Inside NRF Protect 2025: Why US retailers are abandoning asset protection tech in favor of AI-powered prevention

If there’s one thing I took away from NRF Protect 2025, it’s this: Loss prevention tech isn't keeping pace with what US retailers actually need.

Retailers today don’t just want to lock up their products or track theft. They want to prevent crime and protect the people and communities impacted by it. That means protecting store teams, shoppers, and the neighborhoods they serve along with protecting products.

The best platforms today are powering prevention networks: retailers, law enforcement, and communities working together on a shared mission. In Auror, nearly two-thirds (63%) of retail crimes entered in Auror result in a positive outcome. That’s not a coincidence, that’s what happens when prevention is built in.

At NRF Protect, this shift was clear — in sessions like 50 in 5, in the stories shared by LP leaders, and in feedback from those who experienced our Next-Gen Room.

Here’s what US retailers are really asking for, and why rebranded legacy LP tech isn’t getting it done.

1. Legacy LP systems create more work, AI takes it away

Most LP systems in use today were designed for an earlier era, and now they’re slowing retail teams down. In a retail environment where teams are stretched thin, manual tools are a liability.

At NRF Protect, we heard a clear demand for smarter tools. AI-powered image matching, voice-to-report, video-to-report — all designed to save time and reduce friction. Not someday, now. That kind of time-saving innovation isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s a must.

“The picture capture[s] filling out the incident form, that AI is truly, truly phenomenal… Anything that saves our field folks even one minute of time is truly life-changing to them.”

— AP leader at a global outdoor retailer

2. Traditional loss prevention tools stop at the store. Harm doesn’t.

ORC doesn’t care about state lines or store walls, and neither should your tech. 

One theme that came through loud and clear: it’s still far too hard to share evidence with law enforcement and other retailers. Building a case takes hours. Getting it into the right hands takes longer. And often, nothing happens.

But we aren’t just talking about case management or even loss prevention anymore. This is crime prevention at scale. Ulta Beauty’s leadership understand this, in our 50 in 5 session at NRF Protect, Dan Petrousek, Sr. Vice President, Loss Prevention at Ulta Beauty, shared:

“Partnership with law enforcement… you really do have to build that into your strategy... how do we help them help us?”

With tools like the Retail Crime Hub and our Axon integration, that bottleneck disappears. Retailers are sending complete case files with a click — and actually progressing those cases.

"The ease of getting the data into the platform and then sharing that data with law enforcement… end to end."

— Director, Corporate Asset Protection at a major US retailer on Auror’s Retail Crime Hub

3. Old-school reporting tools lose the story and the facts

Store staff shouldn’t have to juggle nonintegrated reporting systems, audit apps, video platforms, and law enforcement portals on top of dealing with daily aggression. That’s not just hard, it’s unrealistic. And it leads to bad data and burnout.

Tools like Voice Event Reporting and video-to-report are changing how we capture what happened — more accurately and with far less admin work. 

In Auror’s Next-Gen Room at NRF Protect 2025, retailers said the same thing: 

“We’re losing truth in translation. That’s why tools like voice and video-to-report resonated so strongly."

— Iona Blake, UK Security Manager, bp on Auror’s Voice Event Reporting and video-to-report

Retailers need a single, connected platform that brings it all together.

"You think about the agencies that are out there... 18,000 jurisdictions... for me as a director, I really see the ability to utilize one platform, a single platform, to be able to close that gap really quickly."

— Director of Retail Asset Protection at a global apparel retailer

4. Most audit tools create checklists, not safety

US retailers told us their audit tools aren’t delivering. Too many are still stuck in spreadsheets or siloed apps that aren’t connected to any real decision-making.

What they want is clear: audits that help them see risk, drive action, and improve outcomes. Less paperwork, more progress.

"The product that I'm very excited about coming out soon is the Audit process... [it] keeps us from having to use multiple platforms. We can keep it all in one location."

— Chris Vandiver, Director of Loss Prevention, Cosentino's Food Stores

With Audits by Auror, safety insights are connected directly to your crime intelligence platform, which means audits stop being an admin burden and start being a safety tool.

5. Most LP tech is built to react, not prevent

Too many legacy LP systems are designed to kick in after the harm has happened — after a case is built, after a suspect is identified, after the team is already behind.

But at NRF Protect’s ORC Investigators’ Network & Law Enforcement Lunch, we heard a different message: prevention starts with early collaboration.

Retailers shared how working closely with law enforcement at the start of a case, not the end, changes everything.

Crime prevention is not just about sending a report. It’s about building a shared strategy.

This kind of alignment doesn’t happen by accident. Retailers and law enforcement need a shared space like the Retail Crime Hub and tools like Auror's Collaborate to work together on investigations.

Because once you’re reacting, it’s already too late.

Final word: From loss prevention to people-first protection

If the category of “loss prevention” is starting to feel too small, it’s because the job has gotten bigger.

It’s not just about shrink. It’s about safety. It’s about trust. It’s about protecting the places where we work, shop, and live, and the people at the center of all of it.

At Auror, we’re proud to continue building the platform that helps retailers do exactly that:
Not just protect what’s inside the store, but make the community outside it safer, too.

"It's something that I wish I had in a previous retail life because I spent numerous hours trying to put together a case and really piece-meal it together... it’s a game-changer."

— Director, Corporate Asset Protection at a major US retailer on Auror’s Retail Crime Hub and Collaboration capabilities

If you're ready to move beyond managing loss and start preventing harm, let’s talk.

👉 Request a meeting to see Auror in action

Let’s build safer stores and stronger communities, together.