Customer Service

Most retail associates concerned about loss prevention

Photo: Adobe Stock (Generated by AI)

December 3, 2024

A hefty number of retail associates, 84%, are concerned about loss prevention and the lack of technology to spot safety threats or criminal activity.

That's a prime findings from Zebra Technologies Corp.'s 17th annual Annual Global Shopper Study.

On the shopper side, the lack of associate help, self-checkout lanes and shelf inventory are top concerns, according to a press release on the study's findings.

Artificial intelligence technologies are viewed as the most helpful with loss prevention, closely followed by cameras, sensors and RFID.

While only 38% of retailers use AI-based prescriptive analytics for loss prevention, 50% plan to use it in the next one to three years for this purpose, according to the data. Over four in 10 retailers say they also plan to use self-checkout cameras and sensors (45%), computer vision (46%), and RFID tags and readers (42%) within the next three years, specifically for loss prevention.

Although consumers are still generally satisfied with their shopping experience, fewer shoppers overall are satisfied with shopping experiences this year. In 2023, 85% were satisfied with both the in-store and online experiences. This year, only 81% are satisfied with the in-store experience and 79% with online shopping.

A majority, 78%, of shoppers said self-checkout options improve the shopping experience, yet 68% of shoppers say self-checkout lanes are lacking.

Additional findings include:

• 71% of shoppers are concerned about the lack of help associates can offer, while 82% of associates say it's even difficult for them to find help or ask for timely support when needed.
• Nearly 90% of retail associates believe they can provide a better customer experience when they have mobile technology tools to help simplify real-time communication and prioritize tasks as well as check prices and inventory. Most retailers agree technology enables associates to do their jobs better, and as a result, 75% of retailers say they plan to increase their technology investments in 2025.
• More than one-third of retailers (39%) believe GenAI will have an extremely significant impact on inventory management and demand forecasting.

"Many retailers are laying the groundwork to build a modern store experience," Matt Guiste, global retail technology strategist, Zebra Technologies, said in the release. "They are investing in mobile and intelligent automation technologies to help inform operational decisions and enable associates to do the things that keep shoppers happy."