Rouses, one of the largest independent grocers and fastest-growing family-owned companies in the United States, employs more than 6,700 employees in its 65 stores across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. 

Inventory shrink from theft, shoplifting, and fraud costs the U.S. retail economy $46.8 billion – or an average of 1.33 percent of sales – last year alone, with loss from annual merchandise return fraud topping $18.4 billion, and fraud and abuse combined estimated at $24 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

The challenge

Returns fraud proved to be a significant source of losses, with customers fraudulently returning items they had never paid for. Other loss prevention challenges included frivolous slip-and-fall litigation and the inability to track vendor activity. 

Losses from fraud and slip-and-fall lawsuits – among other sources – have hurt bottom lines, impeded employee morale, and threatened in-store safety. Times are challenging for brick and mortar retailers, and Rouses was no exception. 

The company was in search of a solution to deter fraud, track store operations, and manage vendor activity.

Introducing IDWare Profit

Rouses Market  partnered with ID scanning leader IDScan.net to create an ID verification  system that would help track returns and alert store management if an individual crossed pre-set thresholds for return frequency. The same system was further configured to track vendor visits using ID scanning, to allow for Rosues to more accurately track discrepandies in deliveries.

IDWare Profit has provided Rouses executives and store managers with actionable business intelligence making it possible for them to accurately assess situations in real-time and share important data across stores.

Rouses requirements & objectives

• Easy-to-implement – no IT or T-Log integration required
• Multi-functional – a single application to manage many functions
• Highly configurable – management and employees can set return parameters and modify timers as needed
• Cloud-based – for visibility across and between all store locations
• Decrease or eliminate return fraud
• Empower store managers to make informed decisions in real-time using data
• Enable sharing of critical data amongst stores
• Manage and prevent additional losses related to vendor visits and routine operations
• Ensure compliance with store operations and applicable laws

Outcomes

“We saw a 36% reduction in merchandise returns in our five pilot stores during the first five weeks while other stores in the area saw an increase in returns during the same period, It’s clear the solution is not only catching fraud, it’s deterring it. The solution is much more than paying for itself, so we’re deploying IDWare Profit across all our stores.”

Barton Howard, Rouses Vice President, Asset and Profit Protection

• 36% reduction in total value of returns across five stores in the first five weeks of implementation.
• 5.7% of initiated returns were rejected by manager or abandoned by customer

As a result, Rouses has standardized their return process, changed behaviors, and deterred fraud. With IDWare Profit offered at an affordable per-location monthly rate, the solution paid for itself in less than 30 days. Moreover, by empowering employees and management with a tool to curb false returns, they no longer feel powerless dealing with theft and morale has noticeably improved.

IDScan.net’s solutions for the retail industry

We offer flexible, ID scanning solutions that help protect physical and digital retailers from identity fraud. Store managers, executives, and loss prevention teams rely on IDScan.net’s loss prevention solutions to improve customer interactions and protect stores, employees, and assets.Retailers can prevent fraudulent credit card transactions and returns at check-out as well as fraudulent credit card applications through identity verification. Catch fraudulent credit card transactions at checkout, making large purchases safer. And stop return fraud in its tracks by requiring ID scanning at your retail location.