Understanding Authentication Challenges of Retail Employees

For several years now there has been a growing recognition that passwords are an inadequate cybersecurity practice for authentication and access purposes. This is even more relevant for deskless, frontline workers, such as in a retail environment where staff face numerous challenges around authentication and access. Usernameless and Passwordless solutions hold the answer to overcoming these challenges, and OLOID is leading the industry in this area. OLOID’s Passwordless Authentication solution addresses industry-specific challenges, with several identity-verifying methods across a wide range of supported devices, and is ideal for high-turnover environments. OLOID’s solution provides tangible IT benefits, realized monetary gains, and a short return on investment period.

• Attackers gain access in breaches via hacking by the use of stolen credentials (phishing, social engineering) (77%), and Brute force (usually easily guessable passwords) (21%).
• Deskless workers make up about 80% of the global workforce.
• Around 20% of US employees (approximately 31 million people) work in the retail and hospitality sector.

Unique Challenges for Retail Employees

Retail has many challenges unique to its industry, some of which impact employee authentication and access.

Shared Device & App Access with Frequent Login Transitions

Deskless frontline workers have to access multiple devices and apps, shared by numerous workers per shift and across shifts. This contributes to numerous problems such as delays in switching accounts or remembering individual or shared login credentials.

Security Risks

Because multiple employees use shared devices and sometimes shared login credentials, it creates a greater security risk, including insider threats (5), and especially in high turnover environments if shared credentials aren’t immediately changed on every system each departing employee has access to.

Fast-Paced Environment

Retail staff often work in understaffed, fast-paced environments that just get busier during their retail industry segment’s busy season, and need instant access to systems. Remembering and correctly entering complex passwords slow them down, and can grind store operations to a halt when forgotten.

High Employee Turnover

Constantly onboarding and offboarding staff requires frequent password resets which are a time-consuming burden for the IT Helpdesk. In addition, delays in immediately removing access of departing employees create a security vulnerability.

Customer Experience

Long customer waits while employees struggle with logins can be detrimental to business, as customers are seldom amused, understanding, or patient when their purchases are delayed by what they perceive to be easily avoidable technical issues.

• Deskless frontline workers access up to 10+ devices a day.
• 43% of data breaches are attributed to insider threats.
• Around 40% of former employees have admitted to accessing company accounts after leaving their job.
• The sales abandon rate in brick-and-mortar retail stores is difficult to calculate, but for comparison, in e-commerce, approximately 57% of shoppers will abandon their purchase if they have to wait more than three seconds for a page to load.

OLOID’s Passwordless Login

OLOID’s frictionless, cost-effective solution allows retailers to avoid these challenges and unlock efficiency with usernameless & passwordless authentication, empowering frontline workers with secure and fast access to Point of Sale and Record Management System platforms on shared devices. This contributes to smoother operation, increased revenue, positive customer experiences, and reinforces brand loyalty.

How OLOID Addresses Retail Challenges

OLOID’s Passwordless Authentication solution seamlessly integrates with existing systems, replacing slow, outdated, and insecure login ID and password-based systems with numerous passwordless and touchless authentication methods that eliminate the need for workers to recall and enter login credentials.

Physical Identity Factors

Staff can authenticate and gain access to facilities, systems, and apps using their Face, Palm, Pin, QR Code, Access Card, NFC Tag, and recently added support for Passkeys.

Supported Devices

Rather than require expensive, proprietary hardware, businesses can use compatible Windows PCs, Android or Zebra Devices, and iPads.

Zero Touch Passwordless Onboarding in High Turnover Environments

Retail environments are known for experiencing high staff churn, which is already harmful and costly enough, without adding slow, cumbersome, inefficient onboarding processes wasting additional time, effort, resources, and money. OLOID’s solution provides some much-needed improvement here as well.

OLOID Passwordless Onboarding Benefits

Automation: Fully automated onboarding with no employee action required.

Expeditiousness: Newly added staff are ready to authenticate passwordlessly from day 1!

Automated Sync: With several popular solutions by industry-leading enterprises, workforce, identity management, and access control providers.

• Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS): Picture Onboarding with Workday, Kronos, and ADP.
• Single Sign-On (SSO): Identity & Access Tokens with Okta, Ping Identity, and Microsoft Azure.
• Physical Access Control System (PACS): Badge/Access Card Onboarding with Lenel S2, Honeywell, and other PACS.

Tangible IT Benefits, Realized Monetary Gains, and ROI Period

In addition to helping avoid the millions of dollars of cost and the brand damage that comes with a data breach due to a compromised password, Passwordless Authentication has several other quantifiable savings and financial benefits that add up to a quick return on investment.

Reduced onboarding costs

Streamlined processes lead to significant savings in training and initiation.

Decreased IT costs

Diminished IT interventions due to password resets and account access challenges.

Operational Efficiency

Faster account transitions ensure smooth operations, reducing man-hours wasted on facility and device access issues.

Enhanced Accountability

Improved security and individual traceability reduce potential losses due to mishaps or intentional misuse.

ROI Within a Few Months of Implementation

Most OLOID’s clients are able to calculate a pleasantly short ROI period based on eliminating known existing costs in HR, IT, and operations, before taking into consideration potential costs from physical or cyber security breaches.