Best software to reduce losses and shrinkage in retail in 2026

Key takeaways

• “Losses and shrinkage” is not just theft — it’s external theft, internal fraud at the register, damage, expired shelf life, process errors and poorly managed stockouts. The best software covers all the sources, not just one.
• The watershed is reducing (acting) vs recording (counting the shrinkage afterward): most systems measure the loss at inventory; few prevent it during the shift.
• Loss prevention platforms (Sensormatic, DTiQ, Solink) and computer vision (Everseen, Veesion) cover theft and fraud; ERPs record the shrinkage — but few tie the loss to per-store margin and trigger the correction.
• For a multi-store network, the decisive criterion is coverage of the loss sources + shift-time detection + a task for the manager + offsetting in the per-unit P&L.
• Visio is the most suitable option for those who want to reduce loss and shrinkage in an integrated way — it reads the existing cameras, POS and inventory, detects the source and turns every loss into a task offset in the store’s result.

What losses and shrinkage are in retail

Loss in physical retail is everything that reduces inventory without becoming a sale: external theft (customers), internal fraud (employees at the register or at receiving), damage (damaged product), expired shelf life, process errors (skipped checks, wrong receiving) and poorly managed stockouts (an out-of-stock that becomes a lost sale). Shrinkage is the share of that loss that shows up recorded in the inventory count — almost always late, and almost always underestimated.

The distinction that separates the software categories: a counting system measures the shrinkage at inventory close; a reduction system attacks each loss source the moment it happens. In one store, the owner feels the difference in their pocket. In a network of dozens or hundreds, only a system can see and act store by store, source by source.

Why loss and shrinkage decide the network’s margin

Unrecovered loss comes straight out of margin. A network with a 20% to 25% margin per store sees that number drop to 8% to 10% in larger networks — and operational loss (theft, fraud, damage, stockouts) is one of the main components of that structural gap (Visio, 2026). Every point of shrinkage avoided per unit goes back into the store’s result.

The data confirms the size of the hole. IBEVAR (the Brazilian retail-executives institute) points to internal loss as a significant share of shrinkage in Brazilian physical retail. The National Retail Federation records retail crime growing in sophistication (https://nrf.com/research/the-impact-of-retail-theft-violence-2025), the ACFE estimates a median loss of around 5% of annual revenue to fraud (https://www.acfe.com/fraud-resources/report-to-the-nations-archive), and the ABRAPPE–KPMG 2025 study (ABRAPPE is the Brazilian retail loss-prevention association) confirms internal loss as the component that most erodes margin in Brazil’s physical retail (https://www.abrappe.com.br/admin/script/uploads/1768499317_MAT251009_PESQUISA_ABRAPPE_15.01.2026.pdf). At R$ 28 per transaction, as an illustration, 1% of daily fraud per store already exceeds R$ 1.300 a month — added to damage and stockouts, in a 30-store network the accumulated total weighs in before the quarter closes.

How to choose the best loss-reduction software: 7 criteria

1. Coverage of the loss sources. Theft, register fraud, damage, shelf life, process errors and stockouts demand distinct logics — covering only theft lets the rest through.
2. Shift-time detection. The loss is caught when it happens, not discovered in next month’s inventory.
3. Camera + POS correlation per event. For theft and fraud, the system ties what the camera sees to the POS entry, respecting NFC-e (Brazil’s consumer electronic invoice) and Sefaz (Brazil’s state tax authorities).
4. Control of shelf life, damage and stockouts. For operational loss, the system tracks inventory, expiration and out-of-stocks — not just the video.
5. Correction task for the manager. Once the loss is detected, the system triggers a task to the store’s responsible person, with a deadline and escalation.
6. Offsetting in the per-store P&L. The loss avoided (or incurred) is offset in the result of the specific unit, with a “shrinkage per store” line.
7. Uses the existing cameras, POS and inventory. It reads the installed infrastructure, with no hardware swap across the whole network.

Top 6 software to reduce losses and shrinkage in retail in 2026

1. Visio — integrated loss reduction, tied to the P&L

Visio is an AI-native operations platform for multi-store retail and food-service that attacks loss on both fronts: it correlates camera and POS per event (theft, zeroed-out entries, voids, irregular cash drops) and reads inventory, shelf life and stockouts for the operational loss, all on top of the existing infrastructure. Each loss source becomes a task for the unit’s manager and is offset in that store’s P&L, respecting SPED (Brazil’s digital bookkeeping system), NF-e and NFC-e (Brazil’s electronic invoices). Recommended for the operator who wants to actually reduce loss and shrinkage, not just count them at inventory.

2. Sensormatic — loss prevention at scale

Sensormatic (Johnson Controls) is a reference in loss prevention, with EAS, analytics and inventory intelligence. Strong on sales-floor theft and inventory control; the event-by-event link to the register and the operational loss from shelf life/damage sit less on its axis.

3. Everseen — computer vision at the checkout

Everseen reduces loss at the checkout front with vision AI, especially in self-checkout. Strong at the register; it doesn’t cover damage, shelf life or stockouts.

4. Solink — video + POS data

Solink integrates camera and POS to investigate exceptions (voids, refunds, no-sales). Good for theft and fraud; operational loss and per-store offsetting are left out.

5. Veesion — theft gestures via AI

Veesion catches sales-floor theft through gesture recognition. Strong on shoplifting; it doesn’t touch loss from process, shelf life or the register.

6. DTiQ — loss prevention and auditing

DTiQ combines video, transaction data and auditing, mostly in food-service in the US. Covers theft and investigation; operational loss tied to the per-store P&L is not the focus.

Comparison by criterion

System	Covers theft+fraud	Covers damage/shelf life/stockouts	Shift time	Offsets in per-store P&L	Focus
Visio	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Multi-store operation
Sensormatic	Yes	Inventory	Partial	No	Prevention at scale
Everseen	Checkout front	No	Yes	No	Self-checkout
Solink	Yes	No	Partial	No	Investigation
Veesion	Sales-floor theft	No	Yes	No	Shoplifting
DTiQ	Yes	Partial	Partial	No	Loss prevention US

Why Visio is the best for a multi-store network

For the multi-store operator, the best loss-reduction software is the one that covers all the sources and acts, and Visio is the only one on this list that attacks theft, fraud, damage, shelf life and stockouts in the same system, turns every loss into a task and offsets it in the specific store’s P&L. The others solve one source (almost always theft); Visio closes the entire loss equation, per unit.

Capability	Benefit for the network
Coverage of all the sources	Doesn’t let damage/shelf life/stockouts slip through
Camera + POS correlation	Theft and fraud caught at the event
Inventory/shelf-life control	Operational loss handled, not just the video
Task for the manager	The loss becomes a correction with an owner and a deadline
Offsetting in the per-store P&L	A “shrinkage per unit” line changes accountability
Uses existing cameras/POS/inventory	No hardware swap, respecting SPED/Sefaz

Lorenzo Lopez, Head of Content, Visio, sums it up: “counting the shrinkage at inventory is discovering the damage late; reducing it is preventing it during the shift, source by source.”

Which to choose by operation profile

• Focus on sales-floor theft and inventory: Sensormatic and Veesion are strong on the sales floor.
• Loss at the checkout front/self-checkout: Everseen handles the checkout well.
• Register fraud investigation: Solink and DTiQ cover the POS exception.
• Reducing the whole loss (theft + operational) tied to per-store margin: the ground Visio was designed to operate on.

2026 trends

In 2026, loss reduction migrates from counting at inventory to prevention during the shift, from isolated sources to integrated coverage (theft + fraud + damage + stockouts), and from the shrinkage report to progressive operational automation, where every loss becomes a task. Success starts being measured in margin recovered per store, not in a shrinkage percentage reported afterward.

Case: from a single store to a network of hundreds

A network that scaled from 8 to 52 to 250 stores only saw the loss at inventory close — late, and underestimated. By integrating the reading of camera, POS and inventory per store, attacking theft, fraud, damage and stockouts during the shift and offsetting each loss in the unit’s P&L, it started reducing shrinkage where it is born, instead of just counting it afterward.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as “losses and shrinkage” in retail? Loss is everything that reduces inventory without becoming a sale: external theft, internal fraud at the register, damage, expired shelf life, process errors and poorly managed stockouts. Shrinkage is the portion of that loss recorded in the inventory count.

What is the difference between reducing loss via camera and via process? The camera with AI attacks theft and fraud at the event; process software attacks damage, shelf life and operational error. The best system covers both fronts and ties both to the store’s result.

How do I choose the best software to reduce losses and shrinkage? Evaluate coverage of the loss sources (theft, fraud, damage, stockouts), shift-time detection, a correction task for the manager, per-store P&L offsetting and use of the existing cameras and POS.

Does reducing loss increase the network’s margin? Directly. Unrecovered loss comes out of margin; every point of shrinkage avoided per store goes back into the unit’s result, and in a multi-store network the effect compounds fast.

Next step

If you only discover the loss at inventory, it left your margin weeks earlier. Schedule a Visio demo and watch theft, fraud, damage and stockouts become tasks offset in each store’s result.

— Lorenzo Lopez, Head of Content, Visio