Independent Retail News’ Post

BRC: Retail crime ‘spiralling out of control’ as incidents reach record high "The British Retail Consortium has warned that retail crime is “spiralling out of control” despite more being spent on prevention than ever before. The trade body’s annual crime survey reports that violent and abusive incidents are up more than 50% last year, while retailers are reporting 55,000 thefts a day. Verbal and physical attacks, violent threats, and sexual and racial abuse in stores have rocketed to more than 2,000 incidents a day in the year to the end of August, up from 1,300 the previous year and more than three times the 2020 level. Theft also reached an all-time high with over 20 million incidents in the year costing retailers £2.2bn, up from £1.8bn the previous year." by Aoife M. at Retail Gazette British Retail Consortium Helen Dickinson Poundland & Dealz #retailnews #retailtheft #retailcrime https://lnkd.in/e3DSSD2d

Retail crime "spiralling out of control". Retail crime is at its highest level on record, according to new figures released today from the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Crime Survey. Retail violence and abuse up over 50% to more than 2,000 incidents a day. This is up from 1,300 the year before and more than three times what it was in 2020 (455 incidents a day). See the full report 👇 https://lnkd.in/eAccAkKK #Retail #RetailNews #RetailViolence #WellbeingInRetail

Theft and Fraud Remain Top Challenges for Food Retailers In our recent report, we present retail shrink and organized retail crime (ORC) updates from the UK and the US and shed light on loss-prevention updates that occurred between mid-June and mid-July 2024. Key highlights include: ◾ The top five factors that negatively impacted US food retailers’ businesses in 2023 ◾The total police-recorded shoplifting offences in Scotland, 2015–2024 ◾Commentary on retail theft from recent earnings calls of selected retailers based in Canada and the US Equip your business with strategies to mitigate theft and fraud. Subscribe to download the report: https://lnkd.in/dCrBSyqV   #LossPrevention #RetailTech #retailshrink 

Retail crime is “spiralling out of control”, hitting a new high last year despite billions spent on protection. Losses from customer theft reached a record £2.2bn, while retail violence and abuse increased over 50 per cent to more than 2,000 incidents a day, according to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Crime Survey. More than three times as many violent incidents occurred last year than in 2020, with incidents including “racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons,” the BRC said. There were 70 incidents per day which involved a weapon, more than double the previous year. Read the full story here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eDi3b24z

Australian retailers are uniting to tackle retail crime at the industry-wide Retail Crime Symposium on 18 July 2024 in Melbourne. In an industry first collaboration, Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and National Retail Association (NRA) have joined forces to host the 2024 event, bringing together police, government, SDA union, Crimestoppers and retailers large and small from across the nation to tackle one of the sector’s most significant issues. ARA CEO Paul Zahra said the continued prevalence of retail crime demands a united front from authorities and industry. “The Retail Crime Symposium is about bringing together Australia’s retailers, police and politicians to work together, identify trends and devise strategies to reduce retail crime. Joining forces with the NRA allows us to both pool our resources and expertise to tackle the scourge of retail crime more effectively." National Retail Association Acting CEO Lindsay Carroll said the timing of the Symposium is important. “The physical, financial and mental health toll of retail crime on our retail teams is not going away. After intense customer aggression through the pandemic years and beyond, for some team members the fear and apprehension getting even worse." Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMsD2ePd Tickets for the event are now available for purchase at https://lnkd.in/etqHPgES

Retail crime “spiralling out of control”, says BRC Retail crime is at its highest level on record, according to new figures released today from the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Crime Survey. https://lnkd.in/ep7dZx68 #retail #crime #brc

Explore the pressing issue of retail crime in America and the innovative solutions being discussed. A must-read op-ed by our CEO, Cristian Lopez published in Chain Store Age 👉 https://lnkd.in/ePF-X4ds #AssetProtection #LossPrevention #RetailCrime

Today the British Retail Consortium is launching its annual Retail Crime Survey and B&Q will be supporting it once again this year. The survey results, drawn from across the retail sector, have previously shown the huge emotional and physical impact retail crime has on shopworkers and the huge financial cost it has on retail businesses of all sizes. At B&Q, we continue to do everything in our power to ensure that everyone feels welcome – whether they are a colleague, a customer, or a contractor, and we do not tolerate abuse or any form of discrimination from anyone. Our priority is always to provide a safe place for our colleagues to work and our customers to shop. Unfortunately, shopworker abuse and violence is continuing to grow. Despite the many measures we have in place to help prevent abuse and violence towards our colleagues, they continue to be abused, including for their sexual orientation, race, disability, religion and for how they identify. As well as supporting the BRC Retail Crime Survey, we are continuing to encourage all B&Q colleagues to report every incident of abuse so that we can focus our resources on where they’re needed most and where they'll have the most impact.  We want all our colleagues to be able to come to work every day without the fear of abuse or violence.

Huge thanks to all our members for taking part in our annual crime survey. The stats not only show record levels of violence and abuse against people in retail, but a deeply troubling change in the nature of incidents, which are becoming bolder and more aggressive. No one should go to work fearing for their safety or wellbeing. It’s therefore welcome that the government will legislate for a new standalone offence for assaulting or abusing a retail worker in the coming weeks. We look forward to seeing the detail and continuing to work with government and police forces to tackle retail crime. It’s also worth noting the total cost of retail crime last year - a massive £4.2bn. Coming at a time when retailers are really squeezed by new costs including those from the Budget, this only stands to further hold back retail investment which could drive growth in communities across the country.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC)'s latest Crime Survey Report 2025 paints a stark picture of the retail sector today, one where theft, violence and abuse have reached record highs. With over 2,000 incidents of violence and abuse happening every single day and customer theft costing the industry £2.2 billion, it is clear that urgent action is needed. At Central Co-op, we refuse to accept this as the new normal. Our colleagues should never have to go to work in fear of being abused, threatened or attacked. We stand alongside BRC and the retail industry in demanding urgent action to protect our frontline workers. https://lnkd.in/ezYeTsa4 #BRC #BRCCrimeSurveyReport #RetailCrime