""It's just completely going unchecked and that is having an impact on morale and recruitment," he explained. "People see in the local paper that shops have been done and staff assaulted. Young people looking for their first job are being told by parents, 'Do you really want to do that?'" James said that, for the first time in 25 years, he is designing stores around security and staff protection rather than customer experience."
"Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show incidents of violence and abuse against shopworkers surged by more than 50% in the year to August 2024, rising to over 2,000 incidents per day. Shop theft also hit a record 20 million cases, costing the industry £2.2bn. The increase has been attributed to the combined effects of the cost-of-living crisis and the rise of organised crime networks targeting stores."
"Chris Noice, of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), said the impact of crime on workers can be "life-changing": "Retailers and colleagues face theft, abuse, assault, and even threats with weapons. Some shops have had to cut opening hours to protect staff locking up late at night. In the last two years, retailers have spent over half a billion pounds on security, but this must be matched by tougher police action against repeat offenders.""
Rising levels of shoplifting and violence against staff are deterring young people from entering the retail sector and deepening a recruitment crisis. Safety fears are reducing job attractiveness as parents discourage first jobs, and some retailers are redesigning stores to prioritise staff protection over customer experience. Official figures show incidents of violence and abuse surged by over 50% to more than 2,000 incidents per day, while shop theft reached 20 million cases costing £2.2bn. The increase is linked to the cost-of-living crisis and organised crime, prompting retailer security spending and government policing pledges.
Read at Business Matters
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