Solink vs Coram AI: which is better for retail loss prevention
Retail loss prevention teams shopping for a modern cloud video platform keep landing on the same two shortlists: Solink, the transaction-anchored platform built around point-of-sale data, and Coram AI, the investigation-first video intelligence platform. Both are credible, both are actively sold into retail, and both replace the old habit of scrubbing hours of footage after the fact. This comparison stays even-handed, drawing only on what each vendor documents, so you can match the platform to how your program actually runs.
The stakes are real. Retail shrink reached about $112.1 billion in 2022, up from $93.9 billion the year before, at an average shrink rate near 1.6% of sales (Source: National Retail Federation). Retailers also reported a 93% jump in average shoplifting incidents per year in 2023 versus 2019 (Source: National Retail Federation). The right tool depends less on a feature checklist and more on where your losses concentrate.
Key takeaways
- Solink is built around point-of-sale data, linking video to transactions so loss prevention teams can review voids, refunds, and no-sales in context.
- Coram AI is investigation-first, pairing its VIA-1 video model with natural-language search and Deep Investigation, its autonomous agent layer that assembles evidence into a timeline.
- Both platforms run a cloud dashboard, work with existing IP cameras, and carry SOC 2 Type II, so the honest differences are focus and workflow, not table stakes.
- Choose Solink when register fraud is the core problem; choose Coram AI when fast, cross-camera investigation across many sites matters most.
- A third option, Spot AI, adds real-time active deterrence and purpose-built retail agents, so incidents are acted on live rather than only reviewed afterward.
Solink vs Coram AI at a glance
Criterion | Solink | Coram AI |
|---|---|---|
Core focus | Point-of-sale exception reporting linked to video | AI-native video investigation and search |
Deployment model | Cloud video management with an optional hybrid storage tier | Hybrid: cloud dashboard with on-premises AI processing |
Camera support | Works with existing cameras; specific ONVIF or model coverage not publicly specified | Open architecture for any IP camera; states support for 1,000+ models |
POS integration | Central strength; integrates POS such as Toast, Square, and NCR, plus 300+ business tools | Not the headline capability; POS-to-video correlation not publicly specified on pages reviewed |
AI and analytics | AI Video Search, Vision Analytics, Sidekick assistant, blocked-exit detection | VIA-1 model, Discover natural-language search, journey tracking, license plate reading, people counting |
Investigation | Case management with event search tied to risky transactions | Deep Investigation: autonomous agents build a synthesized, shareable timeline |
Active response | Professionally monitored video alarms; states false-alarm reduction up to 99.9% | Real-time alerts and automated actions through AI agents |
Compliance and privacy | SOC 2 Type II | SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA; on-premises face data, role-based access to the camera level |
Best-fit retail buyer | QSR, convenience, and small-format operators focused on register fraud | Multi-site teams that value fast investigation across mixed verticals |
How each platform approaches retail loss prevention
The clearest way to read this matchup is by design intent. Solink grew up around the cash register. It brings your POS data into a cloud video management system and layers exception-based reporting and case management on top, so a manager can search a transaction event and immediately watch the synced footage. That is why Solink resonates with quick-service restaurants, convenience stores, and small-format retail, where a single associate at a till can drive most of the shrink.
Coram AI starts from a different premise. It treats video as a searchable knowledge base and uses its VIA-1 continuous-learning model to reduce noise, which Coram states can cut false alerts by up to 90%. Its signature capability, Deep Investigation, is an AI-native layer where autonomous agents connect evidence and assemble a synthesized timeline into a shareable report. Coram grew up serving education, healthcare, and manufacturing, and now names retail and hospitality among its industries, so its retail story leans on investigation depth rather than transaction analytics.
Neither approach is wrong. One organizes the world around the transaction; the other organizes it around the question you are trying to answer. Your losses tell you which lens fits.
Deployment and camera support
Both platforms spare you a rip-and-replace. Solink runs as a cloud video management system with an optional hybrid storage tier, and it connects to the cameras and access-control systems you already operate. Its loss-prevention page references camera integrations but does not enumerate ONVIF support or a supported-model list, so treat exact compatibility as not publicly specified until you confirm it for your hardware.
Coram AI is more explicit here. It documents an open architecture that lets you integrate any IP camera, states support for more than 1,000 models, and runs a hybrid design where the dashboard lives in the cloud while AI processing happens on-premises. Coram notes there is no need to set up a VPN or change firewall rules, and references sites going live with 100-plus cameras quickly. For a multi-site retailer inheriting a patchwork of camera brands, that documented breadth is worth verifying against your fleet.
Point-of-sale integration and transaction-linked investigation
This is where the two platforms diverge most. Solink's entire loss-prevention motion is transaction-first. It ties video to POS events so a reviewer can pull every risky transaction, such as voids, refunds, discount abuse, and back-door opens, and see exactly what happened on camera. Solink documents integrations with POS systems including Toast, Square, and NCR, and states it connects to more than 300 business tools. If your shrink hides inside the transaction log, that is a strong match.
Coram AI does not lead with POS correlation on the pages reviewed, so its ability to anchor investigations to till-level transaction events is not publicly specified. Instead, Coram's investigative power comes from Discover, its natural-language search, and from journey tracking that follows a person or asset across cameras. That is excellent for reconstructing an incident, but it answers a different question than "show me every suspicious refund at register three this week."
AI, analytics, and search
On raw video AI, Coram AI publishes the deeper stack. Alongside VIA-1 and Deep Investigation, it offers Discover natural-language search that returns clips in seconds, journey tracking across cameras, license plate reading with partial-plate matching, person-of-interest search that captures faces at entry, and business dashboards for people counting, line crossing, and customer wait time. It also lists gun detection among its use cases.
Solink's analytics are practical and loss-prevention-shaped rather than sprawling. It provides AI Video Search, Vision Analytics to surface key business moments, a Sidekick assistant for audits, and blocked-exit detection for safety compliance. The philosophy shows through: Solink packages the analytics a multi-unit operator uses week to week, while Coram AI packages a broader investigative toolkit for teams that live inside the footage.
Key terms
- Exception-based reporting: flagging unusual transaction events, such as voids or refunds, so reviewers focus on the few moments that carry risk.
- Contextual video: footage synced to a data event, so a transaction and its matching clip appear together.
- VMS: video management system, the software that records, stores, and serves camera footage.
- ONVIF: an open standard that lets cameras and software from different makers work together.
Privacy and compliance
Both vendors clear the security bar most retail procurement teams set. Solink displays SOC 2 Type II certification. Coram AI documents SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA compliance, and describes privacy controls that matter for retail: face data stays on your premises through on-premises processing, and role-based access can be restricted down to a specific camera, with TLS encryption, single sign-on, and multi-factor authentication. Coram also lists NDAA and GDPR alignment in its broader materials.
If your program answers to a privacy or compliance committee, both are defensible, and Coram AI publishes the more detailed controls of the two. Confirm the specifics that apply to your industry, since certifications and scopes change over time.
Pricing and deployment effort
Neither vendor publishes a price list, so treat headline pricing as not publicly specified and get a quote scoped to your camera count and site list. Both sell on a subscription model that spreads cost monthly rather than demanding large upfront capital, and both market fast time-to-value; Solink, for example, states typical ROI within about 30 days. The real cost drivers to pin down are camera counts, storage retention, per-site licensing, and any professional monitoring add-ons.
Which is better for your retail loss prevention program
There is no universal winner, only the better fit for how your losses show up. Use these scenarios to decide:
- Choose Solink if register fraud, refund abuse, and cash-handling errors drive your shrink, and you run QSR, convenience, or small-format stores where POS-linked exception reporting is the fastest path to answers.
- Choose Coram AI if you manage many sites across mixed verticals, value fast natural-language search, and want an autonomous investigation layer that assembles evidence into a timeline without hours of manual review.
- Look wider if your priority is acting on incidents in real time, not only reviewing them afterward, and if purpose-built retail agents plus active deterrence would change your outcomes.
Before you shortlist, map your last quarter of losses to a root cause. If most incidents trace to the till, Solink's transaction lens wins on speed. If most trace to floor behavior, entrances, or the parking lot, an investigation-first or deterrence-first platform will do more of the work for you.
A third option: Spot AI as an agent-first platform
Solink and Coram AI both make your team faster after an incident. A fair comparison should note a third path that changes what happens during one. Spot AI is a camera-agnostic video AI platform that turns the cameras a business already owns into AI coworkers, and its named solution for retail is the AI Security Guard.
The workflow is built around real-time response. Spot AI detects an incident in context, deters in seconds with talk-down, lights, or sirens, and documents everything with time-stamped, case-ready evidence. It ships 15-plus pre-trained video AI agents plus AI Talkdown for natural-conversation deterrence, and Iris lets a team build a custom detection in minutes. For loss prevention specifically, POS refund-fraud and no-customer transaction agents are live, and cash-focused agents are in beta or custom-built, so transaction context and floor behavior come together in one platform.
Architecturally, Spot AI works with any IP camera and connects legacy analog cameras through its Intelligent Video Recorder (IVR), so there is no rip-and-replace. Its hybrid edge-to-cloud design keeps full-resolution video inside the facility and sends only metadata across the network, which keeps deployments PCI-clean, and the platform is NDAA-compliant and SOC 2. Spot AI does not use biometric identification. If you want the head-to-head detail, compare Spot AI vs Solink and Spot AI vs Coram AI, or browse the wider field of best retail loss prevention software.
The proof lives in outcomes retailers report. All Star Elite, a retailer running 80 sports-apparel stores, reduced cash shrink from 6% to 1% and improved investigation efficiency by more than 50% after unifying video, case management, and analytics on Spot AI.
If your evaluation is really about cutting losses rather than cataloging them, weigh active deterrence next to transaction analytics and investigation depth. A platform that acts in the moment can change the incident before it becomes a case to review.
"The ability to formalize our incident reporting with Spot AI, keep every case in one database, and attach video directly to those cases has been a game changer."
Andrew Gonzalez, Corporate Director of Loss Prevention and Safety, All Star Elite
Whichever direction you lean, the smart next move is to see the workflow against your own stores. If Solink's transaction lens fits, start there; if Coram AI's investigation depth fits, start there. And if you want to see how an agent-first approach with active deterrence would handle your losses, you can explore Solink alternatives in 2026, read a focused Solink review, or review the convenience store loss prevention playbook, then book a walkthrough with Spot AI at try.spot.ai/contact when the timing is right.
Frequently asked questions
Is Solink or Coram AI better for retail loss prevention
It depends on where your losses concentrate. Solink is stronger when register fraud drives shrink, because it links video directly to point-of-sale events. Coram AI is stronger when you need fast, cross-camera investigation across many sites, thanks to its natural-language search and Deep Investigation agents.
Does Coram AI work for retail
Yes. Coram AI names retail and hospitality among its industries, though its core base has been education, healthcare, and manufacturing. Its retail value centers on investigation speed and video AI rather than transaction analytics, so it fits teams that prioritize fast incident reconstruction.
Does Solink integrate with point-of-sale systems
Yes, and it is Solink's central strength. Solink brings POS data into its cloud video management system and documents integrations with systems such as Toast, Square, and NCR, plus more than 300 business tools. That lets reviewers search transaction events and watch the synced footage.
Are Solink and Coram AI secure enough for retail compliance
Both carry SOC 2 Type II. Coram AI additionally documents HIPAA compliance and privacy controls such as on-premises face data and role-based access down to the camera level. Confirm the exact certifications and scopes that apply to your industry before you buy.
What is a third option beyond Solink and Coram AI
Spot AI is an agent-first, camera-agnostic platform whose AI Security Guard adds real-time active deterrence and purpose-built retail agents, including POS refund-fraud detection. It works with existing IP cameras and connects legacy analog cameras through its IVR, so incidents are acted on live rather than only reviewed afterward.
About the author
Sud Bhatija is COO and Co-founder at Spot AI, where he scales operations and GTM strategy to deliver video AI that helps operations, safety, and security teams boost productivity and reduce incidents across industries.
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