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# ECR Retail Loss

## Sitemaps
- [XML Sitemap](https://ecrloss.com/sitemap_index.xml): Includes all crawlable and indexable pages.

## News
- [Cost of out-of-stocks: why new OSA research matters](https://ecrloss.com/cost-of-out-of-stocks/): For retailers, the cost of out-of-stocks starts with sales that can be lost even when a customer is ready to buy.
- [RFID priorities for retailers: 2026 summit insights, revealed](https://ecrloss.com/rfid-priorities-for-retailers-2026/): The RFID priorities for retailers include both extending deployment and making better use of what is already in place.
- [We need to talk about staff dishonesty in retail](https://ecrloss.com/staff-dishonesty-in-retail/): Staff dishonesty in retail was the central theme at our recent meeting of the retail loss, safety and security working group.
- [Retail product protection: what’s hot in 2026?](https://ecrloss.com/retail-product-protection-2026-2/): Retail product protection works when it cuts theft while keeping products easy to buy.
- [Employee fraud detection: choosing what comes next](https://ecrloss.com/employee-fraud-detection/): So, you have an established employee fraud detection system, experienced analysts and reports going out to stores. But…
- [Is it time to rethink your inventory counting strategy?](https://ecrloss.com/inventory-counting-strategy-research-proposal/): But when retailers compared their inventory counting strategy at our research launch, the differences went well beyond frequency.
- [Retail crime case management: 7 critical lessons](https://ecrloss.com/retail-crime-case-management/): Retail crime case management should do more than create a digital record of an isolated incident.
- [RFID business case: 7 critical questions for retailers](https://ecrloss.com/rfid-business-case/): The purpose of an RFID business case is so much more than proving the technology can read a tag.
- [Chocolate theft: 4 smart ways retailers can respond](https://ecrloss.com/chocolate-theft-retail-response/): Chocolate theft is no longer a minor problem hiding within a much larger grocery loss number. And it is a worldwide challenge.
- [RFID implementation challenges: 9 real-world problems and practical fixes](https://ecrloss.com/rfid-implementation-challenges/): RFID implementation challenges rarely surface as a failed reader or a broken tag. More often, the warning is a stock figure that makes no operational sense.
- [NEW RESEARCH – Retail stock audits: 7 critical questions to ask](https://ecrloss.com/retail-stock-audits/): You know that retail stock audits consume huge amounts of time, money and attention.
- [On-demand retail loss: The hidden cost of rapid delivery](https://ecrloss.com/on-demand-retail-loss/): On-demand retail loss is becoming one of the most urgent unanswered questions in modern retail.
- [IRI Training 2026: Registration is now open](https://ecrloss.com/iri-training-2026-registration-open/): Registration is now open for the 2026 IRI Training, the two-day Inventory Record Inaccuracy training course run by ECR Retail Loss at Cardiff University on 9 and 10 December.
- [Rescued ingredients: 7 lessons for building a new food sourcing category](https://ecrloss.com/rescued-ingredients-retail-sourcing/): Rescued ingredients are often presented as a clever food-waste project: a limited-edition chutney, a seasonal soup or a worthy product with a good story.
- [Retail crime risk model: 5 red flags that yours needs attention](https://ecrloss.com/retail-crime-risk-model/): Would you confidently bet your next £10 million of security investment on your retail crime risk model?
- [Retail crime risk model maturity: self assessment tool](https://ecrloss.com/retail-crime-risk-model-maturity/): Most retailers have some form of retail crime risk model.
- [How to calculate the true value of retail crime prevention](https://ecrloss.com/value-of-retail-crime-prevention/): Introducing a new research project that will build a common framework to understand the true value of retail crime prevention.
- [Store security innovation, 2026: the future’s trust, not cost](https://ecrloss.com/store-security-innovation-2026/): Eventually, any store security innovation appears expensive.
- [RFID deployment: What retailers can learn from River Island’s 10-year journey](https://ecrloss.com/rfid-deployment-river-island-case-study/): For many retailers, the challenge with RFID deployment isn’t deciding whether the technology works.
- [Predictive stock counting: A smarter way to track inventory](https://ecrloss.com/predictive-stock-counting-smarter-inventory-tracking/): New research from ECR Retail Loss suggests there is a far more effective approach: predictive stock counting.
- [Food waste KPIs: What if you could only measure one thing?](https://ecrloss.com/food-waste-kpis-what-if-you-could-only-measure-1-thing/): The challenge isn’t simply reducing waste. It’s designing food waste KPIs that encourage the right behaviours without creating unintended consequences.
- [Self-checkout adoption: what retailers really think in 2026](https://ecrloss.com/self-checkout-adoption/): That represents an important milestone. As Woolworths recognises, that also changes the conversation around further self-checkout adoption.
- [Fresh meat loss: Seven lessons to crush retail shrink](https://ecrloss.com/fresh-meat-loss-retailers-crush-shrink/): Fresh meat loss remains one of the most challenging categories in retail loss prevention.
- [Retail shrink training: How to boost loss prevention](https://ecrloss.com/retail-shrink-training-for-loss-prevention/): Most retailers already provide some form of retail shrink training for store colleagues. The problem is not a lack of content. The challenge is making that content meaningful.
- [RFID retail deployment 2026: What makes it work?](https://ecrloss.com/rfid-retail-deployment-2026-organisational-capability/): When retailers discuss RFID retail deployment, the conversation often revolves around technology.
- [Retail bag checks: Can they cut theft without losing customers?](https://ecrloss.com/retail-bag-checks-theft-prevention/): Few issues generate as much frustration amongst loss-prevention teams as customer hold-alls and retail bag checks.
- [The true cost of retail crime…and why retailers struggle to measure it](https://ecrloss.com/cost-of-retail-crime-research/): But while the industry has become increasingly effective at detecting incidents, a more fundamental challenge remains unresolved: So, what is the true cost of retail crime? For many retailers, the answer is surprisingly difficult to calculate.
- [Are retail substitutions damaging customer loyalty?](https://ecrloss.com/retail-substitutions-customer-loyalty/): New research discussed at a recent ECR Retail Loss working group suggests the relationship between retail substitutions and customer loyalty may be far more complicated than many retailers assume.
- [How retail loss prevention teams are evolving in 2026 | New Research](https://ecrloss.com/retail-loss-prevention-teams-structure-2026/): If there was ever any doubt that retail loss prevention teams have become a core part of modern retail operations, our latest research puts that doubt to rest.
- [Ecommerce loss prevention plans: what 14 major retailers are planning for the next 12 months](https://ecrloss.com/ecommerce-loss-prevention-plans-what-14-major-retailers-are-planning-for-the-next-12-months/): E-commerce fraud tactics are evolving fast. But so are the strategies of the teams fighting them.
- [Body Worn Cameras in Retail in 2026: A journey not a project](https://ecrloss.com/body-worn-cameras-case-study-in-retail/): This article draws on a recent ECR Retail Loss working group meeting, where two large grocery retailers shared how their deployments have evolved over several years.
- [Live Facial Recognition in Retail: Twelve Principles for Responsible Deployment](https://ecrloss.com/facial-recognition-in-retail-guidelines/): Live facial recognition in retail promises to transform how stores tackle serious and repeat offenders. Some early adopters report a reduction in violent and aggressive incidents, reductions in theft, and much faster investigations.
- [Do Self-Checkout Exit Gates Reduce Shrink? The evidence](https://ecrloss.com/self-checkout-exit-gates-retailer-case-studies/): Self-checkout exit gates sound straightforward and sensible. Put a barrier at the exit, deter walkaways, reduce shrink. But in practice, the decision, and the implications, are far more complex than simply installing the hardware.
- [Inventory Record Accuracy Summit 2026: Bold Ideas for Retail](https://ecrloss.com/inventory-record-accuracy-summit-2026/): Yet for many retailers, inventory record accuracy remains under-prioritised and inconsistently measured. That is precisely why ECR Retail Loss hosted its annual Inventory Record Accuracy Summit on 4-5 March 2026 at Red Bull Studios in London's Covent Garden: to bring together the practitioners, researchers and brand partners working to change that.
- [Self-checkout host training: A smarter approach for 2026](https://ecrloss.com/rethinking-self-checkout-host-training-2026/): This is why self-checkout host training has become such a critical topic for retailers. The technology itself is only part of the equation. In many stores, the real difference between a smooth self-checkout experience and a stressful one comes down to the colleague supporting it.
- [Research: Store leadership practices that cut retail loss](https://ecrloss.com/store-leadership-practices-that-cut-retail-loss/): Store leadership practices that cut retail loss are measurable and material.
- [Retail food waste reduction practices: 5 hard truths for 2026](https://ecrloss.com/retail-food-waste-reduction-practices-2026/): Retail food waste reduction practices are shifting from isolated initiatives to systematic, data-driven surplus reduction across the value chain.
- [Counting the Cost: Why Retailers Still Struggle to Put a Price on Retail Crime Prevention ROI](https://ecrloss.com/retail-crime-prevention-roi/): When it comes to A retail crime prevention ROI, retailers are united by a common challenge: retail crime is rising, but the business case for investing in prevention remains stubbornly difficult to quantify.
- [Designs against shoplifting finale: 11 smart fixes](https://ecrloss.com/designs-against-shoplifting-report/): Designs Against Shoplifting is the finale of a new anti-theft packaging design competition with Central Saint Martins, built around a simple (and slightly uncomfortable) question: how do we cut shoplifting without turning stores into fortresses?
- [How to improve inventory accuracy to boost sales](https://ecrloss.com/how-to-improve-inventory-accuracy-to-boost-sales/): Wrong inventory records create a special kind of retail chaos. How to improve inventory accuracy is an increasingly important topic for retailers worldwide.
- [Self Checkout Walk Offs – Retailer Insights](https://ecrloss.com/self-checkout-walk-offs-retailer-insights/): Concerns about self-checkout walk-offs are growing. When shoppers don't pay for the items they have scanned at the self checkout (SCO), either by accident or design. There's increased sense of concern about the issue as the use of contactless grows
- [Food Waste: Introducing Nine Hot Start-Ups](https://ecrloss.com/food-waste-introducing-nine-hot-start-ups/): The food waste working group reviewed in January 2026, nine highly relevant start-ups, each with new ideas and technologies to help retailers reduce packaging from packaging, to smart apps to insects. The list who presented are below.
- [Retail crime scripts: how theft really happens in your stores](https://ecrloss.com/retail-crime-scripts-how-theft-happens-2026/): Retail crime scripts map theft as a sequence of repeatable steps, not a single moment at the exit.
- [How to reduce returns fraud and abuse: 5 controls that work](https://ecrloss.com/how-to-reduce-returns-fraud-and-abuse/): Most retailers already know returns are costly. What’s harder to accept is this: when returns fraud and abuse works, it tends to get repeated. Which begs the question - how to reduce returns fraud and abuse?
- [Shoplifting personas: Meet the family of thieves, and the young crimebusters on their case](https://ecrloss.com/shoplifting-personas-retail-theft-design-2026/): Shoplifting personas help you replace the myth of “the shoplifter” with a practical, evidence-led view of behaviours, techniques and motivations.
- [What Knowledge Do Loss Prevention Professionals Need? Have Your Say](https://ecrloss.com/what-knowledge-do-loss-prevention-professionals-need-have-your-say/): As retail crime continues to escalate in both volume and complexity, the demands on today’s Loss Prevention (LP) and Asset Protection (AP) experts have never been greater. What loss prevention knowledge do today's LP and AP teams need?
- [On Demand Grocery Missing Item Claims – Latest Retailer Insights](https://ecrloss.com/on-demand-grocery-missing-item-claims-latest-retailer-insights/): Our e-commerce loss working group recently met, with representation from twenty plus retailers including Tesco, Foodstuffs, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Walmart, Giant, Boots, etc, to reflect on the problem of missing items claims, and sometimes even missing deliveries.
- [Freight Crime – Mind the Blind Spot](https://ecrloss.com/freight-crime-mind-the-blind-spot/): Cargo theft and supply chain / freight crime presents a growing challenge for retailers. These thefts can be internal (committed by company employees) or external (organised criminals targeting goods) or sometimes a combination of the two as bad actors infiltrate the business by taking up driving jobs with the intention of stealing.
- [“Proud Dad of Two”: New Research on the Impact of Messaging on Name Badges in Retail](https://ecrloss.com/proud-dad-of-two-new-research-on-the-impact-of-messaging-on-name-badges-in-retail/): Fascinating new research from Australia (click here) that looked at how to cut down on Customer Verbal Abuse (CVA) – this when customers shout at, insult, or threaten frontline employees.
- [Zalando’s Returns Strategy: A Model for Smarter, Preventative Returns](https://ecrloss.com/zalandos-returns-strategy-a-model-for-smarter-preventative-returns/): For some online retailers, over a third of what they sell is sent back at a huge cost, this was one of many research findings from our true cost of returns research project.

## Pages
- [All innovators](https://ecrloss.com/all-innovators/): We support innovators in retail loss through our bi-annual Innovation Challenges. These shine a spotlight on the best new developments for preventing retail loss.
- [News](https://ecrloss.com/news/)
- [Upcoming events](https://ecrloss.com/upcoming-events/): var container = document.querySelectorAll( '' );
- [Join ECR Retail Loss](https://ecrloss.com/join-ecr-retail-loss/): But if you want to stay on top of things, do sign up to our weekly newsletter. We don't spam anyone or pass on any data. What happens in ECR Retail Loss stays in ECR Retail Loss.
- [Training and education courses](https://ecrloss.com/training-education-courses/): To enhance our mission's impact, we deliver a selection of leadership training courses led by our academic partners. These courses combine our research findings with practical insights, offering an interactive and real-world learning experience.
- [ECR Top 30](https://ecrloss.com/ecr-top-30/): We support innovators in retail loss through our bi-annual Innovation Challenges. These shine a spotlight on the best new developments for preventing retail loss.
- [About](https://ecrloss.com/about/): At ECR Retail Loss, we are dedicated to making a positive impact on the retail landscape by addressing one of its most stubborn challenges: reducing retail losses, which includes shrink.
- [Privacy policy](https://ecrloss.com/privacy-security-and-cookies-policy/): This privacy policy sets out how the ECR Retail Loss Group uses and protects any information that you give the ECR Retail Loss Group when you use this website.
- [Contact](https://ecrloss.com/contact-the-ecr-retail-loss-group/): ECR Retail Loss is open to anyone in the industry. We provide free access to a wealth of knowledge, tailored to your role and specific needs. Whether you are a retailer, a supplier, an academic researcher, or a technology provider, you can explore our reports to inform your work on managing retail losses.
- [Meet the ECR team](https://ecrloss.com/ecr-retail-loss-group-team/)
- [ECR Retail Loss: Loss Prevention Best Practice for Retail](https://ecrloss.com/): ECR Retail Loss is a global collaboration between retailers, suppliers and academics, working together to better understand and manage the causes of retail loss.

## Data Points
- [Self-checkout loss facts and figures 2026](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/self-checkout-loss-facts-2026/): Self-checkout has become the dominant payment channel in many retail environments. Across the retailers surveyed, 54% of transactions now pass through self-checkout systems, with some retailers reporting utilisation rates as high as 80%.
- [Improving employee engagement to reduce retail loss – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/improving-employee-engagement-to-reduce-retail-loss-key-facts/): Across the retailers studied, total retail losses averaged 3.12% of sales. When extrapolated to the wider European grocery sector, this equates to over €25 billion every year.
- [Self-checkout in retail, measuring the impact on loss – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/self-checkout-in-retail-measuring-the-impact-on-loss-key-facts/): Across multiple case studies, stores where 50% or more of transactions pass through fixed self-checkout experienced 30–60% higher losses than comparable stores without self-checkout.
- [Amplifying risk in retail stores – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/amplifying-risk-in-retail-stores-key-facts/): Our research shows a clear divide between offender types. Opportunistic shop thieves are far more likely to be deterred by visible security cues than professional offenders.
- [Managing retail food waste and markdowns – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/managing-retail-food-waste-and-markdowns/): Around one-third of all food produced worldwide is lost or wasted between farm and fork. That’s equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes every year.
- [Global study on self-checkout in retail – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/global-study-on-self-checkout-in-retail/): Self-checkout is no longer a niche technology. 96% of grocery retailers in the survey use fixed self-checkout, compared with 77% of non-grocery retailers.
- [The problems and opportunities of e-commerce returns – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/the-problems-and-opportunities-of-e-commerce-returns/): Returns behave very differently online. In the US, 8–10% of in-store purchases are returned, compared with 20–30% of ecommerce orders.
- [Measuring the impact of RFID in retail – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/24162-2/): Seven out of ten retailers report sales uplifts between 1.5% and 5.5% after adopting RFID. With the biggest gains from products previously flagged as out of stock
- [Working on the frontline of retail self-checkout – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/working-on-the-frontline-of-retail-self-checkout-key-facts/): Across the 6,170 supervisors surveyed, workload pressure is a defining issue.
- [A framework for understanding and measuring e-commerce losses – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/a-framework-for-understanding-and-measuring-e-commerce-losses-key-facts/): Global e-commerce payment fraud is expected to exceed €40 billion in 2023, a 16% jump in just one year.
- [Understanding retail loss in the new era of high inflation – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/understanding-retail-loss-in-the-new-era-of-high-inflation-key-facts/): Even small changes in unknown retail loss can have an outsized impact on shrink.
- [Fortress stores: keeping the most at-risk stores trading – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/fortress-stores-keeping-the-most-at-risk-stores-trading-key-facts/): Self-checkout is now responsible for up to 23% of unknown store losses, and almost half of those losses (48%) are malicious.
- [The utilisation of video analytics – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/the-utilisation-of-video-analytics-key-facts/): Across the 70 retailers surveyed, current deployment of video analytics sits at just 10% of relevant locations.
- [Food Surplus Management in Retailing: A Global Perspective – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/food-surplus-management-in-retailing-a-global-perspective-key-facts/): Across the 19 retailers surveyed worldwide (representing €620 billion in sales and 45,000 stores), there is no shared definition of what counts as food waste.
- [Scaling QR codes with embedded dates – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/scaling-qr-codes-with-embedded-dates-key-facts/): Retailers still rely on daily manual checks to spot items nearing expiry. It’s labour-intensive, slow, and sometimes unreliable. Even with good routines in place, stores still miss expired products, exposing them to multi-million-euro fines in some markets.
- [“The 98%”: Strategic marketing to mitigate internal theft in retail – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/the-98-strategic-marketing-to-mitigate-internal-theft-in-retail-key-facts/): Store managers know internal theft is a major contributor to retail loss. Yet it’s mostly an invisible crime. Our research suggests that while there may be 2.8 million internal theft incidents, only 44,834 are ever detected.
- [Exploring the true cost of unsold food in retail – KEY FACTS](https://ecrloss.com/data-point/exploring-the-true-cost-of-unsold-food-in-retail-key-facts/): Retailers already account for the 1% cost of food surplus and waste in their books. But our modelling shows a further 1.8% of sales revenue is lost to the hidden costs of unsold food.

## Innovation challenges
- [Everseen](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/everseen/): Everseen is a provider of AI-based theft detection in offline stores. It helps in detecting and eliminating product loss and shrinkage in the global retail industry, utilising video analysis and artificial intelligence to reduce non-scans at the checkout. It enables users to visually recognize non-scan events using existing CCTV feeds and link them to checkout transaction data, identifying precisely, and analyze the data. It uses machine learning, natural learning processing, artificial intelligence, and automation technologies.
- [iRetailCheck](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/iretailcheck/): iRetailCheck develops AI Video Analytics that automate loss prevention surveillance tasks at staffed checkouts, self checkouts and store entrances for supermarkets and hypermarkets with solutions that were born of retail necessity and demand. Our solutions are designed to assist staff, alerting them to customer errors that can easily be remedied before payment at the Point of Sale. iRetailCheck solutions have been shown to increase net profit for food retailers by up to 19%…
- [Percepta](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/percepta/): Percepta's software runs off your existing camera system and can detect up to three times as many incidents as humans do, reducing shrink and saving retailers money. Percepta’s ethical AI focuses on shoplifting behaviours, thereby minimizing the risk for potential profiling and bias claims. Let Percepta keep a watchful eye out, so your team can focus on what matters most. This technology can be applied to existing SCO camera surveillance that many retailers currently use as only non-reactive deterrents.
- [Pixoanalytics](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/pixoanalytics/): PixoAnalytics is a provider of AI-based mail tracking and fraud prevention software. PixoAnalytics makes it possible to identify any item like letters, parcels, medications, fabrics, plastics etc. at any point in time in any location with its unique surface structure recognition algorithm. PixoID can track and trace any item without requiring any additional identifier. A unique algorithm can identify an object in milliseconds among billions of others. Its unique algorithm can also identify fake and original products only looking at material structures even by a smartphone camera. The company has 2 issued patents and 6 patents pending worldwide.
- [Living Packets](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/living-packets/): Smart, reusable shipment packaging that allows businesses to take full control of their product. Living Packets' products are robust and equipped with a locking system that helps retailers track all shipments, monitor shipment's status in real-time, receive shock alerts if the parcel is damaged and receive a real-time intrusion alert and geolocation.
- [Increff](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/increff/): Increff is a retail SaaS company solving complex inventory management & supply chain challenges and empowers brands, & retailers to optimise inventory across the web, marketplaces, & wholesale channels. The platform offers end-to-end supply chain tech for fashion and lifestyle brands. Its technology and data-backed intelligence can transform its merchandising, design, and fulfilment operations. It also offers warehouse optimisation solutions, return management, and more for eCommerce businesses.
- [Returnalyze](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/returnalyze/): Returnalyze is an ecommerce analytics company focused on helping retailers understand their product returns data. Returnalyze is the return optimisation platform that increases top-line and bottom-line while allowing for a better consumer experience
- [Easyflow](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/easyflow/): Easyflow's retail solutions include smart queue management system that measures queue length in real-time, estimate average time-to-checkout, count the cart-abandonment rate, and provide future queue size predictions, allowing retailers to better plan checkout staffing. They also have Crime Predictor software that helps to mitigate checkout fraud for manned and self-checkout counters, a picklist assistant that automates the selection of unwrapped products for customers at the self-checkout counter, a food recognition API (for fruits, vegetables and produce) and Shelflow, a real-time AI software to monitor retail performance at a shelf and SKU level.
- [Signifyd](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/signifyd/): Signifyd is a fraudulent payment prevention software-as-a-service for SMBs. It's a cloud platform that automates fraud prevention through real-time machine learning, helping businesses to increase sales. It evaluates scores for purchases by leveraging risk factors such as geo-location data, social information, customer history, issuing bank data, blacklists, and more. Integrates with Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce and provides API for others. The Company offers the solution to the subscription-based policy.
- [Anura](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/anura/): Anura.io is an ad fraud and click fraud prevention platform that offers real-time fraud protection and analytics for digital marketers, advertisers and publishers. Their AI-based technology automatically detects and stops invalid clicks and impressions, eliminating bots, malware, and human fraud, ensuring that only real people can access your content.
- [Sensei](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/sensei/): Sensei is a leading European provider of autonomous stores, offering a secure and reliable AI-powered solution for retailers to build efficient operations and deliver a frictionless shopping experience without the need for customers to queue and pay at the counter. Sensei has been featured in our 2019 list and have since then launched 2 new innovative offerings including autonomous pod, a flexible, modular unit of autonomous convenience store and autonomous cabinet, which operates in the same manner as an autonomous store, customers simply tap their bank card or scan the QR code to unlock the cabinet, take the product they wish to purchase, and automatically get charged. Sensei's solutions can be implemented as a whole or in parts within the store (i.e. using autonomous cabinets or pods for certain sections).
- [Mashgin](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/mashgin/): Mashgin provides a touchless checkout system that lets customers perform instant checkout with no barcodes and no wait. Their self checkout kiosk can identify anything that is placed under it, from fruits, vegetables to a whole plate of food. Their kiosk provides 10x faster item identification, speeding up a sale in less than a second. Their kiosk helps save retailers time and costs while improving customer experience.
- [Chooch](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/chooch/): The Chooch advanced AI Vision platform gives retailers the power to dramatically reduce costs, improve safety, reduce shrinkage, and drive profitability. A full range of visual monitoring and analysis tools, including predictive analytics, pattern recognition, and image recognition, improves back-end operations while enhancing the front-end customer journey. Chooch allows retailers to access AI-powered video analytics that are faster and more accurate than traditional surveillance systems, offering monitoring, fraudulent activity predictions, searchable video, and alerts for suspicious behaviour. Their computer vision-based mobile apps allow customers to scan products and view price comparisons, ratings, and usage guides, while real-time data drives personalized customer recommendations and offers.
- [Chargeflow](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/chargeflow/): Chargeflow is the world's first automated chargeback management solution specifically designed for eCommerce merchants. By utilising Big Data and deep integration with your business, Chargeflow is able to produce the most comprehensive chargeback evidence in the world, custom-tailored to your store, and send it on your behalf.
- [Covery](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/covery/): Covery fights e-commerce fraud by specialising in device fingerprinting. This technique allow merchants to collect more and better data about the nature of customers when evaluating an order for fraud. Specifically, Covery helps merchants understand the device and browser settings used by merchants, so that it can supplement additional methods for preventing e-commerce fraud.
- [Axonify](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/axonify/): Axonify is the intelligent productivity suite that enables behaviour changes in your shift workers and managers through real-time communication, continuous training and task execution. Provide a means for two-way internal communication between your staff and the customer - real-time feedback that can make a massive change to your customers’ experiences and improve in-store task execution.
- [Nethone](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/nethone/): Nethone’s solution relies heavily on behavioural analytics to profile users on the merchant site, detecting fraudulent behaviour and providing business intelligence insights. Data is collected via various signals ranging from historical databases from the merchants through user’s interactions within their website.
- [ReturnLogic](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/returnlogic/): Return Logic provides online retailers with analytics software that provides real time trend detection, team notification, and corrective insights with one mission – to understand and prevent costly product returns.
- [Yoti](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/yoti/): "We’re a team of over 500 people, working together to shape the future of digital identity. We provide innovative solutions across the globe, spanning Digital ID, identity verification, age verification, age estimation, eSigning, and authentication. Nearly four years ago we integrated our leading facial age estimation technology into retail self-checkouts. Since then, it has been trialled by retailers in the US and Estonia, with further pilots taking place in Germany, Poland and Czech Republic. And last year UK supermarkets - including Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Co-op - tested the technology as part of a Home Office regulatory sandbox. The aim of the sandbox was to trial digital age verification for the sale of alcohol under the UK Licensing Act (2003). Our technology gives shoppers a privacy-preserving way to prove their age, without needing to show ID documents. This is particularly impactful for those that do not own, or feel comfortable showing ID. It can improve the checkout experience for customers who do not wish to wait for assistance, and reduce friction between retail staff and customers. Digital age verification can also enhance the Licensing Objectives, meet compliance rates and provide stronger protection against fake IDs. "
- [Supersmart](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/supersmart/): Supersmart offers Scan & Go loss prevention system for fully loaded shopping cart. Supersmart enables instant checkout of fully-loaded carts in less than thirty seconds through either their scanless basket and shopping kiosks or the walkthrough kiosk for shopping carts. Both kiosks have 3 seconds validation time and can serve 90-120 customers per hours, helping stores eliminate long queues and speed up checkout process for faster turnover.
- [Grabit](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/grabit/): Grabit is a Spanish startup that develops a fresh food monitoring software solution. It uses computer vision to identify and monitor fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and fresh produce. The software processes images and videos to count units, detect bad products, read expiration dates, and identify incorrect packaging, thus automating visual inspection. This allows retailers to streamline inventory management and improve sales and distribution efficiency.
- [Trigo](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/trigo/): Trigo is a provider of computer vision based checkout system for grocery retailers. It uses images from the ceiling-mounted cameras powered by artificial intelligence that applies deep learning architecture. Using proprietary algorithms to create a 3D image of the store and map the shopper's movements and their product choices, as well as activating autonomous checkouts.
- [Flow Retail](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/flow-retail/): Flow Retail provide plug & play smart camera for SCO and smart cart solutions for loss prevention and reducing shrinkage. The solutions allow retailers to be able to prevent miss-scans, barcode switching and non-scans. The solutions can be integrated to existing systems, allowing for easy integrations and implementation into existing trolleys - significantly reducing the cost of upgrade.
- [Red Points](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/red-points/): Red Points provides a cloud-based brand protection and anti-piracy management software solution. They offer solutions to manage online counterfeit, brand abuse, and digital piracy and use machine learning features with image recognition technology to find brand infringements across various sources that include marketplaces and social media profiles. Caters to industries like fashion apparel, children's products, design homewares, and others.
- [Chargebacks911](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/chargebacks911/): Chargebacks911 specialise in helping online businesses prevent chargebacks, minimise loss, mitigate risk, recover lost revenue and enhance the customer experience. Their services are specially designed to handle the task of chargeback management in its entirety. Chargebacks911 aims to liberate valuable resources so merchants can focus on retaining customers, increasing sales, and growing their business.
- [Zippin](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/zippin/): Zipping offers checkout-free technology for frictionless stores. Zippin’s checkout-free technology helps retailers cut costs, boost store efficiency, and create a compelling customer experience through e-commerce like analytics to understand your shoppers preferences and behaviour, inventory updating and automated restock alerts, and more free space as there is no need for a checkout counter and queueing space. Zipping helps retailers decrease operating expenses including reducing labour costs while providing a frictionless experience for customers.
- [KanduAI](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/kanduai/): KanduAI provides an AI-based digital signage analytic solution for retail, banks, malls, and hospitals. Their super optimized AI engine is used by clients for various use cases, from homeland security mobile face recognition to ticket switching fraud detection at retail point of sale. It allows businesses to improve their marketing business strategies, user attention, and audience comprehension. KanduAI helps retailers to detect facial expressions, monitors and extracts data based on displayed emotions, body gestures, and physical characteristics such as gender, age, and demographic.
- [iDenfy](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/idenfy/): iDenfy offers identity verification and digital identity solutions for businesses and individuals. Their cutting-edge technology and AI-powered processes ensure fast and accurate verification and customer risk assessment, ensuring all individuals are checked for recent criminal activity or traces of fraudulent transactions.
- [Checklens](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/checklens/)
- [Datavisor](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/datavisor/): DataVisor's approach to comprehensive fraud management features a hyper-modern architecture built to manage complex digital signals and behaviour analytics using the most advanced machine learning technologies at big data scale, empowering large enterprises to identify and prevent even new and unknown threats in real time.
- [DataDome](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/datadome/): DataDome provides real-time AI-powered online fraud and bot protection. DataDome’s online fraud prevention software processes, in real time, 1 trillion data signals from client side and server side detection every day. Every single request to your mobile apps, websites, and APIs is analysed and subjected to AI/machine learning models to determine in less than 2 milliseconds whether or not access should be granted.
- [Rocketboots / Beehive](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/rocketboots-beehive/): Beehive applies machine learning and advanced analytics to enhance scan accuracy at the self checkout. By combining video and Point of Sale (PoS) data, Beehive identifies multiple opportunities to raise profitability. From self checkout loss and internal fraud at the register to schedule rebalancing that meets customer service levels while reducing register idle time and increasing staff productivity.
- [Eye4Fraud](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/eye4fraud/): Eye4Fraud helps ecommerce retailers saves on thousands of chargebacks, accept every order (without the risk of falsely declining good orders) and save employee's times. Every order, including phone orders, is put through their cutting-edge AI system. This system uses Persona™ and Dynamic Scoring™ technology to go deeply into your customer's profile and make sure everything is legit such as email address. IP location, behavioural data, purchasing history, issuing bank data and public records. If nothing gets flagged, the order gets approved within minutes. If anything is risky, the order gets escalated to Eye4Fraud trained analyst to provide human intelligence.
- [Wink](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/wink/): The Only Biometric Identity and Payments Platform. Wink enables any institution to offer simpler and superior identity and payments experiences through voice and facial recognition technologies. With Wink, retailers can get rid of guest checkouts, passwords, reduce cart abandonment, and eliminate the need for card number, helping reduce fraud and compliance costs.
- [SpyCloud](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/spycloud/): SpyCloud provides a cloud-based account takeover prevention platform. It scans the dark web for the occurrence and traces of the work or personal email credentials exposed due to any data leak or breach and alerts the organisation to prevent any damage.
- [Segmentify](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/segmentify/): Powered by machine-learning technology, Segmentify tracks and targets individual visitors according to their unique online buying habits better than any personalisation platform on the market. Segmentify helps retailers create unique experiences for each customer in real-time and increasing their LTV.
- [Caper](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/caper/): Caper offers smart checkout technologies through their smart cart and smart counter. Caper Cart allow customers to checkout straight from their cart without having to queue at the checkout counter. The cart recognises items instantly, can be synced with customers' shopping list so they can tick items off as they go, and allows customers to search and discover wanted items. Caper Counter removes the need to scan each and every single item, resulting in 85% faster checkout times on average. Customers simply put all items on the counter and tap and pay to checkout.
- [Attensi](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/attensi/): Attensi provides simulation-based training for enterprises to train/develop employees. The solutions offered are Behaviour tool for simulation-based leadership and behaviour training, Skills is a mobile-based tool for competency training, Process is a tool for IT-centric training, Creator is a platform to create simulations, and Portal is a tool to track training. The platform uses gamification and realism and the simulations adapt to each participant. They have inbuilt gamification suites for retail and hospitality. Employees get to practice procedures and interact with customers or patients, in a virtual replica of their workspace. The clientele includes Propel, Circle, Hydro, Merck, SpareBank, SPAR, Aleris, etc.
- [AiFi](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/aifi/): AiFi is a technology company creating the world’s most advanced store automation systems. With a combination of AI, edge computing, and scalable sensor fusion technology, AiFi delivers auto-checkout operations for retailers of any size. Currently deployed with some of the world's largest retailers such as Albert Heijn, Carrefour, Zabka, and many more!
- [ScanWatch](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/scanwatch/): ScanWatch is a retail software suite created to reduce losses and improve shopper experience at manned and self-checkout counters. ScanWatch integrates with any checkout hardware currently in-use at the store. Utilizing inbuilt checkout register cameras, ScanWatch instantly recognizes scanned items, prevents item mislabelling (checkout fraud) and automates the selection of scanned products to improve customer experience. ScanWatch also has a solution for warehouse theft offering modern real-time warehouse security system that prevents any theft or danger in the warehouse.
- [Tiliter](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/tiliter/): Tiliter’s suite of products include AI scales that quickly identify non-barcoded produce (fruits & vegetables), AI scale printer to generate barcode for faster checkout, and AI solutions to integrate into POS and SCO systems for fast checkout and better customer experience. Tiliter also offers analytics on shoppers' behaviour, allowing retailers to detect patterns in queues, on the shop floor, in their stock bins and at the checkout. Tiliter have also recently landed a partnership with Woolworths, an Australian supermarket chain, to launch AI scales in the fruit and vegetables department nationwide. This partnership followed their first scan & go programme back in 2020. The scales are expected to be progressively rolled out across the entire network of more than 1,000 Woolworths supermarkets.
- [Viscovery](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/viscovery/): Viscovery uses computer vision and deep learning-powered Vision AI to provide visual checkout solutions for retailers. Viscovery uses a low-cost camera to recognize multiple product items and complete checkout within 1 second at an accuracy of over 99%. There is no barcode needed for the checkout process, ensuring scan accuracy for both customers and retailers.
- [Easyclaim](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/easyclaim/): From time to time, parcels get lost and Easyclaim makes it easier as ever for retailers to follow up on these cases, and claim your money back if required. Easyclaim provides all required, legally verified documents, for the parcel or shipment that is lost, stolen, or not delivered. Easyclaim helps busy retailers follow-on lost shipments and claim their money back.
- [Snabble](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/snabble/): Snabble helps brick-and-mortar retailers with various combinations of state-of-the-art checkout solutions to optimise in-store processes and provide a tailored service to different customer groups. The result is greater in-store efficiency and a significant increase in customer loyalty. Snabble are in use in Pan Osten self checkout machines, which are some of the latest to hit the market with "Express Checkout" solutions.
- [Signatrix](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/signatrix/): Signatrix connects to retailers' in-store security cameras and uses AI to help retailers understand what's going on in their stores in real-time. Their solutions include theft prevention (monitoring cashier, loss or stolen goods, ensuring right products are being scanned at self-checkout etc.), store management (managing long queues and assigning shop staffs to cashiers, directing attention to broken machines, refilling empty shelf and detecting open freezer doors), and customer insights (dwell time, promotional attraction and success, and customer journey analytics). Signatrix thus provides a comprehensive overview so store manager can divert resources accordingly to ensure positive customer experience and smooth operation throughout.
- [ClearSale](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/clearsale/): ClearSale offers API integrations and plugins with all major e-commerce platforms to monitor shopper behaviour in real-time.
- [Malong Tech](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/malong-tech/)
- [Bolt](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/bolt/): Bolt fraud detection is guaranteed to keep you covered with 100% chargeback protection. Their machine-learning tool uses 200 real-time signals to flag suspicious activity and approve more real orders. Their second line of defence is an expert team that then reviews all flagged transactions manually.
- [Forter](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/forter/): Forter provides cloud-based fraud prevention solutions for e-tailers. Its fraud prevention solution learns with every transaction and provides insights to accept or reject these transactions. It is based on a combination of verification including publicly available information & social networks, and deeper data aggregation technologies. It uses big data analytics, machine learning, cyber intelligence, identity analysis, and real-time behavioural sensors to track the user’s interaction on the site including click analysis, heat maps, flow analysis, and more. Clients include Away, TGIF, Priceline, and others.
- [Onfido](https://ecrloss.com/innovation-challenge/onfido/): Onfido is a leading digital identity verification platform that helps businesses verify the identity of their users in a secure and efficient manner. Their products and services include automated identity document and facial recognition checks, fraud prevention journeys that present the right verifications at the right moments and multi-layer fraud detection for repeated attempts.

## Podcasts
- [Item not on file – Why it worries retailers more than it should](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/item-not-on-file-loss-risk/): An item that will not scan is one of retail's most familiar irritations, and one of its smallest loss generators.
- [Slower interventions at self-checkout – Host ratios and the 2026 SCO summits](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/self-checkout-intervention-times/): How fast a self-checkout host arrives matters less than what happens next. An intervention cleared in under five seconds means nothing happened.
- [Loss prevention personas – From firefighter to intelligence-led strategist](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/loss-prevention-personas/): Retailers model health and safety and business continuity. For crime risk, much of the industry still runs on experience and instinct.
- [Self-checkout participation and Loss: what every percent really costs](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/self-checkout-participation-and-loss/): Everyone suspected that pushing more transactions through self-checkout costs you stock. The largest study yet finally puts a number on it.
- [Body-worn Cameras – Protecting colleagues, not monitoring them](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/body-worn-cameras-in-retail/): Body-worn cameras have moved from a security add-on to a frontline safety device, and the evidence base is now strong.
- [Remote monitoring – from required recording to live control](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/remote-monitoring-in-retail/): Retail video has shifted from a reactive recording tool to a way of watching, and talking to, stores in real time.
- [Winning Hearts and Minds: Why engaged colleagues waste less food](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/store-colleague-engagement-food-waste/): In this episode of Sell More Lose Less, Colin Peacock talks to food waste expert Richard Thalemann about why people treat food differently at work than at home, and the cognitive dissonance of caring about waste while being measured on sales. They discuss why the emotional pull of charity donation rarely reaches the markdown gun, the risk of normalising surplus, and why food waste champions fade unless the role is refreshed. The takeaway on store colleague engagement: make it easy, move it upstream, and measure it.
- [The Egg Waste Problem: Measure it before you can manage it](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/reducing-egg-waste-in-retail/): Egg waste rarely tops a retailer's loss report, but the real number is bigger than it looks. Much of it never gets recorded, because clearing up smashed eggs is a messy job most people would rather avoid.
- [Bananas: Cutting waste on retail’s biggest fruit](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/reducing-banana-waste-in-retail/): Bananas are one of retail's biggest sellers and one of its biggest sources of waste. Colin Peacock and food waste expert Richard Thalemann unpack a recent ECR meeting, from a visit to a Dublin ripening factory to the behavioural quirks that decide which bananas shoppers leave behind.
- [Live facial recognition in retail: Building the business case and keeping public trust](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/facial-recognition-in-retail-podcast/)
- [Exception Based Reporting in Retail – Insights from 19 countries on tackling employee theft](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/exception-based-reporting-retail-podcast/)
- [Tackling Forecourt Crime – ANPR versus ghost plates, and the limits of pay at pump](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/forecourt-crime-prevention-podcast/)
- [RFID Innovations in Retail – new use cases, mobile readers and digital product passports](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/rfid-innovations-in-retail-summit-highlights/)
- [Sophie Wong on how she left Corporate to start up her own Retail Loss Prevention Consultancy](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/retail-loss-prevention-consultancy-starting-out/): Starting a retail loss prevention consultancy demands the same qualities that make a good loss prevention leader: curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to solve complex problems.
- [Returns Fraud: Essential Research on Retail’s Fastest-Growing Loss](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/returns-fraud-retail-research-podcast/): Returns fraud has displaced payment fraud as a primary concern for many retailers.
- [Retail supply chain theft – dealing with freight Losses](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/retail-supply-chain-theft-freight-crime/): Retail supply chain theft is a growing but under-resourced problem, accounting for an estimated 8% of unknown loss across the retail sector. In this episode of the Sell More and Lose Less podcast, Colin Peacock and Professor Emmeline Taylor discuss the scale of freight crime, emerging threats from driver infiltration, and practical steps retailers can take to protect goods in transit.
- [Predicting Inventory Inaccuracies Prioritising SKU](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/predicting-inventory-inaccuracies-prioritising-sku-audits/): Predicting inventory inaccuracies helps retailers focus audits and interventions on the SKUs most likely to be wrong, rather than spreading counting effort evenly.
- [In-Store Facial Recognition – results within guardrails](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/in-store-facial-recognition-3/): In-Store facial recognition for loss prevention is delivering serious results—one retailer reported a 25% drop in shrink—but it’s still on shaky ground.
- [Reducing Internal Theft and Staff Dishonesty – How to tackle the taboo and really reduce shrink](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/reducing-internal-theft/): Tackling staff dishonesty to reduce internal theft is a big challenge for retailers —yet only 2% of internal theft cases ever come to light.
- [Quick Commerce Delivery – Grocery On Demand: Delivering the Potential](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/quick-commerce-delivery/): What happens when someone orders five beers and a bag of crisps to arrive within 15 minutes but the store only has four beers?
- [On-shelf Availability – How Shelf Cameras Can Augment Your Systems](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/shelf-cameras-on-shelf-availability/): On-shelf cameras don’t solve on-shelf availability—but they support it.
- [Wardrobing – Fashionista or Fraud? The Hidden Cost of Return Abuse](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/wardrobing-the-hidden-cost-of-return-abuse/): Criminologist Joe Clare shares practical lessons from ECR Retail Loss’s recent returns fraud research, revealing how a small group of repeat offenders can drive the bulk of losses. Even though 14% of all customers admit to doing it.
- [Store donations to reduce food waste – Myth V Reality of giving to colleagues](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/store-donations-to-reduce-food-waste/): Store donations to colleagues to reduce food waste - still underused?
- [Facial Recognition – Developing the Guard Rails for Increased Biometrics](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/facial-recognition-developing-the-guard-rails-for-increased-biometrics/): Some retailers report up to a 25% shrink reduction when they use face recognition.
- [Forecourt Losses – ANPR and More](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/forecourt-losses-anpr-and-more/): Professor Emmeline Taylor joins Colin Peacock to examine the evolving tactics retailers are using to fight forecourt losses.
- [Benchmarking E-Commerce Loss – Towards a Common Language and Set of KPIS](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/benchmarking-e-commerce-losses/): Colin Peacock is joined by Professor Michael Townsley to reflect on ECR Retail Loss’s first-ever meeting focused on benchmarking KPIs for e-commerce loss — an increasingly vital yet under-defined area of retail loss prevention.
- [Retail Security Officers – Invest in People not Presence](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/from-guards-to-retail-security-officers/): This week, Colin Peacock and Professor Emmeline Taylor discuss the evolving role of security officers in retail.
- [Security Operations Centres – A New Era of Remote Monitoring and Support](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/retail-security-operations-centres/): Colin Peacock is joined by Professor Emmeline Taylor to explore how retailers are evolving their Security Operations Centres (SOCs) into powerful hubs for crime prevention, safety, and store support.
- [Cash Loss in retail – Manual Mistakes and Smarter Management](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/cash-loss-in-retail-reducing-shrink/): Colin Peacock and Professor Emmeline Taylor zoom in on the often-overlooked issue of cash loss in retail.
- [E-Commerce Loss Prevention via data, dashboards and framing](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/e-commerce-loss-prevention/): This week, Colin Peacock is joined by Professor Michael Townsley from Griffith University to focus on a case study: looking at one major e-commerce retailer’s journey to build a global digital loss prevention capability.
- [High-Risk Retail Stores: A Benchmarking Tool to Mitigate Risk and Improve Performance](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/supporting-high-risk-retail-stores/): Colin Peacock is again joined by Professor Emmeline Taylor to discuss the free-to-download self-assessment tool included in her Fortress Stores report. A tool to help high-risk retail stores benchmark and mitigate risks.
- [Product Protection – Finding the Right Balance Between Friction and Freedom](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/product-protection-friction-v-freedom/): Colin Peacock and Professor Emmeline Taylor catch up to discuss the latest innovations from global retailers in product protection. Particularly for high-risk and high-shrink products. Without sacrificing the shopper experience.
- [Digital Incident Reporting – From Pen and Paper to Data Driven Action](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/digital-incident-reporting/): This week, Colin Peacock is joined by Professor Emmeline Taylor to explore digital incident reporting and how retailers are transforming store incident reporting through digital systems.
- [Retail food waste reduction – winning hearts and minds in store](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/retail-food-waste-reduction-in-store/): Engaging store leaders and associates to support your approach to retail food waste reduction is one of the key pillars of a successful strategy to reduce food waste overall.
- [Online Grocery Substitutions – Phish Food or Fish Fingers?](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/online-grocery-substitutions/): Colin Peacock is joined by Professor Daniel Corsten to discuss managing online grocery substitutions for orders picked from store.
- [Supermarket bakery waste – Innovations in Loss and Waste Prevention](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/tackling-supermarket-bakery-waste/): Bakery, whether it is bought in, or produced in the store is consistently an area of high loss and waste, often accounting for up to 40% of all the surplus food in any one supermarket.
- [Banana pricing and food waste. Selling by weight v Selling by Item](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/banana-pricing-and-food-waste/): Banana pricing and food waste is a bigger issue than many people think. This week Colin Peacock is joined by Richard Thaleman to discuss the benefits of selling bananas by item instead of by weight, and how doing so affects food waste.
- [The True Cost of Food Waste in Retail – Benchmarking Costs](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/the-true-cost-of-food-waste-in-retail/): Colin Peacock is joined by Richard Thaleman to discuss Lisa Jack’s report on the true cost of food waste in retail.
- [Bodyworn Cameras in Retail – How Effective are They?](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/bodyworn-cameras-in-retail/): Professor Adrian Beck reports back on his new research on the effectiveness of body worn cameras in retail stores.
- [Managing E-commerce Marketplace Losses – Dealing With Online Fraud and More](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/managing-e-commerce-marketplace-losses/): This week Professor Adrian Beck joins Colin Peacock to discuss e-commerce marketplace losses and the challenges retailers face because of fraudulent claims in online marketplaces.
- [RFID in the Retail Supply Chain](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/rfid-in-the-retail-supply-chain/): Exploring the role of RFID to improve supply chain operations, especially for omni-channel retailers, has now become a priority for many retailers.
- [Self-Checkout Innovation Summit](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/self-checkout-innovation-summit/): This week Colin Peacock is joined by Professor Adrian Beck to reflect on our Self-checkout innovation summit in Brussels earlier this year. We discuss the latest innovations in self-checkouts, and the ongoing energy among retailers to drive change.
- [Food Surplus Markdown Strategies – latest innovations](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/food-surplus-markdown-strategies/): To markdown or not to markdown? On the day or some days before? Merchandised in the aisle OR a dedicated markdown location? Labels and / or ESL's? To use dynamic pricing or a simpler fixed discount table?
- [Retail Security Guards – New Thinking](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/retail-security-guards/): This week Colin Peacock is joined by Professor Adrian Beck to explore innovations in retail security and security guards,
- [Retail Replenishment Systems. What Would Toyota Do?](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/retail-replenishment-systems/): What if we viewed retail replenishment systems through a Toyota Lens...
- [The Rise of RFID in Grocery Retail](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/rfid-in-grocery-retail/): Following rapid adoption in fashion and sports retailers, there is strong interest from supermarket retailers as to how RFID could help improve productivity, compliance and reduce food waste, especially in the fresh meat categories.
- [Self-Returns in retail: Removing Friction](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/self-returns-in-retail/): Self-returns in retail are a significant cost of doing business online, especially in sectors such as apparel and shoes where returns rates can be 30% plus.
- [Reducing Internal Theft and Tackling Staff Dishonesty with Internal Comms](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/reducing-internal-theft-in-retail/): Reducing internal theft in retail is a an 'always on' problem. But there are effective solutions.
- [Tackling Loose Produce Food Waste](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/tackling-loose-produce-food-waste/): What's the best way to tackle loose produce food waste?
- [Fresh Meat Losses – A Lot is at Stake](https://ecrloss.com/podcast/fresh-meat-losses-reducing-shrink/): Meat losses, especially on lines such as Fillet Steaks, can be in excess of 20% of sales but what is driving these losses? Theft for Resale? Internal Theft & Collusion? Variable Weight Pricing? Theft in Transit? Non Scanning at the SCO? etc....and more importantly, how do you prevent these losses without hurting sales and customer satisfaction?

## Research papers
- [Retail Crime Risk Models: The Foundation of Intelligence-led Retail Crime Control](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/retail-crime-risk-models/): This report, Retail Crime Risk Models: The Foundation of Intelligence-led Retail Crime Control, examines how retailers are using risk modelling to move beyond reactive responses and towards more structured, intelligence-led decision-making. It highlights both the progress being made and the significant variation that still exists across the sector. Emmeline presents a clear opportunity to better harness data to anticipate risk and direct resources more effectively.
- [Smart Inventory Record Inaccuracy (IRI) Prediction and Management](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/predicting-inventory-record-inaccuracy/): Predicting inventory record inaccuracy (IRI) lets retailers count smarter, not more. This ECR Retail Loss research analysed more than 1.3 million stock-audit records from six grocery retailers, collected between 2018 and 2022. It found that between 51% and 84% of items behave predictably enough for a machine learning model to forecast where stock records are likely to be wrong, often before anyone counts.
- [Self-checkout loss report 2026](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/self-checkout-loss-report-2026/): Doruff, J., Ekblom, P. and Gamman, L. (2020) Self-Checkout Loss: Three Ways to Rethink SCO Design. ECR Retail Loss Group, November 2020.
- [Inventory accuracy as a capability:  building maturity and customer value](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/reduce-inventory-record-inaccuracy/): While effective forecasting and replenishment are essential for maintaining well-stocked shelves, it might be assumed that all retail organisations would actively reduce inventory record inaccuracy. However, this research reveals that only select retailers have implemented comprehensive measures—including processes, incentives, technological solutions, and a top-down culture—to improve and sustain inventory record accuracy across their operations.
- [Defining and assessing inventory record inaccuracy (IRI) metrics](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/inventory-record-inaccuracy-metrics/): In retail, over 60% of inventory records in any one store have been found to be wrong, and when they are corrected and “trued up”, sales can grow by up to 11%. This is why we have prioritised research on the problem of inventory record inaccuracy metrics with a series of research projects that includes this new report that explores the different ways that retailers define and measure inventory record inaccuracy.
- [Designs Against Shoplifting Via Sustainable Packaging and Displays](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/design-against-shoplifting/): Design against shoplifting is growing into a big business. To protect their profits, retailers spend billions on technologies, fixtures and packaging to deter those that might want to steal those products, while trying at the same time to make it easy for shoppers to buy the products directly from the shelf.
- [Returns Fraud and Abuse: Diagnosing the Problem, Targeting the Response](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/returns-fraud-and-abuse/): Return fraud and abuse isn’t one problem — it’s two. This research separates opportunistic misuse from deliberate deception, then maps the tactics spreading online. It closes with practical guidance on governance, joined-up data and frontline checks that slow repeat offenders without punishing honest customers in the process.
- [The 98%’: Strategic Marketing to Reduce Internal Theft in Retail](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/reduce-internal-theft-in-retail/): Internal theft is a major driver of unknown loss, yet most cases go undetected. This report explains the “98% problem” and shows how internal communications can shift behaviour at scale. It summarises evidence from retailer trials (including shrink reductions) and shares five winning campaign concepts and poster approaches developed with Loughborough Business School to help dissuade theft and collusion without damaging workplace culture.
- [Exploring the true cost of unsold food in retail](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/the-true-cost-of-unsold-food-in-retail/): Food waste reduction is a priority for all food retailers, in all parts of the world. This study was commissioned to bring new insights as to the cost of unsold food in retail and later its exit from the business if it cannot be sold. To help retailers sell more and waste less.
- [Scaling QR Codes with Embedded Date Codes in Retail](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/embedded-date-codes-in-retail/): But what are the conditions needed for the rapid adoption of QR codes in grocery retailing? What have retailers learned from QR code trials so far? How can embedded date codes in retail help?
- [Food Surplus Management Maturity Model: How to Exit Surplus Food from Stores](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/food-surplus-management-maturity-model/): Our food surplus management in retail research discovered varying levels of maturity across the different areas we explored in this study.
- [Food Surplus Management in Retailing: A Global Perspective](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/food-surplus-management-in-retailing/): Food waste reduction is a priority for retailers, in all parts of the world. This global study on food surplus management in retail was commissioned to bring new insights as to how retailers were managing surplus food in the store and later its exit from the business if it cannot be sold. Is there a best way and / or one set of global best practices?
- [Most at-Risk Stores: How to Engage Others in a Cross-Function Risk Mitigation Strategy](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/most-at-risk-stores-benchmarking-tool/): At ECR Retail Loss, we saw great value in this tool and have supported its further development and refinement. The most at-risk stores benchmarking tool published here presents the updated tool and guidance for completing the exercise. It has undergone rigorous testing with retailers and we are delighted with the result. We firmly believe it should be built into the business annual planning cycle.
- [Measuring Retail Shrink](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/measuring-retail-shrinkage/): Retail shrinkage is the difference between the stock a retailer expects to have and what it actually has when it counts. It is one of the most persistent challenges in retail. Earlier ECR Retail Loss research, cited by the authors, found that in 2003 shrinkage cost the FMCG grocery sector 2.31% of turnover: 1.75% for retailers and 0.56% for manufacturers. That equated to €24 billion a year for the European industry alone.
- [The Utilisation of Video Analytics in Retail: A Survey of Retailers (2024 Edition)](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/video-analytics-in-retail/): This is ECR Retail Loss’ second report on video analytics in retail  focussed upon the extent to which retailers have deployed or are thinking about using a range of video analytics in retail and across their supply chains. It is based upon a survey of global retailers and looks at nearly 50 types of analytic across five retail environments. We very much hope that the findings will offer value to the retail industry, certainly at a time when the capability of video-based technologies continues to grow at pace. While the results show that the most deployed video analytics in retail remain primarily focussed upon helping to deliver safe and secure retail environments, it is also clear that there is growing interest in their use to improve customer service and streamline retail operations and practices. It is undoubtedly a fast moving technology and so the results from this study will, I’m sure, be of interest across a range of retail functions. We would like to thank both Professor Beck for carrying out this study and the retailers who so willingly agreed to help him with this survey. As always, ECR Retail Loss very much appreciates your commitment to contributing to the development of new thinking and ideas. Finally, can I encourage you to not only read and share this study, but also take part in the work of ECR Retail Loss – further details can be found at: ecrloss.com.
- [Human-Centred Design to Improve the Self-Checkout Experience](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/human-centred-design-for-self-checkout/): The adoption of self-checkout has been rapid, and is set to grow in grocery stores, where for many, the self-checkout machines will represent over 50% of all transactions, and beyond, in retail channels such as drug, fashion and home improvement. However, the implementation of self-checkout has its challenges, which can lead to losses and frustrated shoppers.
- [Does inflation increase retail shrink?](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/does-inflation-increase-retail-shrink/): Does inflation increase retail shrink? This report explores the impact of significant changes in the rate of inflation on the measurement of retail loss. The key finding is that it is not the rate of inflation itself, but the effects of inflation on consumers' behaviour and retailers' decisions that is responsible for the changes seen in the Key Performance Indicator, Retail Loss %. As a result, retailers are encouraged to explore other measures of loss that reflect changes in units rather than in prices, and to reflect that 'when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure' (Goodhart's Law).
- [Fortress Stores: Keeping the most at risk grocery stores trading](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/keeping-the-most-at-risk-stores-trading/): This research report outlines the findings from an in-depth study into ‘most at risk stores’, i.e. those with the highest rates of crime, threat and vulnerability. At the crossover of retail loss, safety and security. The project aimed to explore the risk mitigation strategies being deployed, their rationale, and how they are experienced by store associates.
- [Mobile Self Scanning Technologies: Understanding the Impact on Loss](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/mobile-scan-and-pay-retail-loss/): This report presents the findings of an ESRC-funded study conducted between December 2013 and February 2015. The primary focus was to identify current developments in mobile scan and pay (MSP) technologies in the retail space; to understand how allowing customers to use their own personal mobile phones to scan and pay for items could impact upon shrinkage and also identify how crime prevention might be integrated into these systems. The methodology was based around interviews with staff involved in the development and implementation of mobile scan and pay systems across four retailers in the UK, two in the USA, one in Belgium and one in Holland. Loss prevention staff were also interviewed and analysis of shrinkage data from one retail partner was also conducted.
- [Measuring E-commerce Losses in Retail: Developing a Framework](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/measuring-e-commerce-loss/): Measuring E-commerce loss has grown in importance since shopping online became such a big and ever-growing part of our retail world. A trend that was massively accelerated by the recent COVID pandemic, which saw shoppers having little choice but to get products they wish to purchase delivered to their homes. While not for everyone, the convenience it brings to many people is readily apparent – browse, select, and pay for products from the comfort of your home and then have the option to have them delivered to your doorstep, sometimes within an hour – what’s not to like?
- [Self-checkout Management: Working on the ‘Front Line’](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/better-self-checkout-management/): Welcome to the fifth report from ECR Retail Loss on the issue of Self-checkout (SCO) systems in retailing – a subject, which I’m sure you will agree, continues to grow in importance. This is the second in a series of three reports focussed upon self-checkout management and developing better understanding of how SCO technologies can be more effectively managed and controlled. While the first study looked at it from the perspective of retail businesses, this second study focuses upon those directly employed to look after SCO at the ‘front end’, and how they reflect upon this issue.
- [The Utilisation of Video Analytics: A Survey of Retailers](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/retail-video-analytics-survey/): The use of video technologies and in particular, ‘video analytics’ is growing considerably across the retail industry. The recent ECR Retail Loss Group report on this topic summarised the various ways in which video systems were deployed and for what reasons, including a few examples of video analytics that were being used or trialled. These spanned both security and non-security settings including burglar alarm monitoring and staff member not present scenarios. To more fully understand the types of video analytics that retailers are now beginning to test and deploy, the ECR Retail Loss Group decided to undertake a short survey of retailers to better understand the scale and extent of their use. The results from that survey are presented in this short report.
- [Global Study on Self checkout loss in Retail](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/self-checkout-retail-loss-global-study/): This Global SCO Survey self checkout loss report, published in 2022, provides a summary of the findings from an online survey of retailers from around the world focussed upon their use of various forms of self checkout and pay (SCO) systems, concerns about their impact upon retail losses, and the approaches being adopted to better manage and control these technologies.
- [Utilising RFID in Retailing: Insights on Innovation](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/rfid-retail-innovation-insights/): This RFID Maturity Model report presents results from an RFID Retail Innovation study focussed upon developing insights on how retail users of RFID have innovated in their use of the technology. It builds upon the findings presented in the joint ECR Retail Loss Group/GS1 UK Study published in 2018: Measuring the Impact of RFID in Retailing: Key Lessons from 10 Case-study Companies.
- [Beyond Shrinkage: An Introduction to Total Retail Loss](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/an-introduction-to-total-retail-loss/): This report, which was first published in 2016 as an introduction to Total Retail Loss, focussed upon understanding how the retail industry understood the nature and extent of all the potential types of losses they experience, as well as publishing a definition of ‘loss’ and associated typology. It is based upon a detailed literature review together with an online survey of retailers and 100 interviews with senior retail executives in the US.
- [Self-Checkout Loss: Three Ways to Rethink SCO Design](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/self-checkout-design-to-reduce-loss/): As our previous studies have highlighted, self-checkout design presents retail stores with opportunities, problems and challenges. Our case studies on self-checkout exit gates bring together evidence from retailers across nine countries on shrink reduction, POS integration and the trade-offs involved.
- [Self-Checkout: Improving Scan Accuracy Through Design](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/improve-self-checkout-performance/): How can we improve self-checkout performance and reduce retail loss? In this unique applied research study, academics and designers partnered with four of ECR’s Retailer members to immerse themselves in the self-checkout experience, understanding from the perspectives of the shopper and self-checkout supervisors, their journey from entry to exit, and their design challenges and frustrations. Whilst some Retailers have taken strong design approaches, the design-research nevertheless found SCO machines ‘plonked’ wherever they can reasonably fit, and shoppers not always sure how to use the machines or smoothly navigate the SCO environment. In response to this problem context, the design researchers adopted a human-centred design-led approach and formulated key insights to reframe the challenges at self-checkout. Then generated a range of concepts, most of which amount to sketches of possible incremental design changes that might help  reduce retail losses and improve customer and staff experiences.
- [Engaging Retail Buyers to Reduce Losses](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/engaging-retail-buyers-to-reduce-losses/): This report, commissioned by RILA’s Asset Protection Leaders Council, is dedicated to identifying strategic initiatives that help retailers detect and prevent loss in their organization.  Preventing loss is non‐trivial.  It requires the cooperation of a variety of retail constituents including store leadership, distribution and transportation teams, product designers, and the legal department, just to name a few.  Merchants, or retail buyers, are also an important part of the asset protection equation.    This research identifies the various levers retail buyers have to influence retail loss and the obstacles asset protection groups face when seeking buyer engagement.    Specifically, we determine which operational decisions require, or benefit from, buyer engagement.
- [Total Retail Loss 2.0 – From Theory to Practice](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/total-retail-loss-a-practical-framework/): The original research outlining the Total Retail Loss concept was first published in 2016, focussed upon understanding how the retail industry understood the nature and extent of all the potential types of losses they experience, as well as publishing a definition of ‘loss’ and associated typology (made up of 33 categories of loss).
- [Understanding Hot Products](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/what-are-the-top-50-high-shrink-products/): This report, which was published in 2010, but is still extremely relevant today, presents data on the high shrink products in grocery that suffer disproportionally high level of shrinkage. It focusses upon three categories: Food; Health and Beauty (H&B); and Beers, Wines and Spirits (BWS).
- [Why Some Stores Have Higher Shrink: Understanding High Shrink Stores](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/why-some-stores-have-higher-shrink-than-others/): Why do some stores have higher shrink than others? Evidence on the “hot store” effect: Accountability, Attitude, Action and Audit, plus what management changes work.
- [Contractual Terms for Reducing Food Waste](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/contractual-terms-to-reduce-food-waste/): Reducing food waste to 50% by 2030 is a global priority. Retailers across the world are taking several initiatives such as improving store operations and demand forecasts to step up to this target. However, estimates suggest that over 32% of fresh food waste occurring before reaching consumers’ homes happens upstream in the supply chain at farms, manufacturing units and distribution centres. In this paper, we use a combination of stakeholder interviews and literature review to identify two key reasons for this wastage and outline ways in which retailer-led partnerships can help in profitably reducing it. Including how contractual terms to reduce food waste can deliver great results.
- [Reduce Employee Theft in Retail: Staff Dishonesty in the Retail Sector](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/reduce-employee-theft-in-retail/): The purpose of this project was to reduce employee theft in retail - to develop greater understanding of the ways in which dishonest members of staff exploited retail processes and procedures to steal cash and goods from their employers. It is based upon data collected directly from offenders themselves together with interviews with loss prevention staff responsible for deterring and detecting such behaviour. As such it sought to make a valuable contribution in an area that has to date been little understood and researched.
- [Managing Retail Food Waste & Markdowns](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/retail-food-waste-reduction/): In addition to the benchmark tool, a check list is created with 65 interventions aimed at reducing waste in the retail supply chain, based on interviews and a literature review. It can be used both as a retail food waste reduction checklist and as an inspiration for retailers to find new ways to reduce waste and increase sales for fresh products.
- [Measuring the Sales Impact of Improving Inventory Records](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/improving-inventory-records/): There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that retailers’ inventory records are inaccurate to a significant extent. And it is reasonable to assume that the higher the inventory record inaccuracy (IRI), the higher the impact on sales. But what does this mean in real terms? This report describes the outcome of a 3-year project (conducted with the participation of 7 of Europe’s largest retailers) the aim of which is to quantify the IRI problem and demonstrate the sales lift resulting from fixing it. A structured test-control type experiment is used, according to which test stores are subjected to stock counts at some particular point in time, whereas control stores are not, allowing us to measure the effect of reconciling (or not) the stock records on sales. The analysis covers approximately 1 Million stock keeping units (SKUs) sold in about 100 stores; such data is of a different order of magnitude to anything previously attempted in the academic and practitioner literature, leading to important, reliable and trustworthy conclusions. We find that about 60% of the SKUs analysed are affected by inventory record inaccuracies. We also find that positive IRI is as prevalent as negative IRI, with the same detrimental effects though on sales. Very importantly, correcting inventory inaccuracies is found to lead to approximately 4% to 8% of increased sales in the participating retailers. Interestingly, this applies to all retailers including the particularly ‘accurate’ ones. The results demonstrate that the biggest opportunity for improvement comes from high-volume expensive items, and detailed analysis by product category shows which categories should attract most attention. Finally, we discuss and show results on how inventory accuracy deteriorates over time following a stock count. This has implications for deciding how often and when stocktakes should take place. Our findings should be of great value to retailers to: i) inform their decisions on the appropriate levels of resource and investment against improving inventory records accuracy; ii) prioritise investments per product category and class; iii) appreciate the behaviour of positive and negative discrepancies; iv) discuss counting as a sales increase strategy rather than a cost-intensive necessity.
- [Creating a Retail CCTV Strategy: Video Technologies in Retailing](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/retail-cctv-strategy/): This report on retail CCTV strategy was first published in 2020, but is still extremely relevant today. It focuses upon providing a detailed and objective assessment of how and why CCTV/video technologies are currently being used within the retail sector. In addition, it provides a critical review of both the potential and the challenges of utilising video analytics and the key strategic trends that can be seen in the retail industry.
- [Improving Employee Engagement to Reduce Retail Loss](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/employee-engagement-to-reduce-retail-loss/): The study also highlighted the key role store managers can play in delivering many of the most important engagement factors driving potential reductions in store losses: communicating effectively; making staff feel appreciated and valued; building good teamwork; ensuring staff roles are manageable; providing opportunities for staff development; and taking seriously ideas offered by their staff. It shows the importance of improving employee engagement to reduce retail loss.
- [Designing Packaging to Prevent Unknown Loss and Shrink](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/packaging-design-to-reduce-shrink/): First published in 2010, this ECR Retail Loss guide shows how better packaging design can reduce unknown loss and shrinkage across the supply chain. Using retailer and manufacturer case studies, it explains how packaging decisions drive damage, waste, scanning errors and theft, and how to design packs that work with product protection such as EAS. It also introduces the ECR Shrinkage Road Map and a practical checklist to help retailers and suppliers diagnose packaging-related loss and implement fixes.
- [Risk Amplification in Retail Stores](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/risk-amplification-in-retail-stores/): The purpose of this report, which was first published in 2016, is to review the available evidence on what is known to date about the efficacy of a range of methods and devices utilised by retailers to try and amplify risk in their retail stores. It is based upon an extensive review of the publicly available literature on risk amplification in retail stores stretching back 30-40 years.
- [A proven approach to shrinkage reduction](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/supply-chain-shrinkage-reduction/): This report, first published in 2001, with an updated version released in 2003, sets the stage for the ECR Retail Loss Group’s overarching philosophy of ‘sell more and lose less'. It is based upon extensive research with a range of European retailers, including a series of case studies charting how businesses went about adopting this approach to better manage their retail losses. It is still just as relevant to understand supply chain shrinkage reduction today as when it was first published.
- [Self-Checkout in Retail: Measuring the Impact on Loss](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/self-checkout-loss-measurement/): The ECR Community Shrinkage and On-shelf Availability Group is delighted to have had the opportunity to support this important and ground-breaking study into self-checkout loss measurement. It provides an up-to date review of the potential impact of self-scan and self-pay technologies on levels of retail loss. In addition, it also offers insights into how retail businesses can begin to go about addressing the risks posed by them.
- [Measuring the Impact of RFID in Retailing](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/rfid-in-retail/): This RFID in Retail report focusses on measuring the impact of RFID for retailers, by capturing the detailed experiences of 10 retail companies that have invested in RFID technologies – understanding their decision to invest, reflecting on some of the results they have achieved, and charting the lessons (both positive and negative) they are able to share from their RFID in Retail journeys.
- [How to reduce food waste in retail supply chains](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/reduce-food-waste-retail-supply-chain/): This report, published in 2019, is focused on the way organisations can work together to reduce food waste in retail supply chains. It highlights the benefits of collaboration to reduce food waste, and the barriers of doing so. The report introduces a new framework for effective collaboration and presents a self-assessment checklist for organisations to consider adopting when getting ready for a collaboration project. Finally, the report shares the self-assessment data on the readiness of a sample of retailers, presenting some benchmark data and highlighting how the sharing of, and availability data is the most significant barrier to more effective collaboration for this sample of organisations.
- [The Problems & Opportunities of E-Commerce Returns](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/buy-online-return-in-store/): Buy online return in store (BORIS) is quietly eroding retail profits. This ECR Retail Loss research found that returns to store bring costs few retailers track: shop space to hold returned stock, store staff time to process it, and IT systems that struggle to keep up. None of the retailers in the study had a clear idea what returns cost their business.
- [The Impact and Control of Self-Checkout Losses](https://ecrloss.com/research-paper/self-checkout-losses/): This SCO Loss Prevention study focuses on self-checkout losses. Initially published in 2011 but still extremely relevant today, it aims to contribute to the debate concerning the potential impact of self-checkouts may have on retail shrinkage. (For a more recent of the use of self-checkouts and retail loss, check out our 2026 research, or previous work on the global use of self-checkout in retail.)

## Team
- [Rogelio Oliva](https://ecrloss.com/team/rogelio-oliva/): 260428 RO Retail Research
- [Thierry Gadou](https://ecrloss.com/team/thierry-gadou/)
- [Andrew Childs](https://ecrloss.com/team/andrew-childs/)
- [Professor Joe Clare](https://ecrloss.com/team/joe-clare/)
- [Professor PK Senyo](https://ecrloss.com/team/professor-pk-senyo/)
- [Professor Chris Simms](https://ecrloss.com/team/professor-chris-simms-2/)
- [Colin Peacock](https://ecrloss.com/team/colin-peacock/)
- [Dr Ben Stickle](https://ecrloss.com/team/dr-ben-stickle/)
- [Professor Matt Hopkins](https://ecrloss.com/team/professor-matt-hopklns/)
- [Dr Simon Templar](https://ecrloss.com/team/dr-simon-templar/)
- [Richard Thalemann](https://ecrloss.com/team/richard-thalemann/)
- [Professor Thomas Gruen](https://ecrloss.com/team/professor-thomas-gruen/)
- [Adrian Allen](https://ecrloss.com/team/adrian-allen/)
- [Professor Michael Townsley](https://ecrloss.com/team/professor-michael-townsley/)
- [Aimee Charlton](https://ecrloss.com/team/aimee-charlton/)
- [Stephen Teatum](https://ecrloss.com/team/stephen-teatum/)
- [Amit Acharya](https://ecrloss.com/team/amit-acharya/)
- [Professor Arzum Akkas](https://ecrloss.com/team/professor-arzum-akkas/)
- [Emmeline Taylor](https://ecrloss.com/team/emmeline-taylor/)
- [Jeffrey Doruff](https://ecrloss.com/team/jeffrey-doruff/)
- [Paul Ekblom](https://ecrloss.com/team/paul-ekblom/)
- [Nicole De Horatius](https://ecrloss.com/team/nicole-de-horatius/)
- [John Bloomfield](https://ecrloss.com/team/john-bloomfield/)
- [Lorraine Gamman](https://ecrloss.com/team/lorraine-gamman/)
- [Ben Lilienthal](https://ecrloss.com/team/ben-lilienthal/)
- [Elena Belavina](https://ecrloss.com/team/elena-belavina/)
- [Rakesh Allu](https://ecrloss.com/team/rakesh-allu/)
- [Paul Chapman](https://ecrloss.com/team/paul-chapman/)
- [Mike Shore](https://ecrloss.com/team/mike-shore/)
- [Dr Sally-Ann Krzyzaniak](https://ecrloss.com/team/dr-sally-ann-krzyzaniak/)
- [Asaf Cohen](https://ecrloss.com/team/asaf-cohen/)
- [Regina Frei](https://ecrloss.com/team/regina-frei/)
- [Yacine Rekik](https://ecrloss.com/team/yacine-rekik/)
- [Christoph Glock](https://ecrloss.com/team/christoph-glock/)
- [Aris Syntetos](https://ecrloss.com/team/aris-syntetos/)
- [Daniel Corsten](https://ecrloss.com/team/daniel-corsten/)
- [Rob Broekmeulen](https://ecrloss.com/team/rob-broekmeulen/)
- [Karel Van Donselaar](https://ecrloss.com/team/karel-van-donselaar/)
- [Paul Boyle](https://ecrloss.com/team/paul-boyle/)
- [Alastair Francis](https://ecrloss.com/team/alastair-francis/)
- [John Fonteijn](https://ecrloss.com/team/john-fonteijn/)
- [Lisa Jack](https://ecrloss.com/team/lisa-jack/)
- [Adrian Beck](https://ecrloss.com/team/adrian-beck/)

## Venues
- [Manchester, UK. TBC](https://ecrloss.com/venue/manchester-uk-tbc/)
- [Novotel Gran Madrid](https://ecrloss.com/venue/novotel-gran-madrid/)
- [Migros, Istanbul](https://ecrloss.com/venue/migros-istanbul/)
- [Madrid](https://ecrloss.com/venue/madrid/)
- [London](https://ecrloss.com/venue/london/)
- [Westin Hotel by Dallas FW Airport](https://ecrloss.com/venue/westin-hotel-by-dallas-fw-airport/)
- [Odney Club, Maidenhead, UK](https://ecrloss.com/venue/odney-club-maidenhead-uk/)
- [Delta Hotels Northampton, Eagle Drive, Northampton, NN4 7HW](https://ecrloss.com/venue/delta-hotels-northampton-eagle-drive-northampton-nn4-7hw/)
- [Next, Leicester](https://ecrloss.com/venue/next-liecester/)
- [REMA 1000 Offices, Oslo, Norway](https://ecrloss.com/venue/rema-1000-offices-oslo-norway/)
- [REMA 1000 Offices](https://ecrloss.com/venue/rema-1000-offices/)
- [Boots D80 Building, Nottingham NG90 1BS.](https://ecrloss.com/venue/boots-d80-building-nottingham-ng90-1bs/)
- [Red Bull Meeting Centre](https://ecrloss.com/venue/red-bull-meeting-centre/)
- [Medley, Dublin](https://ecrloss.com/venue/medley-dublin/)
- [Cardiff University, UK.](https://ecrloss.com/venue/cardiff-university-uk/)
- [Said Business School, University of Oxford](https://ecrloss.com/venue/said-business-school-university-of-oxford/)

## Organisers
- [Dr Sara Sofia Martins, University of Porto](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/dr-sara-sofia-martins-university-of-porto/)
- [Nicole Rossmann, International Sustainability Manager, Aldi Sud](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/nicole-rossmann-international-sustainability-manager-aldi-sud/)
- [Professor Lisa Jack, University of Portsmouth](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-lisa-jack-university-of-portsmouth/)
- [Professor Hopkins, University of Leicester](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-hopkins-university-of-leicester/)
- [Richard Thaleman, ECR Retail Loss Food Waste Expert](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/richard-thaleman-ecr-retail-loss-food-waste-expert-2/)
- [Richard Thaleman, ECR Retail Loss Food Waste Expert](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/richard-thaleman-ecr-retail-loss-food-waste-expert/)
- [Professor Stephan Ruschen](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-stephan-ruschen-2/)
- [Professor Stephan Ruschen](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-stephan-ruschen/)
- [Professors Glock, Rekik and Syntetos](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professors-glock-rekik-and-syntetos/)
- [Brian Lipinski, WRI](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/brian-lipinski-wri/)
- [Tom Gurney, Head of RFID, River Island](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/tom-gurney-head-of-rfid-river-island/)
- [Professor Michael Townsley](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-michael-townsley-2/)
- [Professor Daniel Corsten, IE University](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-daniel-corsten-ie-university/)
- [Professors’ Syntetos, Glock and Rekik](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professors-syntetos-glock-and-rekik/)
- [Alex Pickering, Rory Aston, Sainsburys](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/alex-pickering-rory-aston-sainsburys-2/)
- [Alex Pickering, Rory Aston, Sainsburys](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/alex-pickering-rory-aston-sainsburys/)
- [Professor Michael Townsley](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-michael-townsley/)
- [Professor Pedro Amorim, INESC TEC, Faculty of Engineering, Porto, Portugal](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-pedro-amorim-inesc-tec-faculty-of-engineering-porto-portugal/)
- [Professor Lorraine Gamman](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-lorraine-gamman/)
- [Professors Townsley, Clare and Childs](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professors-townsley-clare-and-childs/)
- [Professor Christoph Glock](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-christoph-glock/)
- [Dr Paul Chapman, Senior Fellow, Said Business School, University of Oxford](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/dr-paul-chapman-senior-fellow-said-business-school-university-of-oxford/)
- [Professor Emmeline Taylor, St Georges University](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-emmeline-taylor-st-georges-university-2/)
- [Colin Peacock, ECR Retail Loss](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/colin-peacock-ecr-retail-loss/)
- [Professor Emmeline Taylor, St Georges University](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/professor-emmeline-taylor-st-georges-university/)
- [ECR Loss](https://ecrloss.com/organiser/ecr-loss/)

## Events
- [Food Waste Innovation Summit 2026](https://ecrloss.com/event/food-waste-innovation-summit-2026/): Our annual food waste innovation summit incudes store visits, case study reviews, innovation showcases, round table debates and our annual chance to re-connect in person as a food waste working group.
- [On-Shelf Availability: Launch of New Research Study](https://ecrloss.com/event/on-shelf-availability-launch-of-new-research-study/): Join us for the launch of our new research study on OSA, the most comprehensive for over two decades, and learn about the findings that helped one retailer moved their average OSA from 93.2% to 94.7% over a two year period
- [QR / 2D Code with Embedded Date Codes – Retailer Updates](https://ecrloss.com/event/qr-2d-code-with-embedded-date-codes-retailer-updates/): In this meeting, we will hear updates from multiple retailers on the lessons learnt to date as they seek to implement QR codes as a replacement for the traditional stripy barcode, especially for perishables.
- [Updates on Self Checkout in Non Grocery](https://ecrloss.com/event/updates-on-self-checkout-in-non-grocery-3/): In response to the growing consumer demand for a more frictionless shopper journey, many more retailers beyond grocery are adopting self checkouts, including fashion, drug, home improvement, discount, convenience, electrical and automotive retailers.
- [Autonomous Stores – Latest Updates](https://ecrloss.com/event/autonomous-stores-latest-updates/): Exploring the current deployments in practice and the outlook for the future of autonomous stores
- [2026: Loss Prevention Executive Leadership Programme](https://ecrloss.com/event/loss-prevention-executive-leadership-programme/): Gain a better understanding of the tasks required to create the optimal conditions for effective loss prevention.
- [Retail Loss – Managing Forecourt Losses](https://ecrloss.com/event/retail-loss-managing-forecourt-losses/): What are the latest ways that forecourt retailers are keeping shoppers and staff safe and losses down.
- [Deposit Return Schemes: Should Loss Prevention be Worried?](https://ecrloss.com/event/26805/): What are the new risks and losses for associated with the introduction of deposit return schemes? And how can loss prevention support their deployment?
- [Food Waste: Retailers Top Priorities for 2027](https://ecrloss.com/event/2027-top-priorities-for-retailers-to-reduce-food-waste/): What's are the priorities for 2026?
- [RFID In Grocery – Latest Insights – What could the Future Look Like?](https://ecrloss.com/event/rfid-in-grocery-latest-insights-what-could-the-future-look-like/): The promise of RFID, and the need for no line of sight, offers huge potential for grocery retailers, especially for perishables. Join this meeting to hear about the latest use cases, trials and deployments across grocery retailers from around the world.
- [Retailer Insights – How to Reduce Walk Offs at the Self-Checkout](https://ecrloss.com/event/walk-offs-at-self-checkout/): How are retailers monitoring and managing the problem of walkaways.
- [Product ID – ID beyond RFID](https://ecrloss.com/event/product-id-id-beyond-rfid/): Exploring the landscape of Product Identification
- [Self Checkout: Exploring The Use of Spot Checks at Fixed Self Checkout](https://ecrloss.com/event/self-checkout-exploring-the-use-of-spot-checks-at-fixed-self-checkout/): New findings on spot checks at fixed self-checkout, the implications for retailers and the case for the continued use of targeted AND random spot checks.
- [Video: Making the Case for LIDAR in Retail](https://ecrloss.com/event/video-making-the-case-for-lidar-in-retail/): What are the use cases for LIDAR in retail?
- [Security Operations Centres – Latest Retailer Developments.](https://ecrloss.com/event/security-operations-centres-latest-retailer-developments/): In this video working group meeting we will hear from multiple retailers, and how their Security Operations Centres (SOC's) are evolving over time, exploring the practical realities of delivering measurable outcomes across safety, loss prevention, marketing, compliance, and a positive return on investment.
- [OSA: Exploring the Contribution of Digital Shelf Edge Labels to Reducing Shelf Out of Stocks](https://ecrloss.com/event/osa-exploring-the-contribution-of-digital-shelf-edge-labels-to-reducing-shelf-out-of-stocks/): Exploring the role of digital shelf edge labels and their impact on planogram compliance and OSA.
- [Nudge Letters to Prolific Returners: What is the evidence?](https://ecrloss.com/event/nudge-letters-to-prolific-returners-what-is-the-evidence/): What is the impact of yellow cards on the returns rates of serial returners?
- [SCO: Selling Impulse Products at SCO – Retailer Insights](https://ecrloss.com/event/sco-selling-impulse-products-at-sco-retailer-insights/): Exploring the different ways that retailers are selling impulse items at the self-checkout
- [2027 – IRI / OSA Innovation Summit – Hosted by TBC](https://ecrloss.com/event/2027-iri-osa-innovation-summit-hosted-by-tbc/): Our annual innovation summit for retailer and CPG experts plus academics to learn together new ways to improve counting, inventory records and OSA.
- [Food Waste: Collaboration Works! New Case Studies in Success](https://ecrloss.com/event/food-waste-collaboration-works-new-case-studies-in-success/): Exploring the latest learnings and case studies on the unique contribution collaboration can and has played in reducing surplus and unsold food at farms, plants and stores.
- [Cash Loss – The Case for Change](https://ecrloss.com/event/cash-loss-the-case-for-change-26/): This meeting is for retailers, brand owners and academics only.
- [Shopper Marketing – Building use cases for shopper marketing](https://ecrloss.com/event/shopper-marketing-building-use-cases-for-shopper-marketing/): How to build video based capabilities to support shopper marketing use cases?
- [2027 Innovation in Video in Retail Summit](https://ecrloss.com/event/2027-innovation-in-video-in-retail-summit/): Our annual innovation summit for retail leaders deploying / building remote monitoring, biometrics, AI and video analytics to deliver safer, more profitable stores
- [2027 Self Checkout Innovation Summit](https://ecrloss.com/event/2027-self-checkout-innovation-summit/): Join us for this global in-person meeting of self checkout experts hosted by Migros Turkey.
- [Reducing Producer Food Waste via Rescued Ingredients in Retail Programmes](https://ecrloss.com/event/food-waste-rescued-ingredients-2/): What are some new innovative ways for retailers to help reduce food waste across the supply chain?
- [Product Protection Innovation – Retailer Updates](https://ecrloss.com/event/product-protection-innovation-retailer-updates-3/): Retailers swap notes on the latest initiatives being deployed, tested, etc, to prevent theft while minimising any sales decline. Expect to be reassured AND inspired.
- [Food Waste: Innovations in Markdowns](https://ecrloss.com/event/food-waste-innovations-in-markdowns-3/): Retailers share updates on their markdown strategies that reduce surplus food, and avoid the costs of managing unsold food.
- [Leadership Training: Mastering Inventory Accuracy in Retail](https://ecrloss.com/event/inventory-accuracy-training/): 2 days of academic expert-led instruction, in-person, at Cardiff University, UK. Upon successful completion, participants will earn a certificate co-issued by ECR Retail Loss and the course leaders.

## Categories
- [Data points](https://ecrloss.com/category/data-point/): Data Points present key insights from our research papers, important findings, statistics and trends distilled into short, accessible takeaways. Each Data Point links back to the original research for deeper context.
- [Innovation challenges](https://ecrloss.com/category/innovation-challenge/)
- [News](https://ecrloss.com/category/news/)
- [Podcast](https://ecrloss.com/category/podcast/)
- [Research paper](https://ecrloss.com/category/research-paper/)
- [Team](https://ecrloss.com/category/team/)

## Focus Areas
- [E-commerce loss](https://ecrloss.com/focus-area/e-commerce-loss/): E-commerce loss is rising fast, and it rarely comes from one place. From fraud and returns abuse to missing items, delivery risk and inventory errors, we share free research and online meetings to help loss prevention teams understand what’s happening, measure it properly, and reduce it. Practical insight from retailers and suppliers, so you can protect profit without slowing growth.
- [Food waste](https://ecrloss.com/focus-area/food-waste/): Food waste in retail is a commercial and operational challenge, and reducing it takes joined-up thinking across supply chain, store teams and partners. Our free research and industry-led meetings share evidence and best practice across forecasting, logistics, inventory management and in-store procedures. From redistribution and donation models to packaging and tracking innovation, we focus on what cuts waste in practice.
- [Inventory accuracy](https://ecrloss.com/focus-area/inventory-accuracy/): Inventory accuracy underpins loss control, availability and fulfilment, but many retailers still struggle with stock records that don’t match reality. When data is wrong, you get unknown shrink, missed sales, poor customer experience and operational inefficiency. Our free research and discussions explore how to measure inventory accuracy properly, what drives errors across stores and fulfilment centres, and the practical steps that improve accuracy over time.
- [On-shelf availability](https://ecrloss.com/focus-area/on-shelf-availability/): On-shelf availability is one of retail’s simplest truths: if it isn’t on the shelf, it can’t be sold. But improving OSA is rarely simple, because shelf gaps sit at the intersection of forecasting, replenishment, store execution and loss. Our free research and expert discussions focus on the real causes of out-of-stocks and what retailers can do to fix them without adding friction or over-ordering.
- [Retail loss, safety and security](https://ecrloss.com/focus-area/retail-loss-safety-and-security/): Retail loss, safety and security has moved from a back-office issue to a front-line priority. Our free research, meetings and podcasts help loss prevention teams and retail leaders understand the threats, compare approaches, and learn what works across the sector. From tackling internal theft and shoplifting to improving safety and measuring shrink effectively, we focus on solutions that protect profit and people.
- [RFID in retail](https://ecrloss.com/focus-area/rfid-in-retail/): RFID in retail is changing how retailers measure, manage and reduce loss by improving visibility of stock across stores and supply chains. With better item-level data, teams can tackle unknown stock loss, reduce inventory inaccuracy and improve replenishment and availability. Our free research and expert discussions explore where RFID delivers the biggest impact, what good implementation looks like, and how retailers are using it today.
- [Self-checkout](https://ecrloss.com/focus-area/self-checkout/): This Working Group is focused on the rapidly changing world of customer checkout, in particular the various ways in which shoppers can now do this with little or no active engagement with store team members.
- [Video in retail](https://ecrloss.com/focus-area/video-in-retail/): Video in retail is becoming a core tool for reducing losses, improving staff and customer safety, and strengthening on-shelf availability. From AI-led camera analytics to shelf monitoring and emerging approaches like LIDAR, we share free research and industry discussions that help retailers and suppliers understand what works and how to deploy video effectively. Read our research or join our meetings. It’s all free.

## Team Area of Expertise
- [Academic](https://ecrloss.com/team-area-expertise/the-academics/)
- [Authors](https://ecrloss.com/team-area-expertise/authors/)
- [Board](https://ecrloss.com/team-area-expertise/the-board/)
- [Research Grant Providers](https://ecrloss.com/team-area-expertise/the-research-grant-providers/)

## Event Categories
- [E-commerce](https://ecrloss.com/events/category/e-commerce-loss/)
- [Food waste](https://ecrloss.com/events/category/food-waste/)
- [Inventory accuracy](https://ecrloss.com/events/category/inventory-accuracy/)
- [On-shelf availability](https://ecrloss.com/events/category/on-shelf-availability/)
- [Retail loss, safety and security](https://ecrloss.com/events/category/retail-loss/)
- [RFID in retail](https://ecrloss.com/events/category/rfid/)
- [self-checkout](https://ecrloss.com/events/category/self-checkout/)
- [Training](https://ecrloss.com/events/category/training/)
- [Video in retail](https://ecrloss.com/events/category/video-in-retail/)