Rise of the nasty customer: What retailers can do to protect store associates

Retail workers are facing an alarming rise in aggressive and abusive behavior from customers, leading to a decline in morale and increased turnover. This article explores the root causes behind the growing hostility, including heightened stress and post-pandemic societal shifts. It also outlines actionable steps retailers can take—from staff training to store policy changes—to protect their frontline associates and create a safer work environment.

Retail Customer Experience

C&S Wholesale Grocers acquiring SpartanNash

C&S Wholesale Grocers is set to acquire SpartanNash in a move that could significantly reshape the U.S. grocery distribution landscape. The deal signals aggressive consolidation amid rising competition, supply chain challenges, and evolving consumer habits. If approved, the acquisition will strengthen C&S’s market position and expand its operational footprint across the country.

Food Business News

How Can Security Professionals Future-Proof Their Skillsets?

As threats evolve and technology accelerates, security professionals are being urged to diversify their skills to stay relevant. The article emphasizes the need for continuous learning in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, and data analysis. Building these future-proof skillsets will be essential for professionals looking to lead in an increasingly complex and digitized security landscape.

Security Informed

Six trends in the future of retail

Bain & Company identifies six transformative trends reshaping the retail sector, including AI adoption, sustainability, and the redefinition of omnichannel strategies. The report emphasizes that brands must embrace agility and digital innovation to thrive amid rapid consumer behavior shifts. Retailers that fail to adapt risk being left behind in a market driven by personalization, technology, and operational efficiency.

Bain & Company

Walmart employee in custody after shooting coworker at store

A Walmart employee in Nebraska is in custody after allegedly shooting a coworker inside the store during an altercation. The incident highlights growing concerns around workplace violence in retail environments. Authorities are continuing their investigation, as the store community grapples with the aftermath of the shocking event.

WMC Gray News

At this year’s NRF PROTECT, TalkLPnews brought the heat with our on-site podcast booth!

Industry leaders weren’t just invited, they were challenged. One by one, retail executives, solution providers, and thought leaders took a seat in the TalkLPnews hot seat for conversations that were anything but scripted.

No pre-approved questions. No corporate fluff. Just real talk about the biggest issues facing the retail loss prevention and asset protection industry.

Whether it was tackling organized retail crime, emerging technologies, or the future of workplace safety, each guest brought insight, candor, and energy to the mic.

Because at TalkLPnews, we don’t do sound bites.
We do unscripted.

🎧 Stay tuned! These episodes are ones you won’t want to miss:

Craig Greenberg | Gatekeeper Systems

Tom Meehan | CONTROLTEK

David Shugan | Victra

Bob Oberosler | SAFR

Jeff Cox | Public Storage

Not all vendors are created equal. At APEX, we’re unpacking what truly separates a basic "vendor" from a true strategic partner and why that distinction matters more than ever in today’s retail environment.

Don’t miss this thought-provoking session designed to challenge expectations and raise the bar.

Domestic violence in
the workplace: When
the laws don’t work

The World Health Organization estimates that around one in three women will experience domestic violence (DV) in their lifetime.

DV is a harmful pattern of behavior used to gain control over an intimate partner.

Victims can suffer physical, psychological, sexual, economic or emotional harms.

It's also a major cause of lost income and employment opportunities globally.

Lowy Institute

Two women arrested after assaulting a store employee during a retail theft in Irvine

When the employee confronted the suspect, she kicked the employee in the head.

A friend of the suspect also joined in the assault while young children were present and fled.

Detectives identified the suspects as Jennifer Rosenberger, 20, from Brea, and Emily Castaneda Baez, 20, out of Compton.

This week, both were arrested for various charges, including robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and child endangerment.

New Santa Ana

Research: many consumers deliberately abusing online returns policies amid tough times

RTIH

Safe and Open: Rethinking Retail Loss Prevention Without Compromising the Experience

Retail shrink is rising—and so is shopper frustration. Retailers are under pressure to secure their stores without turning them into high-friction spaces. In our newest article, we discuss how Purchek® technology and FaceFirst work together to prevent theft without blocking access to products or harming the customer experience.

From cart-based theft prevention to real-time offender alerts, these smart, discreet technologies offer proactive protection while supporting safer, more efficient operations.

Explore how you can move beyond locked cases and toward a future that’s both secure and shopper-friendly.

📍 Join us at NRF PROTECT 2025 to explore how we’re reshaping retail safety.
🗓️ June 23–25 | Booth 622 (Gatekeeper Systems) & Booth 308 (FaceFirst)

Why smart barcode technology matters in retail

Smart barcode technology is revolutionizing grocery retail by enhancing inventory accuracy, reducing waste, and streamlining operations.

This article explores how next-generation barcodes—paired with real-time data—enable retailers to track product freshness, improve stock rotation, and boost sustainability efforts.

As retailers face rising margin pressures, smart barcodes offer a scalable, data-driven solution to modern retail challenges.

The Grocer

RFID Technology Improves Inventory Management and Pays Additional Dividends

The U.S. retail landscape remains uneven, with strong consumer spending in categories like motor vehicles, parts, and building materials—likely driven by pre-tariff buying behavior—while furniture stores experienced a nearly 1% month-over-month decline.

The National Retail Federation projects slower consumer spending growth in the near term due to inflation and tariff concerns. 

HFA

New tech must be carefully managed to keep workers safe: report

Proactive policies are needed to ensure technologies such as artificial intelligence, digitalization, robotics and automation are implemented safely and equitably, according to the International Labor Organization.

For its report titled, Revolutionizing Health and Safety: The role of AI and digitalization at work, ILO reviewed policies and practices, interviewed key informants and conducted an in-depth desk review.

S+H

Executive Team Leader Assets Protection - Target

Assets Protection (AP) teams' function to keep our guests, team and brand safe and secure and lead through crisis events. They protect profitable sales by mitigating shortage risks, preventing, investigating and resolving theft and fraud to ensure product is available for our guest.

Fortifying Retail Security: Practical Steps to Prevent Cyberattacks 

Security Boulevard

Companies to Radically Improve Operations Amid to Current Turmoil: Study

Retailers are encouraged to take bold, immediate action as global trade policies shift and economic pressures mount, according to a report released by Alvarez & Marsal’s Consumer and Retail Group.

“We are in a false moment of calm, but July 9 is right around the corner. While the latest quarterly results may not yet show the impact, companies that fail to act now will see tariffs hit hard in the quarters ahead,” says Joanna Rangarajan, managing director in Alvarez & Marsal’s Consumer and Retail Group and co-author of the study.

SDC Executive