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Violence and abuse of retail workers climbed to more than 2,000 incidents per day in 2023/24, up from 1,300 the year before. The latest figure is more than three times what it was in 2020, when there were 455 incidents a day.
Reported incidents included racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons. There were 70 incidents that involved a weapon per day – more than double the previous year.
The BRC study – which covers the period from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024 – also found that losses from customer theft reached a record £2.2bn during the period, despite retailers spending £1.8bn on prevention.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “Retail crime is spiralling out of control. People in retail have been spat on, racially abused, and threatened with machetes.
“Every day this continues, criminals are getting bolder and more aggressive. We owe it to the 3 million hardworking people working in retail to bring the epidemic of crime to heel. No one should go to work in fear.”
The survey “represents the single largest and most reliable barometer of the state of retail crime”, said the BRC. It is based on a sample from retailers representing more than 1.1 million employees and £194bn market turnover, which are used to estimate figures for the entire industry.
Paddy Lillis, general secretary of Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers), said: “The scale of the epidemic of retail crime is laid bare in this shocking BRC report. Crime has a very direct impact on the viability of stores, as retailers go to increasing lengths and expense to make them secure and safe. Communities are blighted by anti-social behaviour and store closures."
English (US) ·