Retailers have crucial data about criminals—but can’t share it due to privacy laws

The Retail industry in the UK is in a bind – even as retail shrinkage is soaring, privacy regulations such as GDPR are preventing retailers from sharing valuable information on theft patterns and offenders. Iceland chair Richard Walker recently called for changes in regulations so that retailers can share CCTV footage of shoplifters (see news).

Retailers aren’t waiting

Regulations evolve over time and changes are typically implemented after many deliberations and discussions. With retail crime hitting an all-time high, the retail industry does not have the luxury of time on their side. In the absence of crime data sharing, stores have started increasing their technology spending to implement theft detection technologies such as Visual AI, which is witnessing significant adoption across the industry.

How Visual AI is helping retailers

Visual AI is an important upgrade for the existing CCTV-based security systems installed in retail stores as it can significantly enhance a store’s ability to detect and stop shoplifting – quickly, efficiently, and in a cost-effective manner.

For instance, SAI Group’s visual AI platform has already monitored over 20 million transactions involving 100 million items scanned at the checkout counters. The platform offers rich data about key theft trends on time, day, types of theft being carried out, specific items which are being targeted, specific areas of the store that are vulnerable to theft, gaps in physical security, the need to deploy additional security personnel, and changes needed in the security staff’s schedules.
Adding a layer of intelligence over existing CCTV hardware installed in the stores, the platform can raise alerts within seconds of detecting suspicious activity, enabling store staff or security personnel to quickly respond and address incidents.

Holiday shopping season ahead

The peak shopping season is fast approaching. Shoppers will throng the stores between Thanksgiving and Christmas and loss prevention officers have their hands full as they brace for another wave of shoplifting and spike in retail shrinkage. Visual AI can play a pivotal role in loss prevention and the time to act is now! Contact us to discuss how you can ensure a safe shopping experience – for shoppers, store staff, and security personnel.

About SAI

As a leader in computer vision technology, SAI Group delivers cutting-edge, multi-modal AI solutions into retail environments. Using a unique platform approach, its technology uses existing camera systems to target losses, increase store safety, and underpin operational efficiencies.

All solutions are built from the ground up to ensure the highest levels of security and data protection, respecting the privacy expectations of the public and operating to stringent ethical standards while delivering substantial value to our clients. Globally, SAI monitors millions of transactions per day, protecting the revenues from tens of millions of product sales and hundreds of millions of customer interactions. Its models also accurately identify anti-social behaviour, aggression and violence, helping to de-escalate situations with real-time interfaces to security officers and operations centres.