Interface Systems, a leading provider of AI-powered security and expert remote video monitoring for restaurants, retailers, and commercial businesses, released its 2026 Retail Loss Prevention Benchmark Report. The annual study is based on 1.6 million remote monitoring events across 18,258 U.S. retail locations and 51 brands throughout 2025.
The report provides operational data at scale to help retail loss prevention leaders understand when risk peaks, which threats escalate fastest, and which intervention strategies prove most effective across thousands of monitored locations.
“Loss prevention teams are under more pressure than ever to protect people, reduce shrink, and justify every dollar spent on security. This report gives them the data and the confidence to make those decisions,”
said Brent Duncan, CEO of Interface Systems.
Key Data And Findings
Location Theft/Loss, Disturbances, and Loitering/Panhandling are the top retail threats by volume. Other threats tracked included criminal events, battery/assault, theft, property damage, robbery, and medical emergencies.
Retail risk is predictable. Store opening times recorded a 363% spike in security incidents and peak volume of incidents are recorded between 6 and 8 PM. Sundays and Mondays combined account for 30% of weekly incident volume, while Thursdays carry the highest police dispatch rate of the week.
Interactive remote video monitoring reduces escalation. 62.4% of high-priority security events were resolved without police dispatch when interactive remote video monitoring was deployed. Voice-down intervention, where a trained intervention specialist communicates in real time through on-site speakers, resolved 99.7% of employee assistance requests without law enforcement involvement.
Video verification eliminates false alarms. 95% of alarm events were identified as false alarms through live video verification and resolved without dispatch.
Employee vulnerability peaks at transitions, not peak hours. Of the 1.1 million employee assistance requests logged in 2025, demand was highest at 10 AM (97,432 requests) and peaked at 7 PM (146,672 requests), aligning with store opening and closing times.
Loitering and disturbances have higher rates of escalation. Loitering and disturbances have a consistently high dispatch rate ranging from 65-82%. Both categories peak daily between 6 and 8 PM, the same window as overall incident volume.
The day before a holiday carries more risk than the actual holiday itself. Pre-holiday days averaged 148 incidents versus 138 on actual holidays, representing a 5.5% incident drop on holiday.
AI-Enabled Perimeter Protection Resolves 96.1%
The report also includes performance data from Interface’s Virtual Perimeter Guard, an AI-powered perimeter security solution that combines autonomous detection with expert human monitoring from Interface’s Interactive Security Operations Centers (iSOCs).
Across 29 distributed locations, Virtual Perimeter Guard Units were activated 23,810 times, resolved 96.1% of perimeter threats automatically through a staged voice-down protocol, and escalated 4% of the events to a live intervention specialist. Just one police dispatch was recorded across all 23,810 activations. The full breakdown of the activation stages and resolution rates is included in the report.
Download The Full Report
The complete 2026 Retail Loss Prevention Benchmark Report is available now at https://interfacesystems.com/remote-video-monitoring/2026-retail-loss-prevention-benchmark-report. The full report includes detailed charts, segment analyses across discount retail and jewelry formats, and actionable takeaways for loss prevention leaders.
Loss prevention leaders can also request a free security assessment to benchmark their incident profile and identify where interactive remote video monitoring and AI-enabled perimeter deterrence can reduce risk at their locations. Schedule a free security assessment: https://interfacesystems.com/free-security-risk-assessment/
Interface Systems combines AI-powered technologies with expert remote video monitoring by trained intervention specialists from its US-based Interactive Security Operations Centers (iSOCs). The company’s solutions span interactive remote video monitoring, managed alarms and access control, video intelligence, and managed network and voice services.
Internal Links URLs
https://security.world/ai-retail-security
External Links URLs
https://interfacesystems.com/remote-video-monitoring/2026-retail-loss-prevention-benchmark-report
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the Interface Systems Retail Loss Prevention Report?
It is an annual study analyzing millions of monitoring events to provide insights into retail security risks and performance.
2. What are the top threats identified in the report?
Theft/loss, disturbances, and loitering/panhandling are the most common threats.
3. How effective is remote video monitoring?
It resolved 62.4% of high-priority incidents without police dispatch and reduced escalation significantly.
4. What role does AI play in the report findings?
AI-enabled perimeter protection resolved 96.1% of threats automatically with minimal human intervention.
5. When do retail security risks peak?
Risks peak during store openings, evenings between 6–8 PM, and on pre-holiday days.