ECRA Loss Prevention Forum - New Report focussed on the Impact of New Technology on Loss

The way in which customers select their purchases and pay for them is rapidly changing. As new technologies emerge onto the market, retailers and suppliers are facing the challenge of reconfiguring systems to accommodate increasingly mobile customers who expect multichannel options supporting quick and secure digital payment. Mobile commerce (e-commerce via any mobile device) has been a hot topic since the early 2000s but it is only in recent years that it’s roll out has gathered traction, particularly in the US and Europe. 

Whereas Self Check-Out redefined the retailer-customer dynamic, the introduction of mobile payment platforms is set to revolutionise the relationship between retailer and customer. But it is not just this relationship that requires attention, the onset of mobile opportunities will potentially reconfigure the entity of bricks and mortar stores, presenting opportunities for innovations such as ‘endless aisle’, ‘click and collect’, and the ‘mobile wallet’ with integrated loyalty platforms bridging the gap between virtual and physical stores. 

Mobile scanning and mobile payment, however, create a ‘disconnect’ in the customer journey, presenting new challenges for those charged with preventing loss as the new technologies give rise for potential for ‘shrinkage’ attributable to fraudulent behaviours, malicious theft (both customer and employee), and non-malicious theft through customer or staff or system error. 

The ECRA Loss Prevention Forum, comprising retailers, suppliers and academic partners commenced a project stream entitled ‘Staying Ahead of the Game - Managing the Impact of New Shopping Technologies’ with a Workshop in May which defined key focus areas for an ensuing research phase of the work. The output of this phase of the project is a comprehensive report authored by Dr Emmeline Taylor, Convenor of Criminology and Senior Lecturer at the Australian National University, and supported by researchers from the University of Technology Sydney. 

The report builds a strong view of the various types of mobile selection and payment technologies and the business case for their roll out, before turning attention to the potential risks to loss and key considerations for retailers as they take up the technologies. Reference is given to key learnings from the introduction of self check-outs where relevant. The development of the report was supported with generous funding from Checkpoint Systems and will shortly be made available on the ECRA website.

The next phase in the ‘Staying Ahead of the Game’ project is currently being determined by the Forum.  Membership of the ECRA Loss Prevention Forum is open to Full Members of the Australian Food & Grocery Council and FMCG retailers. For more information please contact the ECRA Secretariat.