The Retail Fraud Survey 2011 “will be the first-ever fully comprehensive retailer by retailer survey and in-depth report looking at the in-store and online fraud and prevention strategies adopted by each of the UK’s 100 leading retailers.”
Issued by Retail Knowledge, the 300-page report will “dig deep” and find out exactly how the UK’s retailers are combating fraud and loss within their businesses.
It also promises to lift the lid on both internal and external realities, reveal details about the systems used and their success (or otherwise), assess how much is spent on IT and how retailers prioritise their strategies for combating what is undeniably one of the most serious problems for the industry.
Retail scenario day in, day out
“What has become so obvious to us over the last few years,” explained Paul Bessant, the managing director of Retail Knowledge, “is that while there are plenty of ‘top level’ opinion pieces being passed off as serious research, nobody has actually spent the time, effort and energy to get out there and really understand what retailers are facing day in, day out in their stores.”
Bessant continued: “With this report, not only will retailers be able to benchmark themselves for the very first time, but patterns of Best Practice and bad practice will also begin to emerge.”
According to Bessant, the survey will also “hold to task” and then allow vendors to develop and offer products, systems and services to retailers that they actually need and want.
Global Retail Theft Barometer 2010
The Global Retail Theft Barometer for 2010 showed that the total cost of retail crime in the UK last year (including losses from customers, staff and suppliers, plus the costs associated with security) reached a staggering GB pound 4,840 million.
Forecasts strongly suggest this figure will increase due to the ongoing effects wrought by the state of the economy.
Set against that backdrop, this latest report could prove to be an invaluable resource for retailers and their partner organisations when it comes to finding out exactly what the industry is doing – and, more importantly, what it should be doing – to prevent fraud.
Pieced together by Martec International, the Retail Fraud Survey 2011 will also show what systems retailers are currently using for loss prevention both in-store and online: the type of software and hardware used, when the systems were implemented, what replacement plans/investment priorities are in place, satisfaction rates and loss prevention as a percentage of sales.
Martec International specialises in research and analysis for the retail and IT markets. Clients include Aldata and IBM, BT and Prologic.
What’s being done to combat fraud?
James Harris, the commercial director at survey sponsor Volumatic, commented: “We’re pleased to be participating in this comprehensive survey. The report will help our industry to understand what retailers are really doing to combat fraud.”
Volumatic is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of intelligent cash handling equipment. Customers in the retail, banking and leisure industries use Volumatic products to enhance security, reduce shrinkage and deliver process efficiencies.
For his part, Harris is “confident that the findings will help us to help retailers improve their current practices with products and services tailored to their specific needs.”
Meeting the needs of end users
A spokesperson from fellow sponsor RGIS said: “Being part of this research will provide us with an additional resource to ensure that retailers are aware of all the options open to them, and that we continue to meet the needs of our market by offering intelligence and services that are right for them.”
RGIS is a global leader in stocktaking, inventory management, supply chain and asset optimisation solutions.
The organisation has employees in more than 40 countries, offering customers “unsurpassed geographic coverage” and “unique tools and processes” to ensure accuracy, reliability and efficiency.
RGIS has more than 15 offices throughout the UK.
Copies of the Retail Fraud Survey 2011 will be available to order from 14 April. Telephone 0207 903 5177 for more information
All retailers who participate in the research will receive a full complimentary copy of the report
FSA publishes first Retail Conduct Risk Outlook
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published its first Retail Conduct Risk Outlook (RCRO), which examines how a range of current, emerging and potential risks could impact customers.
The RCRO is a key component in the FSA’s consumer protection strategy to identify risks earlier, proactively intervene earlier in the product chain and prevent consumer detriment.
The report’s analysis of current and upcoming risks informs how the FSA will set its priorities and deploy its resources. These are to be outlined in the FSA’s forthcoming Business Plan.
The RCRO analyses the environment in which the FSA, authorised firms and consumers operate. It assesses the main macroeconomic trends, the changing regulatory landscape, developments in firms and markets and key issues affecting consumers – and the risks these all pose.
Some of these are issues are current, and are subject to ongoing FSA activity, some are emerging, and others have yet to develop but could cause consumer detriment in the future.
Introducing the new publication, Adair Turner, the FSA’s chairman, said: “The Retail Conduct Risk Outlook is a timely reminder of the consumer protection challenges facing the FSA, its successor bodies and financial firms over the coming years. It analyses the ways in which environmental trends may influence how firms treat their customers, and assesses the resulting potential for poor customer outcomes.”
Turner concluded: “The RCRO informs our dialogue with firms and consumer representatives on conduct risk, and will play an essential part in our work to mitigate the potential risks to customers in the future.”
