A global competition to find the hottest startups and innovative companies with scalable solutions to tackle retail loss and improve the customer experience is now accepting applications. The Retail Loss Challenge is organized by the ECR Community Shrink and OSA group, part of the ECR Community Network in Europe.
“We all know too well that retail loss in all its forms is a significant and growing concern costing the industry an estimated $284 billion (USD) every year in lost profits,” said Colin Peacock, group strategic coordinator for the ECR Community Shrink and OSA Group. “Retail has always been a dynamic and exciting industry, and yet even seasoned experts are struggling to keep up with the pace of technological change witnessed in the past few years. This is why finding new approaches from innovative companies is so important for the future of retail.”
Five Challenge Areas
Companies are invited to apply against five challenges, each focusing on a different area of retail loss, for the chance to trial their solution with retailers Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Lidl, John Lewis, or AholdDelhaize.
The following five challenges are the focus of the competition:
Challenge 1 – How can retailers enable frictionless checkout and manage the risk of loss?
Challenge 2 – How can retailers minimise loss of high risk products?
Challenge 3 – How can retailers use technology to enhance colleague safety?
Challenge 4 – How can retailers leverage the full potential of data to manage loss?
Challenge 5 – How can retailers and law enforcement collaborate to reduce crime and violence?
May 4th Deadline
Shortlisted start-ups will be invited to join a live pitch event in London on 21 June to present their solutions to industry experts. Companies can apply now until the May 4, 2018, deadline at ecr-shrink-group.com/page/european-loss-prevention-challenge.
