Happy 2021 to all of our readers and partners. 2020 was a different kind of year to be sure.

I’ve been watching the current trends and this industry is
rocking, as long as the product is available that is. Appliances, electronics, plumbing and furniture sales are up in all categories as consumers find their current products don’t meet their current needs. Looking at the state of things with the Covid situation, new categories have opened for sales although the products themselves have been around for a while.

In the appliance sector, companies like Liehberr, Summit, Frigidaire and Danby all have medical low temp freezers available that can be sold to the health care industry for vaccine storage. Laundry is also a category for hygiene that many businesses outside of your current customers are needing in order to handle PPE products (masks and cleaning materials. )

Plumbing Hygiene is another category that is taking off. Touchless faucets featuring electromagnetic sensors with a hands-free design and commercial foot pedal controls are starting to be specified more and more. Bidets are also a great option as an add-on sale to address current toilet paper issues.
Wellness, home security and outdoor dining are also great areas to invest in new products for resale. UV sanitizers, video surveillance and controls, gun safes and outdoor accessories like bar carts have all started to show up in retail offerings.

No matter in which category you sell or specify, there are many new revenue opportunities out there. You just have to find the correct clients with those needs and assist them in getting the products that can fulfill those niches. As we go into 2021, we will help facilitate you with news of these new products as they come available.

Happy Retailing, and be safe-
Moe Lastfogel
​moe@retailobserver.com

​By Moe Lastfogel
Director of Sales and Marketing for The Retail Observer

Yes, the Holiday Pirates have arrived, and they are giving consumers a bad name. These pirates come in all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, and cultural beliefs. No, they don’t have eye patches and peg legs or a parrot on their shoulder — yet they are still Pirates. Who are they and how do you know when one is in your store? You don’t, and that’s the problem. In the old days of looting pirates, at least you knew when they were coming. They would sail into your harbor, row ashore and fire a few shots off to make you run, and plunder and pillage with very little chance of escape, but at least you knew it was coming. Today these pirates have refined their stealing ways, as they no longer make noise and let you know they’re coming, yet there is no doubt they are present, as the numbers don’t lie.

Loss prevention continues to meet challenges on all fronts, from highly skilled cybercriminal operations to solo shoplifters who nimbly pocket low-value items. Overall, risk is becoming more of a priority to retailers, and that cuts a broad swath: ecommerce, return fraud and internal hazards. All areas have seen increases in prioritization from retailers, particularly in organized retail crime, cybercrime and ecommerce fraud.

The 2020 National Retail Security Survey finds shrink at an all-time high, accounting for 1.62% of a retailer’s bottom line — costing the industry $61.7 billion. It cuts deeply across the industry too, with seven in 10 reporting a shrink rate that exceeds 1%.

Increasing boldness on the part of shoplifters due to current unemployment, bail reforms and criminal justice reforms, more attempted theft without fear of consequences, gift card scams, self-checkout, mobile checkout, the frequency of phone scams which is way up, including activation of gift cards.

The National Retail Security Survey is an annual poll of loss prevention executives that benchmarks retail shrinkage and operational information about how retailers are combating losses. The survey also showed that the Consumer Electronics and Home Improvement side of Retail were the least affected, but it’s still something to look at. Proper training and setting up a task group to look into how secure your operation is are two suggestions that will help you begin your loss prevention program. I'm sure you can see the monetary reasons for making this a priority conversation.

Happy Retailing, Mates-
Moe Lastfogel
​moe@retailobserver.com