Holiday ORC Prevention Strategies for Retailers
Holiday Shopping Season Creates New Challenges for ORC Prevention

By the D&D Daily staff

As retailers prepare for the busiest shopping period of the year, organized retail crime (ORC) remains a significant concern for loss prevention and asset protection teams. Increased customer traffic, seasonal staffing and higher merchandise volumes can create additional opportunities for coordinated theft activity, making early preparation particularly important.

Unlike isolated shoplifting incidents, organized retail theft typically involves individuals or groups stealing merchandise for resale or other financial gain. These operations can target multiple stores, move across jurisdictions and exploit weaknesses in inventory controls, employee awareness and communication between locations.

The holiday season presents several potential vulnerabilities. Crowded sales floors can make suspicious behavior more difficult to identify, while temporary employees may have limited experience recognizing theft patterns. High-demand merchandise, including electronics, fragrances, apparel and other easily resold products, can also attract attention from organized theft groups.

For asset protection professionals, prevention begins with identifying patterns rather than treating every incident as an isolated event. Reviewing historical theft data, monitoring unusual inventory losses and sharing information between nearby stores can help retailers recognize repeat activity and emerging trends.

Employee training is another important component. Seasonal associates should understand how to report suspicious behavior, preserve relevant information and follow established safety procedures. Clear communication between store leadership, security personnel and frontline employees can strengthen awareness without disrupting the customer experience.

Retailers can also evaluate merchandise placement, surveillance coverage and staffing during peak shopping periods. Strategic adjustments around entrances, exits and high-risk product categories may help reduce opportunities for theft while maintaining an accessible shopping environment.

Collaboration with law enforcement and other retailers remains valuable, particularly when incidents involve multiple locations or jurisdictions. Sharing actionable intelligence through established partnerships can support investigations and help identify broader criminal networks.

Ultimately, effective holiday ORC prevention requires balancing merchandise protection with employee and customer safety. By combining data analysis, targeted training and coordinated communication, retailers can strengthen their defenses during the holiday rush without relying solely on reactive enforcement.


Retailers Rethink Video Beyond Theft
How are retailers getting more from video?

Organized retail crime is prompting retailers to rethink how video is used across their operations writes Grant Cowan, VP of Sales, Central Region at Salient Systems.

With the continued increase in Organized Retail Crime (ORC), retailers are beginning to rethink how video can be utilized across their operations.

The same systems designed to detect and investigate theft can also deliver valuable insights into customer traffic, employee training and store layout.

ORC stopped being petty theft a long time ago. Small groups now cross state lines, hit several stores in a day and resell high-demand goods like baby formula, cosmetics and electronics through online marketplaces and black-market channels.

The losses run into the billions annually.

The cost isn’t only merchandise. Incidents now regularly involve threats, weapons and assaults. Employees are traumatized, attrition climbs and stores close, which leaves whole neighborhoods underserved.

It doesn’t stop at the sales floor either. Cargo hijacking and warehouse infiltration put theft at every point of the supply chain.

Meanwhile, the teams responding to it are smaller than they used to be. Loss prevention, IT and operations are all being asked to do more with less; at the same moment incidents stopped respecting store boundaries.

A system that only produces evidence after a loss asks an already stretched team for more of its time. A system that can also provide information about how a store is running gives some of that time back.

The retailers making real progress against ORC are designed to address both. securityjournalamericas.com


Retailers Rethink Security Amid Pokémon Theft Surge
Pokémon Card Thefts Push Canadian Retailers to Rethink Store Security
Retailers are responding with measures that include moving cards into bank safety-deposit boxes, removing inventory overnight, displaying empty product boxes, adding gates and cameras, and arranging some transactions away from their stores. For independent operators, the rising value of collectible cards is creating security, insurance and real estate considerations that were not traditionally associated with hobby retail.

Pokémon cards are part of a large collecting and resale market encompassing specialty stores, online marketplaces, card shows, private dealers, livestream sellers and grading companies. Individual cards can sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars, while sealed boxes and discontinued products can also command substantial prices.

For retailers, the category can concentrate substantial inventory value into a small amount of physical space. Tens of thousands of dollars in cards can fit inside a bag, while sealed Pokémon products are recognizable and supported by an active resale market.

Some Canadian card retailers have already changed how they operate. In Richmond, B.C., Team Collectors added security gates and expanded its surveillance system to 10 cameras. Particularly expensive cards could be handled by appointment, with transactions potentially taking place at a bank or police station. House of Cards had already moved its most expensive merchandise into bank safety-deposit boxes.

Cloud Games in York Region has taken a different approach. Manager Randy Ngo told CityNews that most of the company’s sales are conducted online, while its small retail office operates without exterior signage. An order for a sign was cancelled amid concerns about card-store robberies, while display shelves contain empty boxes and products are stored off-site before being transported to the location for arranged pickups.

These measures run against some conventional retail practices, where signage, product displays and readily available inventory are used to attract customers and encourage browsing. For some card retailers, limiting the amount of merchandise visible or stored on-site has become part of loss prevention. retail-insider.com


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