Three truths about retail loss prevention today: key themes from Auror Connect Australia 2025

The retail landscape is not merely changing – it is under more violent and aggressive threats every day. Data from Auror’s platform shows the number of serious events, which includes robbery and assault, reported by Australian retailers increased by 42% in 2024. The number of events reported with weapons increased by a staggering 66%.

These aren't just statistics – they're red flags that need to be addressed through a focus on safety, collaboration, and embracing innovation. 

This theme was the focus of Auror Connect Australia 2025, Auror’s annual event that serves as an empowering community-focused gathering of retail loss prevention professionals, law enforcement, and industry leaders across Australia. It offers a vital place for them to reflect, learn, and connect with each other while celebrating each other’s achievements. 

Through insights shared at the 2025 event, these are the three key truths shaping retail loss prevention today.

The true cost of retail crime goes beyond shrink

In today’s retail environment, it is no longer enough in loss prevention to focus only on ways to reduce inventory shrink. Daily threats to people’s safety mean what was once thought of as a “victimless crime”, now has much broader implications than just financial loss.

This was a message that was particularly strong during the law enforcement panel discussion, with all speakers stressing the importance of changing the conversation around what the true impact of retail crime is.

One speaker said their number one priority through their police operation targeting high-harm people is safety.

“This is not about improving the bottom line for business – that will be a byproduct. It’s about stopping harmful people going [to shops] and making people feel unsafe.” 

Another speaker talked about an operation their police force created to address violent, aggressive and intimidating shop theft. They received regular stories of retail workers being met with daily physical violence, verbal threats, and weapons. 

“We’re hearing stories of people never returning to retail,” they said.

Since the beginning of this operation, they have seen a 20 to 25 percent drop in offending, showing the power of targeting the people causing the most harm. 

Creating safer retail environments for workers and customers alike is the core focus of the 50 in 5 mission, announced by Auror CEO Phil Thomson earlier in 2025, and reiterated at Auror Connect Australia. 

This collective mission to reduce violent retail crime by 50% in five years underscores the crucial need to move beyond financial loss when talking about loss prevention, and prioritize the safety of retail workers, customers, and the wider community.

A united front has never been more important

Reducing violent retail crime cannot happen in a vacuum and collaboration is critical not just to the 50 in 5 mission, but to loss prevention in general. This means removing the silos that traditionally go up around loss prevention and replacing it with retailers, law enforcement, and industry organizations all working together as a united front against retail crime.

Speakers at Auror Connect shared how they collaborate and the results they have achieved through working together with other retailers and police.

One loss prevention professional from a large Australian retailer said their biggest lesson so far has been learning what makes truly effective collaboration.

“The best way to get anything out of collaboration is to treat it as a partnership rather than a transaction. We focus on what we can bring to the table, rather than what [the other party] cannot.”

As one law enforcement leader said during their panel discussion, it needs to be a joint effort.

“It’s not just the retailers, it’s not just the police. It’s a community response. Everyone in the community has a role to play in this.”

The celebration of collaboration is important too, with Phil Thomson highlighting a handful of incredible outcomes that have come as a result of retailers and police working together. 

One was a high-profile operation that dismantled a crime group that had allegedly stolen A$10 million worth of items. Another police operation uncovered $466,000 worth of gift cards used in gift card fraud. Yet another operation involved $1.2M worth of counterfeit Apple products being taken.

Key to these outcomes was the consistent work put in by retail teams to report events with quality evidence, correctly identify people and connect them to events, and report crimes to police. 

These are the sorts of results that can come from collaboration, showing that a sense of purpose plus community is a powerful combination against retail crime.

Escalating retail crime needs tech-driven solutions

Keeping up with the pace of retail crime and collaborating in real-time requires the right technology that actually works. This is why innovative tools and live intelligence are crucial in today’s landscape. 

Auror Chief Product Officer Tanya Johnson took the audience on a journey of some of the top product features released in the past year. This included: 

• Suggested Investigations, which helps teams surface investigation opportunities.
• Collaborate, which enables retailers impacted by the same people of interest to securely connect and collaborate with each other and with police.
• Voice Reporting, which is helping to speed up frontline event reporting by creating events using natural speech. This feature has helped one team in the United Kingdom reduce their average reporting time from four minutes to just 40 seconds.
• Store audits, helping retailers complete better audits by simplifying in-store safety and compliance workflows.

Looking forward, much of the conversation revolves around AI. Tanya stressed that AI has the potential to be a powerful tool against retail crime, but only if it’s used responsibly. 

That’s why Auror’s AI usage builds on the platform’s principled foundations around privacy by design, transparency with users of the platform on when and how AI is used, and always keeping a human in the loop. 

These are the foundations underpinning Auror Subject Recognition (ASR). This feature is designed to give retailers who choose to use facial recognition technology the right safeguards, processes, and security so they can use the technology with transparency and integrity. 

ASR, along with other upcoming product features, is essential to driving down retail crime through tools that are faster, smarter, and more connected.

Continuing the path to safer stores through innovation and collaboration

The stories, insights, loss prevention trends, and outcomes shared at Auror Connect Australia are a testament to the community’s hard work and prove the enduring power of a united front against retail crime. 

Continuing to focus on safety as well as loss, foster industry and police partnerships, and embrace innovative technologies will help build on these achievements to create safer retail environments, and communities, for everyone. 

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