by Neha Narula | 10/30/2025
Retail shrink has long been the industry’s silent tax: costly, persistent, and difficult to measure. That narrative is beginning to shift. Findings from VDC’s new Loss Prevention Report show measurable progress, with shrink declining from 2024 to 2025 and delivering more than 15 billion dollars in recovered revenue for U.S. retailers. This improvement reflects the growing influence of data-driven, intelligence-led loss prevention strategies grounded in technology, analytics, and operational visibility.
Retailers are redefining loss prevention as a source of insight rather than a reactive safeguard. With computer vision, AI analytics, and RFID, loss prevention has become a data engine that powers smarter, faster retail operations. By understanding when, where, and why loss occurs, retailers can uncover patterns, streamline checkout, and link shrink trends directly to customer behavior and store performance.
AI-powered systems now play an important role in this transformation. They can reduce losses, accelerate transactions, and enhance store efficiency. Sam’s Club’s AI-driven exit verification, for example, has shortened exit times by more than 20%, while major grocers are using computer vision at self-checkout to detect missed scans in real time. These examples illustrate how loss prevention technologies can improve both accuracy and efficiency without disrupting the shopping experience.
RFID technology has reemerged as a foundation for retail visibility. Once focused solely on inventory control, RFID is now a key part of loss prevention. More than 90% of retailers say real-time inventory accuracy is essential to achieving their loss prevention goals, and 93% see value in integrating RFID with LP platforms. This integration helps retailers pinpoint stolen items immediately, automate replenishment, and share intelligence with law enforcement to prevent repeat incidents.
Self-checkout remains one of the most persistent sources of retail shrink. Nearly 70% of retailers identify it as a top challenge, with barcode switching and concealed items among the most common causes. In response, retailers are refining their self-checkout strategies by tightening policies, limiting basket sizes, and deploying vision-based monitoring systems to detect high-risk behavior automatically. The result is a more structured, technology-enabled approach to self-service that safeguards margins while maintaining convenience.
Loss prevention is evolving into a strategic discipline focused on visibility, foresight, and continuous improvement. The most advanced retailers are using loss data to strengthen operations, refine processes, and anticipate risk. What was once viewed as an unavoidable cost is becoming a measurable source of operational intelligence and competitive advantage.
To learn more about the market dynamics and vendor ecosystem shaping next-generation loss prevention, download the Executive Brief.