow 10% in 2016, according to a study from PayPal and Ipsos SA. internetretailer.com

Canadian millennials most likely targets for fraud
A new survey suggests over half of Canadians have fallen victim to financial fraud - and that unaware millennials are the most likely targets. Equifax Canada's survey, released on Monday, found that 53 per cent of respondents had been the victim of fraud, and that millennials (Generation Y) are experiencing more fraud than any other generation. According to the agency's Chief Privacy Officer John Russo, approximately half of all fraud in Canada is being committed against the age group.

"Millennials rely heavily on technology for most of their day-to-day activities, which exposes them to more risk," Russo said. "Whether it's online banking at home or tapping into a Wi-Fi hot-spot via a mobile device, millennials must recognize that they are now the biggest target for fraudsters."

"Additionally, our survey found that 21 per cent think that identity theft is something that happens to other individuals, not them." globalnews.ca

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