It’s not uncommon for retailers to feel like they’re operating in the dark, especially when it comes to analyzing and addressing the root causes of shrink. Shrink and organized retail crime (ORC) remain a persistent issue in many markets, and the challenge of deterring theft without jeopardizing the customer experience or associate safety looms larger than ever. To make matters even more challenging still, retailers today need more than just vigilance — they need a unified, data-driven approach to protect their stores, merchandise, customers, and employees from ORC and other forms of shrink.

Fortunately, there are trusted solutions that make adopting and succeeding with such a data-driven approach easier than ever.

When gathered and analyzed through the right suite of connected solutions, data from your stores’ tagged merchandise, RFID exit systems, and video feeds can reveal never-before-seen insights into the “who, what, where, and when” behind shrink events. These insights, otherwise known as “shrink visibility,” are the linchpin in an effective loss prevention (LP) strategy built around a connected estate of interoperable solutions.

We’ll show you everything you need to achieve shrink visibility and highlight ways you can transform this new view into targeted strategies to prevent future theft.

What makes data — and data alone — insufficient? The answer boils down to how shrink visibility itself is achieved.

In order to unlock an item-level view into your physical inventory, you first need to activate it digitally. This can be achieved by attaching tags or labels to your products that feature Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). This frequency allows compatible Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) systems to detect RFID technology so products can be logged, monitored, and analyzed by cloud-based AI, like Sensormatic Solutions’ Shrink Analyzer, to reveal the “who, what, where, and when” insights you need to evolve your LP strategy.

Through the inventory visibility made possible by RFID merchandise tags and labels, retailers can now leverage AI-enabled analytic tools to identify the root causes of shrink. By synthesizing data from your stores’ RFID sensors, video feeds, transaction logs, and other retail operations, you’ll have the information reservoir you need to:

• Generate exception-based reporting at the exit
• Identify collusion at the point of sale
• Gather insights across the supply chain
• Pinpoint where shrink is really occurring

Where do you really experience shrink? Is it internal, external, administrative, or derived from something else? What factors within your control contributed to each loss event last month? Once you have data analysis from the various systems in your stores, you’ll be able to uncover the root causes behind theft that you need to address.

“The value of this new visibility into processes that were once in the dark cannot be overstated,” said Jamie Kress, NA sales leader, inventory intelligence at Sensormatic Solutions. “Understanding the scale and root causes of shrink and how to mitigate are now all within reach for retailers. It’s a truly game-changing development.”

Not only can shrink analytics help you identify your weak points faster, they can help you settle on the right LP solution just as fast. By analyzing the same data points from across the store, retailers can now measure the impact of a given LP tactic in near-real time and make adjustments on the fly to achieve optimal effectiveness. Accuracy enabled by trusted and clean shrink data leads to better LP strategic decisions with precision at the store level to individualize local needs.

In order to truly harness these next-gen capabilities, you’ll need more than just one solution. The best results come from creating a connected ecosystem of tools working in tandem to deliver meaningful results. After all, ORC groups are working within their own cooperating networks, so you’ll want to take an equally holistic approach to deterring them.

Follow these steps to build a unified, data-driven LP approach across the enterprise:

• Step 1: Tag It’s the tech that makes the whole thing tick. If you haven’t already, start attaching RFID-enabled tags and labels to your merchandise. RFID is the name of the technology embedded on these tags and labels that makes it possible to view your inventory — right down to the item level — digitally.
• Step 2: Track An EAS system is nothing new — but in order to step up your shrink-fighting strategy, you’ll want to make sure your EAS system is up-to-date and compatible with RFID technology. That’s because in order to view RFID-tagged products in your inventory, you’ll need a modern EAS system that can speak the language.
• Step 3: Target With your products tagged with RFID and connected to an RFID-based EAS system, you can start gathering insights into shrink across your stores. That’s where solutions like Shrink Analyzer come into play. Now that you’re able to easily see which items went missing, from where — and at what time — you’ll be able to make meaningful adjustments to your LP strategy to prevent those same vulnerabilities from being exploited again.

“RFID is key to getting the most out of loss prevention through shrink visibility,” said Eric York, RFID business analyst at Sensormatic Solutions. “We’re seeing retailers begin to expand RFID to more product categories after witnessing the benefits made to shrink reduction. In some cases, the data analysis they received through tools like Shrink Analyzer revealed at-risk items they never would have identified otherwise.”

In today’s challenging retail environment, tackling ORC and other sources of shrink requires shifting from a reactive LP strategy to a proactive one. To do so, you’ll need enhanced LP capabilities to gather and convert store data into never-before-seen insights into the “who, what, where, and when” behind shrink.

By activating a connected estate of tools and solutions across your enterprise, an advanced ecosystem incorporating everything from RFID to AI-enabled end-analysis, you’ll put in place the repetitive processes required to spot, address, and prevent loss events from plaguing your stores.

To explore solutions available to help you combat ORC and shrink across your stores, schedule a demo with a Sensormatic Solutions expert today.