In the battle against retail shrinkage, is your data the real culprit?
Retail theft has become a widespread issue across Canada, with shrinkage now accounting for 1.5% of total retail sales, almost doubling from $5 billion in 2018 to $9 billion today, according to a 2025 report by the Retail Council of Canada. For convenience-gas retailers operating on thin margins, this shrinkage is not just a security issue, it is a direct threat to profitability, inventory accuracy and customer satisfaction.
While many operators continue investing in guards, cameras, smart gates and new in-store policies to prevent shoplifting, these efforts overlook a critical gap: the systems and mobile devices that power daily operations. From 2026 research by Efficient Consumer Response, over 60% of inventory records contain inaccuracies due to incomplete data. Without real-time visibility into inventory and transactions, retailers risk making decisions based on inaccurate data.
Shrinkage isn’t just from theft, but broken data too
Retail shrinkage is not only about products walking out the door; it is about retailers losing operational visibility. Historically, much of this loss was addressed as a physical security issue, focused on preventing theft. Today, however, inaccurate and incomplete data is emerging as a critical driver of shrinkage, making it a data integrity challenge as much as a security one.
Every stolen item creates a ripple effect in inventory data. If company data says a product is on the shelf after being stolen, automated systems won't reorder it. This results in stockouts, broken supply chains and frustrated customers, especially in convenience-gas stores, where items like snacks, beverages and lottery products are high-demand.
As a result, shrinkage becomes a data integrity issue that compounds the loss by directly impacting forecasting, replenishment and overall store performance.
The most overlooked risk: mobile devices
Mobile devices sit at the centre of modern retail operations, supporting inventory checks, receiving shipments, price changes, mobile POS, fuel sales reconciliation and real-time communication. When these devices are not properly managed, they introduce unseen operational risk, instead of serving as critical sources of operational intelligence.
Retailers depend on accurate, real-time data to make decisions across inventory, staffing and replenishment. Unmapped devices, outdated software or shared logins create gaps in visibility, turning real-time insights into unreliable data. And when data cannot be trusted, discrepancies go unnoticed, issues take longer to resolve and shrink becomes harder to control.
As retailers deploy more front-line tech, device security must become a core loss-prevention strategy, not just an IT ticket. Retailers investing in protecting their stores and inventory cannot afford to leave a digital back door open by neglecting the very devices that power their operational data.
Balancing efficiency and accountability in shared device environments
An audit trail is only as good as its data sources. When multiple employees share a single device under a generic, unified login, operational accountability vanishes. If an item is incorrectly marked as received, adjusted or transferred, there’s no way to trace that action back to a specific user.
In a fast-paced retail environment, these micro-errors snowball quickly. Without strict device-level controls, it is not just physical shrink, it is data decay that cripples decision-making.
What happens next?
To close these gaps and strengthen operational control, convenience–gas retailers should focus on a few key actions.
- Audit where common inventory data gaps occur: By identifying moments where data is most likely to slip allows for future planning to help prevent those reoccurring loses. This can be different based on the organization whether it happens during busy periods like deliveries or even something as small as a shift handoff.
- Treat devices as a risk: Setting alerts for offline devices, app crashes during routine inventory operations and delayed updates can help identify and correct the error as quickly as possible.
- Build an environment for shared devices not shared logins: Requiring individual employee logins allows you to easily track who is receiving inventory changing prices and reconciling fuel. This protects sensitive data.
- Prioritize real-time analytics: Operational intelligence powered by real-time data and device metrics helps store leaders identify issues early and resolve them before they turn into larger losses.
- Standardize workflows: Build simple workflows for vendor shipments, stock counts and flag damaged and missing goods on a regular basis. More consistent processes build cleaner and more consistent data, making shrink easy to spot.
The bottom line
Retail theft is rising and the convenience–gas channel is on the front lines. But focusing solely on physical deterrence is not the solution. The real opportunity lies in building trusted, fully connected operations and strengthening the digital systems that track every product, transaction and shift.
Shrink starts with data. If the data is compromised, so is everything else.
Joel Mathew, manager of product management at SOTI, has been a key driver of innovation for over a decade at SOTI. A graduate of McMaster University with a Bachelor of Software Engineering, he combines his technical expertise and leadership skills to shape the future of mobile and IoT solutions for the mobile workforce. Today, he leads a team of product managers, guiding product strategy to deliver exceptional customer value, strengthen partner relationships and drive strategic innovation.