From Surveillance to Strategy:
Unlocking Retail Intelligence with Video Analytics

Video surveillance is a treasure trove of data, capturing moments of information on business processes, customer behavior, and employee efficiency. However, most of that valuable intelligence goes unused, as surveillance systems have historically been seen as a necessary but costly product intended only for reactive security measures. With the addition of AI-based video analytics, retail businesses can take that existing data and go beyond surveillance, now uncovering new insights from their video security systems. These insights can be used to transform the processes an organization uses across departments, including optimizations for loss prevention, operations, marketing, and security teams.

Loss prevention and security teams can turn from reactive to proactive with alerts designed to defend against shoplifting and criminal activity, with intelligent search options helping streamline investigations. Operations can leverage AI to see how employees and customers are navigating the store to ensure floor layouts and warehouses are optimized. Marketing can analyze trends discovered by video analytics, using that data to inform future campaigns to increase profits and create a better shopping experience.

To learn more about these topics, watch OpenEye's webinar to hear from Ben Hopkins joined by Jessica Wellock, Manager of Physical Security and Systems, and Alyssa Fleming, Investigations Manager, from Ocean State Job Lot. This webinar covers how retailers can transform video security from a reactive system to a proactive solution. We dive into the various benefits of AI-based video analytics for different teams, covering the many diverse applications this advanced technology can have across an organization. This webinar will also discuss Ocean State Job Lot’s experience using video analytics to improve their business’ operations. Wellock and Fleming bring valuable insights into the world of retail security, with unique perspectives on improving store efficiency and safety that holds applicable value for other retail companies to leverage for their own businesses.

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From Highway Heists to Store Shelves:
How Cargo Theft Is Powering Organized Retail Crime

By the D&D Daily staff

Organized retail crime (ORC) often conjures images of smash-and-grab robberies or stolen merchandise fenced online. But a growing share of retail losses now begins long before goods reach store shelves — through cargo and freight theft.

Law enforcement agencies say organized crews are increasingly targeting trucks, rail containers, and distribution centers, feeding stolen goods directly into retail crime networks. Homeland Security’s Operation Boiling Point has uncovered rings that steal shipments in transit and resell the items through legitimate-looking online storefronts.

The scale of the problem is significant. The National Retail Federation reports that shoplifting incidents jumped 93% since 2019, while cargo theft losses exceeded $1 billion last year, according to insurance data. Because cargo theft often appears as a “lost in transit” claim rather than a criminal case, experts believe the true figure is far higher.

The logistics of these thefts differ from traditional shoplifting. Cargo heists require insider knowledge, route tracking, and coordination — traits that overlap with ORC operations. Once stolen merchandise is blended into legitimate supply chains, it becomes nearly impossible to trace.

A recent case in California highlights the trend. Authorities arrested a crew accused of stealing more than $10 million in products from Home Depot stores and warehouses, moving the goods through a wholesale front before reselling them online. Investigators say it’s a textbook example of theft moving “upstream,” bypassing store-level security.

Retailers and policymakers are beginning to respond. The bipartisan Combating Organized Retail Crime Act would strengthen cooperation among federal, state, and private-sector investigators, explicitly including supply-chain theft. In California, a statewide task force has recovered over $60 million in stolen goods this year alone.

For retailers, the impact extends beyond immediate loss. Cargo theft drives higher insurance premiums, delayed shipments, and product shortages. For law enforcement, it underscores the need to treat retail crime not as isolated incidents but as a networked supply-chain threat — one that starts on the highway as often as it ends at the register.


Retail Guards in the Sky?
Retail stores may soon use drones to chase suspected thieves

Retailers turn to aerial security as shoplifting surges

Picture this: a drone zipping through the parking lot, tracking a group of suspected shoplifters before they can make their getaway. It may sound like a scene straight out of a sci-fi thriller, but for retailers facing a surge in organized theft, it could soon be an everyday reality.

As stores across the country grapple with brazen shoplifting and rising losses, the era of static security cameras and lone guards is giving way to something far more dynamic: drone security. With systems like Flock Aerodome Drone as Automated Security (DAS) ready to launch at the sound of an alarm, retailers are betting big on these high-tech “guards in the sky.”

But could this futuristic fix take retail safety to new heights or open a Pandora’s box of privacy concerns?

What is Flock Aerodome DAS?

Atlanta-based Flock Safety, a public safety technology company specializing in intelligent crime prevention and surveillance solutions, is taking aerial security to the next level with its Flock Aerodome Drone as Automated Security (DAS), a cutting-edge system designed for private enterprises that need round-the-clock protection across sprawling sites. The technology empowers security teams to deploy drones at a moment’s notice across various facilities, including transportation hubs, energy plants, hospitals, logistics centers, and retail complexes.

Built to deliver instant aerial visibility and broader site coverage, the Aerodome DAS can automatically launch when triggered by an alarm or at the operator’s command, ensuring rapid response during potential threats or breaches. Flock Safety claims that the system not only enhances detection and response times but also helps reduce costs associated with false alarms and the reliance on on-site security guards.

Evolving from the company’s proven Drone as First Responder (DFR) platform, already trusted by law enforcement agencies nationwide, this new iteration extends that same level of high-tech, automated security to the commercial sector, signaling a new era of “eyes in the sky” for private security. geekspin.co


Using Facial Recognition to Protect Stores & Shoppers
Major Retailer Defies Privacy Ruling, Reinstates Facial Recognition in Select Victorian Stores
A major Australian retailer is defying rulings by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and is once again using facial recognition and covert surveillance cameras to identify thieves in its Victorian stores, ChannelNews can reveal.

Victoria has recorded a 30 per cent surge in retail crime, according to law enforcement data, with national chains such as IGA, Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and Myer reporting the highest crime rates of any Australian state.

Earlier this year, Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind found that Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys breached privacy laws by using facial recognition technology (FRT) without obtaining customers’ consent.

“What Kind failed to take into account is how many shoppers actually want this technology in stores,” they said. “These are the honest people who need protection — not the criminals carrying knives and threatening our staff.”

Retailers Demand Action

The retailer’s move comes as leading Australian retail bosses — including Woolworths’ Amanda Bardwell, Coles’ Leah Weckert, Ikea’s Mirja Viinanen, Myer’s Olivia Wirth, Kmart’s Aleksandra Spaseska, 7-Eleven’s Fiona Hayes and Bunnings’ Mike Schneider — call for urgent government intervention to tackle the crisis.

In a joint letter sent to Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, Deputy Premier Ben Carroll, Police Minister Anthony Carbines, and Economic Growth Minister Danny Pearson, the industry’s biggest names warn of an “unacceptable” escalation in theft and violence.  channelnews.com.au


Canada's Battle Against Theft Showing Success?
Preliminary data shows decline in property crime & shoplifting in 2025
Smithers RCMP are reporting a decline in both property-related calls for service and shoplifting incidents in the first nine months of 2025.

When comparing only shoplifting calls over the past four years, this year (Jan–Sept 2025) accounts for 12%, down from 45% in 2024. A reduction of 33%.

When comparing only offences against property over the past four years, this year (Jan-Sept 2025) accounts for 17%, down from 28% in 2024. A reduction of 11%.

Frontline officers say this shift reflects enhanced patrols and timely referrals to community supports. "We’ve been more visible in the community, and at the same time we’re making quicker connections between individuals in crisis and the health and social services through our enhanced patrols" said Acting Staff Sergeant Ryan Law, Smithers RCMP, Detachment Commander. "That approach has reduced repeat calls and helped ease the pressure on businesses and residents," added A/Sgt. Law. rcmp.ca
 
 
New crime data shows changing trends in CT

Shootings, crime trending down in Fargo-Moorhead area, according to data