ECR Retail Loss

Enabling the Retail Sector to Sell More and Lose Less

Design Challenge Competition: New Ways to Stop Products from Being Stolen, with the Planet in Mind

The theft of high-value, easy-to-conceal products is a persistent and growing challenge for retailers. While bulky packaging and locked displays may deter some shoplifters, they’re far from eco-friendly and frustrate genuine shoppers.  To tackle this, we’re announcing a new product packaging design challenge with the Design Against Crime team at the University of the Arts London’s Central Saint Martins. This design competition with students builds on our previous successes, like last year’s project to tackling losses, frustrations and poor customer experience at the self-checkouts With the EU Green Deal setting ambitious waste-reduction targets, many traditional theft deterrents are no longer viable. Brand owners and retailers need to think differently.  The students from Central Saint Martins’ BA Product and Industrial Design course will take on the dual challenge to innovate packaging and protection that doesn’t harm the planet. From our previous challenges, we know their innovations will be practical, creative, and inspiring for the industry. A legacy of creative problem-solving In 2024, we worked with Central Saint Martins to reimagine self-checkouts, yielding imaginative concepts like CCTV avatars and queue management lighting systems We also worked with UAL previously in 2020 on research to Improve Scan Accuracy Through Design. That resulted in 20 design concepts to tackle known problems at SCO. These projects highlight how young designers, working alongside industry professionals can address both human behaviour and technical challenges in retail crime prevention. Be part of our 2025 challenge! This year’s competition kicks off on February 20th, 2025, at Central St Martins in London.  Students will get a full briefing from retail experts, sustainability specialists, and academic leaders. Retailers and brand owners will join us for this kick off to offer their insights, share challenges, and witness the start of what promises to be another ground breaking project. If you would like your business to be involved in some way, be that taking part in the briefing, offering feedback, joining us for the finale, and engage with the creative minds of tomorrow, please send me an email @ colin@ecrloss.com

HOT NEWS: Announcing the Top 30 e-Commerce Loss Innovations for 2025

The world of e-Commerce continues to evolve faster than ever before. In the two years since our last e-Commerce Loss Innovation Challenge, the landscape has again shifted significantly. Retailers and suppliers have embraced new technology to tackle some persistent challenges, but at the same time, new threats and areas of focus have also emerged.  ECR Retail Loss is pleased to announce the Top 30 e-Commerce Loss Innovations for 2025, selected from a 100+ shortlist by a panel of retail digital loss prevention experts from ten global brands, including Frasers Group, Gap Inc, The Hut Group, M&S, Next, Walmart and Wayfair. What’s Changed Since 2023? Certainly not the four focus areas: Pre-delivery, fulfilment, returns and logistics. However, over the last couple of years we have seen a growth in innovations which set out to tackle issues like:  Promotional and Gift Card Scams Innovations like 3-D secure have made massive inroads in reducing these sort of scams Payment Fraud & Account Takeovers Still a huge issue, particularly as groups of bad actors are working together. Retailers are also trying to find technologies which help them get the right balance between blocking legitimate sales and picking up the ‘cues’ that an order might be fraudulent. Internal Theft Increasingly from retailers or logistics partners Logistics Challenges Losses during logistics continue to frustrate retailers. Determining responsibility remains complex, with few effective solutions in the market to date.  Fulfilment Retailers are increasingly proactive in tackling loss prevention between the point of sale and delivery. We have seen  a notable rise in demand for solutions addressing payment fraud, account takeovers, and identity verification—reflecting a shift towards preventative measures. Returns With the ongoing complexities of reverse logistics, interest in tackling fraudulent returns, counterfeits, and non-saleable items (both malicious and non-malicious losses) has surged. Retailers are looking for smarter ways to manage the high volume and complexity of e-Commerce returns. The 2025 Top 30: Driving the Future of Loss Prevention The innovations on this year’s shortlist represent the most relevant, as rated by the retailer judges, innovations in e-Commerce loss prevention. From AI-driven fraud detection to blockchain-based supply chain solutions, these initiatives were rated chosen for their potential to make a meaningful impact on day-to-day operations. Join Us for the Finale On March 26, 2025, ECR Retail Loss will host the online e-Commerce Loss Innovation Challenge Finale, where the top 10 innovators will pitch their solutions to a panel of retail judges and industry peers. Don’t miss this opportunity to see the future of loss prevention in action. Click here to view the full list of the Top 30 innovations Register now to attend the finale and be part of the conversation shaping the future of e-Commerce loss prevention.  Together, let’s tackle the toughest challenges in e-Commerce and drive meaningful change for the industry.

How are retailers managing food surplus?

The ECR Retail Loss Food Waste & Markdown working group launched this week a new report on the management of food surplus and unsold food. This report explores innovative and established strategies to manage food surplus, including markdowns, donations, repurposing, recycling, and landfill disposal. The report was authored by Prof. Arzum Akkas, an Associate Professor in Operations & Information Management at the Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst. You can download the report by clicking here. Navigating the Complexities of Food Waste Management Addressing food waste management is a continuous challenge. With over 15 years of experience—from managing supply chain systems at PepsiCo to conducting research at MIT and beyond—Prof. Akkas brings a deep understanding of the complexities involved in tackling this issue. The dynamics of food surplus management can shift due to market changes, new regulations, and evolving consumer expectations. As Prof. Akkas points out, achieving an advanced stage of food waste management doesn’t guarantee staying there without continuous effort. At its core, managing food surplus is about dealing with the regrettable but inevitable reality that there will always be excess food to handle. Retailers must clear this surplus through a structured hierarchy of actions (e.g., markdown first, then donation, followed by animal feed, anaerobic digestion, and finally, landfill disposal). This hierarchy varies across retailers and even among different categories within the same retailer, making it a complex yet critical process. The Maturity Model: A Roadmap for Improvement Prof. Akkas’ research involved conversations with over 20 retailers and detailed analyses of their practices. These insights led to the development of a Maturity Model that categorizes retailers' approaches into three levels: developing, established, and leading. This model spans seven dimensions, each corresponding to a distinct avenue for managing food surplus, such as markdowns, donations to humans, anaerobic digestion, and landfill diversion. The seventh dimension—goals, incentives, and organizational structure—focuses on driving behaviour change. "The Maturity Model helps retailers assess where they stand, set achievable goals, and create a roadmap for continuous improvement," she says. No retailer excels in all dimensions, but the model highlights areas for progress and innovation. For example, in markdown strategies, advanced maturity requires continuous refinement. "Retailers can’t just say, 'We nailed this.' Managing food surplus is a journey of constant experimentation," Prof. Akkas adds. Different regions, product categories, and store types require tailored approaches, such as single-stage versus two-stage markdowns for specific categories like meat or produce. Setting Realistic and Motivational Goals One of the findings of the research is the importance of setting achievable goals. Retailers often aim to reduce food waste by half within a specific timeframe, aligning with government targets or the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Prof. Akkas emphasizes that goals should strike a balance between ambition and feasibility. "If a goal is too strict and unmet, it can demoralize employees, disappoint stakeholders, and harm public trust. On the other hand, overly relaxed goals fail to push the organization toward its full potential," she notes. Incremental improvements become harder as retailers advance, which may require more aggressive efforts along the way. The Role of Governments in Driving Change One interesting insight from the research is how the costs and capabilities of anaerobic digestion vary significantly by region. In Massachusetts, for example, landfills are expected to reach capacity by 2030, and food waste constitutes a significant portion of landfill material. Prof. Akkas advocates for stronger government intervention to restrict food waste disposal in landfills and foster anaerobic digestion networks. "Food waste bans create a win-win-win scenario for retailers, governments, and the public. They incentivize the formation of anaerobic digestion markets, generate clean energy, create new jobs, and reduce the burden on landfills," she explains. Building collection networks lowers transportation costs, making recycling more affordable for retailers. Technology as a Game-Changer Looking ahead, Prof. Akkas sees technology as a pivotal tool for advancing food waste management. AI and analytics can make labour-intensive tasks like date-checking perishables more efficient. Innovations such as two-dimensional barcodes, RFID, and dynamic pricing can streamline markdown processes and improve decision-making. "I’m optimistic about the future of food surplus management because there is a strong business case for retailers. Reducing food waste directly saves costs, reduces compliance risk, boosts investor confidence, enhances public image, and protects brand reputation," she says. Consumers increasingly expect retailers to donate surplus food rather than sending it to landfills, pushing retailers to take socially responsible actions that are financially beneficial. Conclusion Food surplus management is a dynamic and complex challenge, but it also presents significant opportunities for innovation and improvement. Prof. Akkas’ research not only highlights best practices but also provides a practical framework for retailers to assess their performance and set achievable goals. By embracing continuous improvement and leveraging technology, retailers can turn food waste management into a strategic advantage.

NEW RESEARCH: Three Key Takeaways from New Retail Security Operations Centres [SOC] Survey

In the past decade, many and increasingly more retailers have invested in Security Operations Centres (SOC's) where remote access to [IP] video data from stores, DC's, FC's and Offices, across multiple geographies, have opened up huge opportunities for improved responses to security incidents, the problem of shrink and new ways to better serve the shopper. To explore how these SOCS are being used, our survey collected responses from twenty nine retailers, operating on average 1.8 SOC's out of North America, Europe and Australia, that were remotely monitoring over 51,000 stores and circa 1,000 DC's and Depots. We found that 78% of these SOCs were operating 24/7, and on average they employed 28 full time employees. Here are three key findings from our research: 1) SOC'S remain Safety and Security FIRST Our survey explored the use of twenty different use cases for SOC's, and learnt that the security and safety use cases were the most frequently deployed, for example, 76% of the retailers shared that providing support, advice and operational direction when serious incidents occur, civil disorder, weather events, serious crime, etc, was a core deliverable from their SOC's. On the other hand, no retailer claimed that providing to the business regular reports on shopper traffic volume and conversion statistics was a core task. That said, 11% of the retailers shared that they would do this work on an ad hoc basis for their colleagues in marketing / commercial. One exciting and emerging use case was the use of the SOC to provide in real time, through in-store speakers, the capability to remotely communicate with active perpetrators with the express aim of deterring/de-escalating confrontational /crime-related incidents. For this sample, only 7% of the retailers had deployed this use case as a BAU, however, 21% were looking to trial based off the success being shared by other retailers. The extent to which retailers SOC's will expand their capability and adopt more use cases beyond just the security use cases will largely be a function of leadership, the ambition of the business, and to a certain extent, the advancements in technology, especially video analytics. 2) Who runs the SOC's? The retailers themselves is the most common answer! In this sample of retailers, 75% of the SOC's were internally hosted, with the work being undertaken mostly by those FTE on the retailers payroll, with data access the clear benefit Vs third party operators. 3) The Retail Industry is in BUILD mode The survey asked about retailers priorities for future investment. In this sample, 63% shared that they are seeking to invest in system infrastructure upgrades. These findings reflect the increased demand for networked and remote video, for efficiency, cost savings and immediacy of response reasons, coupled with the access to improved technology capabilities from vendors, including video analytics. The ECR working group on video meet online six-eight times a year to share learnings, and once a year in person. At these meetings, the group review the latest academic papers, discuss benchmark data and explore together new ways of using video in retail first in security & safety, but increasingly for shrink reduction, trips and falls claims and marketing. The group is for retailers, CPG's and academics only. Our meetings next year can be found in the link below. LINK TO 2025 Meetings

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adidas
albert
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best buy
carrefour
coles
desiqual
dollar general
duracell
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foot locker
gap
ikea
john lewis