Intelligence-led crime prevention helps team members of the UK’s largest health & wellness retailer feel 80% safer at work

Holland & Barrett’s existing system provided high-level incident numbers but didn’t give the loss prevention team or the store teams the ability to safely prevent events. The teams had no visibility of the offenders impacting the stores or the products they were targeting. This made it difficult to run investigations with Opal, the national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime (SOAC) in the UK.

They needed a tech solution that could not only help them connect the dots with better intelligence, but also solve local challenges — such as offenders targeting the high street, where multiple stores are often impacted.

In search of a more connected and data-driven approach, Holland & Barrett turned to Auror. Despite an already strong reporting culture, Holland & Barrett saw an increase in reported events by 210% within the first quarter.

By reporting events using Auror’s structured and user-friendly platform, Holland & Barrett ensured colleagues could efficiently provide their investigations team with accurate, detailed intelligence.

Ease of use propelled adoption

In contrast to legacy case management systems, ease of use became the catalyst for Auror’s adoption. Shortly after launch, Holland & Barrett recorded a 210% increase in incident reporting.

Through Auror’s collaborative onboarding process, the transition from their legacy loss prevention system was swift and seamless. 

“There was a clear plan of what needed to be done and high engagement from the team at Auror, resulting in a quick and efficient launch.”
— Mark Williams, Head of Loss Prevention

Most importantly, team members feel safer coming to work as 4 in 5 reported that they feel more aware of events and offenders in their area since the launch.

“Auror has definitely made me feel safer because it’s made me aware of what else is going on around me. Knowing what certain shoplifters tend to go for — if we see them coming, we know exactly where they’re going to go.”
— Grace Sparks, Beauty Specialist

Dawn Joplin of Holland & Barrett’s Catterick location agreed, citing the newfound awareness of criminal networks near their site. 

“It's a great tool to keep updated on thefts in your own area, plus others as thieves do move around the country. So you can prevent as much as possible.”
—  Dawn Joplin, Holland & Barrett Catterick

Increased preventions, efficiency, and safety helped Holland & Barrett deliver on ROI

Using Auror’s intel to identify and connect repeat offenders, Holland & Barrett now works with law enforcement to target their most harmful offenders and achieve better outcomes.

Alongside improved safety and awareness, the business saw increased preventions and substantial time savings through optimized reporting:

• 24 minutes of store team time saved per report
  
• 14% reduction in retail crime events QoQ, versus a 7% increase industry-wide
  
• Over 1,000 repeat offenders identified
  
• Multiple arrests made, including three individuals responsible for £16K across 22 incidents

“Auror allows us to interface most effectively and efficiently, providing us the one true version of events.”
— Mark Williams, Head of Loss Prevention

Digital evidence in Auror is leading to easier identification

Holland & Barrett greatly improved its reporting by leveraging Auror’s easy image upload for easier offender identification — something not previously possible using traditional tools.

Since onboarding, 80% of events now have images attached.

“It makes such a difference — we can now add photos. We couldn't do that before, and now we can identify not only our own, but local offenders from other stores too.”
— London Store Manager

Descriptions alone can be subjective, but including a photo eliminates ambiguity. It helps staff responsibly identify offenders and ensures that Holland & Barrett can provide accurate intelligence to law enforcement.

“The images on Auror are incredibly powerful in building investigations.”
— Mark Williams, Head of Loss Prevention

Working in partnership with police

As a direct result of Auror’s success, Holland & Barrett executives issued an open letter to UK policing, encouraging increased collaboration against retail crime.

“The positive impact [Auror] has had on our business [has] provided detailed evidence for multiple convictions including deportations.”
— Dana Rough, Regional Loss Prevention Advisor

In just six months:

• 8,000+ incidents were reported in Auror
• An organized crime group targeting Probio7 was identified
• 15 events across the UK were connected, valued at £10K 
• Two three-year prison sentences were made for repeat offenders

“Auror has been a really useful resource in helping the company collate and use information to share with the business, The Auror platform is a great tool for collaborating with the local Police forces in providing evidence of shoplifting. The Auror platform has helped in preventing or identifying prolific shoplifters from stealing as colleagues can review incidents and alert others to watch out for these individuals.” 
‍— Stephen Wiltshire, Loss Prevention Advisor

Holland & Barrett’s Mark Williams, Head of Loss Prevention, says Auror will revolutionize an LP team’s ability to demonstrate their work, enhance store engagement with LP, provide unprecedented visibility of new and existing offenders, and ultimately make stores safer.