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global eyes
POSA targets
retail theft
Lowe’s gets
are also expected to offer a selection of Petco’s pet services – including Vetco vaccination clinics, microchipping, prescription pest prevention, and mobile grooming at select times and locations
According to the National Retail Foundation’s Organized Retail Crime Survey, the toll from organized retail crime continues to be a serious problem for American retailers, with the average loss put at almost US$720,000 per US$1 billion in sales.
Organised retail crime continues to pose a serious threat to retailers, with three quarters of store victims saying they’ve seen an increase over the past 12 months and 60% saying they’d like to see federal law combatting the problem.
The Home Depot is already on the front foot with shoplifting, with its Point of Sale Activation (POSA) deterrent.
Similar to how a gift card is activated at checkout, The Home Depot’s POSA scheme requires certain products to be scanned at the register before they will work.
“Retailers that try to stop theft in a meaningful way must find a balance between effective security and protecting the customer experience
for honest shoppers,” says Scott Glenn, Vice President of Asset Protection at The Home Depot. “It’s this challenge behind the innovative and creative approaches our team is taking.”
POSA is powered by Bluetooth technology that’s built into certain products with an on/off switch that must be activated at the register.
If that doesn’t happen, the product won’t turn on, so it has no value until someone pays for it.
The Home Depot’s POSA program is currently being tested in stores around the US and, with positive customer reactions, it’s likely that the program will be rolled out to more stores and potentially more product categories.
www.homedepot.com
into pet care,
Home Depot
– and be staffed knowledgeable Petco partners (employees) during peak hours.
gets further
Meanwhile, over at The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer is enhancing its commercial credit offerings for pro customers with the Pro Xtra credit card, a new iteration of its Commercial Revolving Charge,
as well as updates to its Commercial Account Card, both powered by Citi Retail Services.
The Pro Xtra credit card can be linked with the Pro Xtra loyalty program to earn registered users Pro Xtra Perks four times faster on card purchases.
To help ease the shopping and billing process, the Pro Xtra Credit Card also allows cards to be issued to entrusted employees to make purchases on their behalf, an extended return period of up to a full year (four times longer than a non-commercial credit purchase), easy- to-read itemized billing statements and simplified purchase tracking and online account management.
www.lowes.com/petco www.homedepot.com
into the pros
IT’S A RECOGNISED fact that interest in pets and spending on their care has risen substantially during the Covid pandemic.
As a result, Lowe’s is teaming up
with the Nasdaq-listed Petco Health
& Wellness Company to trial a store- in-store program that brings trusted products, services and expertise to select Lowe’s locations.
The first Lowe’s + Petco store-in-store concept opens this month in Texas, at Lowe’s Alamo Ranch store, and plans are to expand this cooperation to 14 other Lowe’s locations in Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina by the end of March.
Over the past two years, says Lowe’s, Americans have found more comfort, security and emotional connection through their homes and pets than ever before.
Indeed, over 11 million new pets have entered US homes since
the start of the pandemic and a survey by Lowe’s shows that 67% of respondents have found their greatest comfort from their pets during these difficult times while nearly half found that comfort in their homes.
In addition to Petco’s pet-friendly products, Lowe’s + Petco locations
36 NZHJ | FEBRUARY 2022
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