NRF Urges Retailers to Adopt “ICE”

Washington, D.C., The National Retail Federation (NRF) is encouraging its members to endorse a new awareness campaign that will allow ambulance crews, police officers and rescue personnel to quickly contact family or friends in the event of an accident or disaster. The program is called ICE, which stands for “In Case of Emergency.” Conceived by a paramedic in England, the program urges cell-phone users to program the letters ICE before the names of the people they want to designate as emergency contacts in their cell-phone address book.

“With one in five Americans working in the retail industry, it is crucial that retailers prepare their employees for potential disasters,” said Joe LaRocca, VP of loss prevention, NRF. “As a touch point for consumers, retailers should also be encouraging their customers to use ICE in the unlikely event of an emergency. ICE is a simple, yet invaluable resource that retailers can use if customers or employees needs emergency assistance while in their stores.”