Persistent Pushout Theft Problem
When Retail Theft Reaches the Exit

By the D&D Daily staff

Sometimes the simplest retail theft tactics remain among the most difficult to stop.

A recent organized retail theft investigation in Northeast Florida provides an example. Authorities say a group targeting high-priced LEGO sets repeatedly loaded merchandise into shopping carts and pushed the carts out of stores, including through emergency exits, with getaway vehicles positioned nearby. Investigators eventually connected the suspect to more than $20,000 in alleged thefts.

The method is commonly known as a “pushout” — and despite years of advances in retail security technology, it remains a persistent challenge.

According to the National Retail Federation’s 2026 Impact of Theft & Violence report, retailers reported a 37% increase in walkout or pushout theft incidents. The shopping cart itself can make these incidents particularly costly, allowing offenders to move large quantities of merchandise from the sales floor to a waiting vehicle in a matter of minutes.

That places increased importance on the final few feet of the shopping journey.

Retailers have traditionally relied on layers of protection throughout the store, including merchandise controls, EAS systems, video surveillance, receipt verification and trained asset protection teams. Increasingly, technology can also help identify suspicious movement or intervene as merchandise approaches an exit. Cart-based loss prevention systems, for example, can identify certain unauthorized exit attempts and automatically stop a shopping cart before merchandise leaves the store.

The appeal is particularly significant as retailers continue balancing theft prevention with employee safety. Physically confronting someone pushing a loaded cart toward an exit can create additional risks for associates and AP personnel, particularly when it is unknown whether an offender may become violent.

No single technology eliminates pushout theft, and not every pushout represents organized retail crime. But the continued use of such a straightforward tactic illustrates an important challenge for modern asset protection.

Retailers can deploy increasingly sophisticated tools to detect theft throughout the store. Ultimately, however, preventing the loss may still come down to what happens when the merchandise reaches the exit.


More Retailers Embracing Bodycams
How Body-Worn Cameras Are Changing Retail Security

From incident documentation to de-escalation, retailers say the case for body-worn cameras now extends well beyond loss prevention.

Not long ago, body-worn cameras were mainly associated with law enforcement. Today, they’re appearing on retail employees at major chains like Walmart and Target as stores respond to rising theft, aggressive customer behavior and workplace violence.

While preventing shoplifting is one objective, retailers are betting bodycams can do something even more valuable: de-escalate tense encounters, protect frontline workers and provide an objective record when incidents occur.

For retailers already using body cameras, the conversation has shifted from whether the technology belongs in stores to how much value it delivers. At Cosentino’s Food Stores, Director of Loss Prevention Chris Vandiver said the company’s experience has shown benefits that extend well beyond theft prevention.

“Our Loss Prevention team responds to unpredictable incidents, from disruptive behavior to theft, and we wanted to provide an added level of support,” Vandiver said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “Improving safety and accountability was a driving factor in the decision to adopt body-worn cameras. We were also often relying on fragmented pieces of information after incidents, with critical details dispersed across video footage, witness statements, receipts, reports and other sources.”

For Vandiver, one of the biggest surprises isn’t what the cameras have captured, but what they have prevented.

“One of the most immediate outcomes was the deterrence effect,” Vandiver said. “Going in, our primary objectives were to improve safety during high-risk interactions, improve evidence quality, and strengthen case documentation. The results exceeded our projected expectations, particularly in improved evidence collection, more complete incident documentation and de-escalation value.”

In many situations, he added, individuals became “significantly more cooperative” once they were informed that the interaction was being recorded, allowing incidents to be resolved more professionally and safely. retailtouchpoints.com


Canada Retail Crime & Violence Surging
Violence increases by approximately 44% at Okanagan Pattison stores
The president of the Pattison Food Group is calling for systemic change in the aftermath of a B.C. store-manager being seriously assaulted.

Jamie Nelson, president, Pattison Food Group said a Victoria store manager lost consciousness, sustained a concussion, and suffered significant injuries that will likely require surgical treatment in the recent incident, but it's just the latest in a string of violent incidents that have put shop workers in harms way.

Since 2021, theft incidents across Pattison Food Group stores in the Okanagan have increased by 185%, reflecting a significant escalation in retail crime.

The impact extends well beyond theft, with incidents involving violence against its frontline security personnel increasing by approximately 44% over the same period.

"The trends we are seeing highlight the growing safety risks facing retail workers and the urgent need for coordinated action to address repeat offending and improve community safety," Nelson said in the open letter.

For years, Nelson said retailers across Western Canada have been warning about a troubling rise in aggressive and violent behaviours in stores, especially since the pandemic. "Our team members and customers have been threatened, assaulted, spit on, and confronted by individuals carrying weapons," he said.

"We have seen bear spray attacks, knife incidents, violent altercations with homemade weapons, and repeated threats directed at frontline workers simply trying to do their jobs."

Nelson pointed out that businesses like Pattison play an important role in communities across Western Canada, but businesses "cannot be expected to invest in communities and provide essential services without reasonable confidence that employees and customers can safely work and shop there." castanet.net


Anti-Crime Task Force Success
Declining crime rates fall further after Task Force arrival
As of Sept. 29, the Memphis Safe Task Force has been operating for one year, and in that span, the city has seen its crime rate drop dramatically. What’s also true is that crime was already trending down from high-water marks in 2023, and it’s dropping in virtually every American city. dailymemphian.com


Cargo Theft Concerns Increase
New survey finds 70% of companies are investing more this year in cargo theft prevention compared to last year.

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