Shrinkage continues to be a considerable cost to the retail industry, with a recent estimate suggesting that globally it could be as much as $278 billion a year. In addition, it is a problem that has proved difficult to resolve, despite billions of dollars of investment every year in new technologies by loss-prevention practitioners. A relatively common approach to try to reduce the extent of the problem has been the application of electronic article surveillance tags to retail products, either in the form of a soft tag (increasingly applied at the point of manufacture) or a hard tag (usually applied in the store) to deter and detect shop thieves. This study looked at the experience of one retail company that decided to switch one of its divisions from using hard tags to source-applied soft tags on clothing sold in its stores. The results were dramatic, with a 250% increase in shrinkage after 12 months in the stores with the new source tag compared with existing stores using hard tags. The study raises important questions about the importance of creating visibility and the relative difficulty of removing the tag when using security devices if deterrence is to be achieved in retail stores and the overall cost effectiveness of using source tagging as a means to reduce shrinkage.

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Background: A growing number of people with diabetes are choosing to adopt do-it-yourself artificial pancreas system (DIYAPS) despite a lack of approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. We describe patients’ experiences using DIYAPS, and patient and diabetes providers’ perspectives on the use of such technology. Methods: We distributed surveys to patients and diabetes providers to assess each group’s perspectives on the use of DIYAPS. The patient survey also assessed glycemic control and impact on sleep. The patient survey was distributed in February 2019 via Facebook and Twitter ( n = 101). The provider survey was distributed via the American Association of Diabetes Educators’ e-mail newsletter in April 2019 and the Pediatric Endocrine Society membership e-mail list in May 2019 ( n = 152). Results: Patients overwhelmingly described improvements in glycemic control and sleep quality: 94% reported improvement in time in range, and 64% reported improvement in all five areas assessed. Eighty-nine percent of patients described DIYAPS as “Safe” or “Very Safe,” compared to only 27% of providers. Most felt encouraged by their diabetes provider to continue using DIYAPS, but few described providers as knowledgeable regarding its use. Providers cited a lack of experience with such systems and an inability to troubleshoot them as their most significant challenges. Conclusions: Despite evidence that DIYAPS usage is increasing, our surveys suggest that patients’ adoption of this technology and trust in it is outpacing that of diabetes providers. Providers must be aware of this growing population of patients and familiarize themselves with DIYAPS to support patients using this technology.

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