Almost 80% of shop workers have experienced abuse from the public in the past year, with more than half now facing weekly abuse.
That’s according to new research released today (9 November) as part of charity the Retail Trust’s new Let’s Respect Retail campaign, which found that 79% of shop workers have faced an abusive or violent situation in the past year, compared to 77% in 2025. More than half (54%) are now targeted weekly - up from 43% last year and 33% in 2024.
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The charity is launching a major UK-wide drive urging shoppers to show greater kindness and respect ahead of the Christmas shopping surge, after 83% of workers say just one positive customer interaction can help them recover from a negative experience.
Unwanted filming
This has been accompanied by a sharp rise in the number of shop staff who said they or a colleague had also been filmed without consent by mobile phones or smart glasses, rising from 30% to 38% in a year.
Almost one in four (23%) added that they’d experienced abuse involving a physical attack, such as being kicked or hit, a figure unchanged from the previous twelve months.
Responses from the 1,138 shop workers who took part in the Retail Trust’s annual survey also revealed:
- 84% have witnessed shoplifting in the past year, and more than a third (35%) witness shoplifting every day.
- 70% of those affected by abuse feel stressed or anxious about going to work, 36% feel unsafe at work and 21% feel unsafe travelling to or from their workplace.
- Almost half (48%) said the worsening abuse has made them want to quit their job or leave the retail industry altogether, up from 43% who said this in 2025.
- More than two-thirds (68%) of shop workers even believe dealing with abusive customers has become ‘part of their job’, while 80% feel they are now expected to put up with rudeness and disrespect.
A separate poll by research firm Early Studies carried out for the Retail Trust found 36% of shoppers think their friends or family would avoid returning to a shop where they had witnessed staff being abused.
New campaign
The Let’s Respect Retail campaign forms part of a dedicated week of action to protect retail workers from abuse and violence.
The Retail Trust is working with the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), shopworkers’ union Usdaw and the National Business Crime Centre to run activity across the UK.
In the report, retailers were apporached for their comments on levels of abuse in their stores.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in abuse in our stores,” said retailer Benedict, who owns two shops in south London. “When we opened our town centre store 10 years ago, there were about two to three instances of abuse per week. Now it’s two to three every day.
“We regularly see customers swearing at staff. A couple of young female staff were spat on and received abuse when they asked a shoplifter to hand over the items in his jacket. We’ve had a couple of young female staff leave as people will say they’ll wait for them outside when they finish their shift. It can be very scary for them.
“I had to have stitches on the back of my head…”
“It’s another reason why it’s difficult to retain staff. It’s difficult anyway in retail but this doesn’t help the situation. There was a time last year when I tried to retrieve a stolen wine bottle from a shoplifter and he started attacking me and hitting me with it. I had to have stitches on the back of my head. It’s very disheartening coming to work and not knowing what kind of day it’s going to be.”
Like ghosts
Also commenting, Jo, a team leader at a convenience store in Northumberland, said: “Customers seem to just treat us like ghosts.
“People are undoubtedly not as forgiving as they used to be. They aren’t as patient. They’re certainly not as respectful. The biggest frustration is the frequent shoplifters. You’re getting the same offenders coming in on a regular basis and they know you can’t touch them, so they’ll just fill bags in front of you.
“At times I feel unsafe. I had a colleague who was attacked as he was coming out of the store and I was hit three times during a shift a few months ago.
“I’m aware of people who’ve just quit because they don’t want to work in this sort of environment. I’ve been doing this job a long time and would say I’m a fairly strong character, but I’ve thought about doing something completely different.”
Unwanted video
Charlie, who works for a discount retailer in Shropshire, explained how a video of her had been shared online: “A video of me dealing with an angry customer got shared on a local community Facebook page seven or eight months ago.
“To receive the abuse in store in the first place was bad enough, but then to have it filmed by the customer and shared on social media made it infinitely worse.
“We go to work to do our jobs, not to have our privacy violated…”
“What made it worse was the absolutely vile comments. There were 100 to 150, saying we didn’t know what we were doing, that we shouldn’t have been in our jobs. It was a really harrowing experience. We go to work to do our jobs, not to have our privacy violated and our competency questioned online.”
Greater kindness
In response, the Retail Trust is urging shoppers to show greater kindness and respect to shop workers as part of a major drive to tackle worsening levels of abuse ahead of the Christmas shopping surge.
Calls for shoppers to ‘start with hello’ will appear in thousands of stores, shop windows, cinemas and shopping centres across the UK from today, encouraging customers to begin every interaction with a shop worker with a positive greeting.
Jane, a garden centre worker from Hertfordshire, said: “Just one positive interaction can lift your spirits. When a customer says hello and takes the time to be nice or says thank you, it makes you feel valued and puts you in a better frame of mind. It doesn’t take much, but it makes a huge difference.”
Positive feedback
Employees at some of the country’s biggest retailers and shopping centres, including Next, Bluewater and Liverpool ONE are also being given more support by the Retail Trust to help them respond to and deal with abusive incidents.
Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust, said: “Our country’s shop workers have had enough of being shouted at, threatened and treated with contempt.
“We’re hearing from people frightened to come into work because they don’t know what they’ll face that day, and from others who have been pushed to breaking point by repeated abuse.
“Behaviour that would once have been considered completely unacceptable is increasingly being seen as part of the job.”
“Retail is one of the few places where millions of strangers still interact face-to-face, and there’s been a disturbing shift over the last few years where behaviour that would once have been considered completely unacceptable is increasingly being seen as part of the job.
“This is damaging people’s confidence, destroying morale and driving good people out of a sector they once loved.
“Most people do the right thing, but when a minority don’t, the rest of us have a role to play in making sure shop workers still feel seen and valued. No one should face abuse at work and respect can start with something as simple as looking someone in the eye, showing a little patience or simply saying hello.”
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), added: “No one should go to work fearing for their safety, yet the Retail Trust’s findings are a stark reminder that violence and abuse against retail workers remain endemic.
“The BRC is proud to support the Let’s Respect Retail campaign ahead of the busy Christmas period, reminding us all that starting with a simple hello and showing a little kindness can make a world of difference to the people behind the counter. The three million who work in retail tirelessly to serve our communities deserve it.”
“It’s never acceptable for anyone to be abused simply for doing their job…”
Chris Evans MP, Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group on Customer Service, added: “It’s never acceptable for anyone to be abused simply for doing their job. I’m shocked by the increasingly common stories I hear in my constituency which is supported by this new research from the Retail Trust that shows over half of all shop workers feel targeted by abuse every single week, up from a third just two years ago.
“I welcome Government moves to make retail crime a specific offence and to put more investment into our high streets. However, it should move quickly to bring forward the commencement date of that legislation, and also invest more in the wellbeing of retail workers as part of its newly announced High Streets Strategy.”
Police involvement
Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss, retail lead for Merseyside Police added: “As the first force in the UK to work with the Retail Trust, we believe it’s really important to invest in supporting retail workers to equip them with the skills and knowledge to deal with difficult situations as we continue to tackle retail crime and attacks on retail workers.
“It’s not right that retail workers are subjected to abuse which is both phycological and physical when they go to work.
“Across Merseyside, we’re tackling retail crime by putting more officers in areas where they’re needed. “We’ve developed more efficient ways of processing offenders quickly through the courts with the use of our digital evidence initiative, Operation Dale.
“This enables officers to go back out into the community to continue our work to pursue prolific offenders who cause distress and fear. Retail crime is not victimless, and offenders will face the full force of the law.”
Visit retailtrust.org.uk/respect for more information about the Let’s Respect Retail campaign.
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