UK shoppers step in as retail crime rises in stores

One in three UK shoppers have stepped in to help store staff during incidents of retail crime, according to SAI Group, as consumers report high levels of theft and abuse in shops.

Research by the retail technology company found that 36% of shoppers had intervened to support retail workers facing physical abuse from other customers. The figure rose to 54% among Millennials.

Another 43% said they had supported staff facing verbal abuse, while 33% said they had physically apprehended a shoplifter when workers were unavailable or unable to stop the theft. Among Gen Z respondents, that figure rose to 49%.

The findings come against a wider backdrop of persistent retail crime across the UK. The British Retail Consortium estimates that 5.5 million incidents of shoplifting took place in the past year, at a cost of about GBP £400 million to the industry.

Retail staff are also dealing with violence and abuse at work. Industry figures cited in the research put the number of such incidents at 1,600 a day last year, the second highest level on record and 3.5 times the level seen before the pandemic.

Rising concern

Consumers appear to be noticing the shift. Among the more than 1,000 UK shoppers surveyed, 61% said they had seen more incidents of crime in stores over the past 12 months, rising to 72% among Gen Z respondents.

Concern about the direction of travel is also widespread. More than three quarters of those surveyed, or 76%, said they believed theft and abuse would rise further over the next year.

Changes to the Crime & Policing Act have introduced tougher penalties for shoplifting and made assaulting a retail worker a standalone criminal offence. Even so, 68% said stricter punishments would not bring meaningful change for store staff, who they believe will still face crime while on shift.

That scepticism appears to be shaping customer behaviour in stores. The survey found that 37% of customers felt angry when witnessing retail crime, while 34% felt sympathetic towards retail workers.

Industry pressure

The cost to retailers extends beyond stolen goods. The BRC estimates that retailers have spent GBP £5 billion fighting retail crime over the past five years through measures such as CCTV, more security staff, anti-theft devices and body-worn cameras.

The trade body says those costs are adding to existing financial pressure on retailers, limiting investment and contributing to higher prices for consumers. Separate BRC-Opinium survey data found that more than 14 million UK consumers witnessed violence or abuse against retail workers in the past year.

“For too many people, violence and abuse are now part of the shopping experience. An incident might last seconds, but for workers and bystanders, the impact can last a lifetime,” said Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive, BRC.

Evidence from Retail Trust points to similar pressure on frontline staff. The charity, which polled 1,000 retail workers, found that 77% had experienced intimidating behaviour in the past year.

It also found that 43% were abused or attacked every week, up from 33% a year earlier. The figures suggest that, despite tougher laws and increased spending on security, many workers still face regular threats in shops.

“There are still far too many retail workers being threatened and attacked. We must turn this into long-lasting change. The entire retail industry now needs to step up and get behind efforts to restore respect to our High Streets,” said Chris Brook-Carter, Chief Executive Officer, Retail Trust.

Company response

SAI Group argues that retailers need to do more than respond after incidents occur. Crime prevention, it says, should focus on spotting problems earlier and improving how stores monitor activity and respond on the shop floor.

“While it’s clear customers want to support retail workers, retail crime prevention requires holistic strategies that are proactive rather than reactive – they must act as a sword and a shield,” said Som Sinha, Chief Executive Officer, SAI Group.

“While theft and abuse are rooted in criminality, they are also symptoms of broader operational blind spots and store complexity. Stores need systems in place, not just to protect store workers when crime happens, but to proactively prevent instances of crime taking place in the first place. That requires store-wide data and real-time actions to effectively stop crime before it escalates,” Sinha said.