The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is calling for the government to bring in tougher measures to prevent violence and abuse against retail workers as the number of daily incidents rocketed 50% to 1,300 in 2023.
The rates of sexual harassment, racial abuse, physical assault and threats were on the same level that they were during the pandemic, the trade association said.
It comes despite businesses spending £1.2bn in 2023 on measures to prevent violence against retail staff, including CCTV, body cameras and increased security personnel.
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The cost of theft to retailers also rose from £393m in 2022 to a staggering £1.8bn last year.
BRC CEO Helen Dickinson said: “Despite retailers investing huge sums in crime prevention, violence and abuse against retail workers is climbing. With over 1,300 incidents every day, government can no longer ignore the plight of ordinary, hardworking retail colleagues. This is a crisis that demands action now.”
Last week, Co-op revealed that crime in its stores hit record levels last year, surging 44%, as it experienced almost 1,000 incidents per day.
The convenience retailer is urging MPs to amend the Criminal Justice Bill to make attacking a shopworker a standalone offence and it is encouraging its 57,000 colleagues and five million member-owners to write to their MP to support the amendment.
