Retail violence is becoming an alarming trend across Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, posing significant challenges for businesses, employees, and consumers alike. Reports indicate a sharp rise in incidents ranging from verbal abuse and shoplifting-related aggression to physical assaults on retail staff. This escalation is driven by multiple factors, including economic pressures, organized retail crime, and shifting societal attitudes toward theft and confrontation.
These trends were confirmed at the Sydney Retail Risk Conference after my “Disruptive Future of Retail” keynote delivery. The opening picture of this story is from that retailer engaging session. This is actually the exact moment in the presentation where I was describing to the Australian audience the retail violence trends in the United States and United Kingdom. The subsequent discussions with the local retailers inspired this story.
For consumers, the surge in retail violence has far-reaching consequences. Increased security measures, staff shortages due to safety concerns, and higher operational costs often translate to longer wait times, restricted store access, and rising prices. Moreover, the growing unpredictability of retail environments erodes shoppers’ sense of safety, discouraging in-person visits and reshaping the retail landscape.
This article explores the trends behind rising retail violence in these three nations, examining the technology preferences in each of the countries. It concludes with some of my own thoughts on how we solve these growing and alarming retail crime problems.
Australian Retail Crime Up 40% Over Last 2 Years
The latest retail crime study published by Griffith University’s Professor Michale Townsley found that almost 2% of sales were lost to shrink in the 2024 financial year, totaling $7.79 billion in Australia alone. According to Professor Townsley, “before COVID, crime was slowly rising, but when a lot of shops closed due to lockdowns, we saw a bit of a pause and crime went down. Since then, it just got picked up again, and with added cost-of-living pressures, police-recorded instances of shoplifting and employee abuse have gone through the roof.”
A recent Motorola Solutions Australia/New Zealand study found that 59% of survey respondents were concerned about increases in shoplifting in their stores in the last twelve months, followed by hostile customer interactions at 50%, grab-and-run incidents at 45%, and ORC at 39%. More than a third of those surveyed said they were concerned about attacks on retail workers (37%) or customers (34%).
The same Motorola study found that 68% of retail workers believe that more could be done to keep them and their colleagues safe. Around one third (32%) of retail workers have considered leaving their job because of safety concerns.
Retail Violence Increases 50% in the United Kingdom
The latest British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Crime Survey finds that violent retail incidents per day crossed 2,000, up from 1,300 the previous year. “This is more than three times what it was in 2020, when there were just 455 incidents a day. Incidents included racial or sexual abuse, physical assault, or threats with weapons. There were 70 incidents per day which involved a weapon, more than double the previous year.”
Satisfaction with the police response to these growing retail crime events remains low, with 61% of respondents describing the police response to incidents as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. Of the remaining, 29% rated the response as ‘fair’, a further 6% said good, and 3% described it as ‘excellent,’ the first time in five years that any retailers have rated it as such.
In the UK, theft also reached an all-time high with over 20 million incidents (over 55,000 per day) costing retailers £2.2 billion (up from £1.8 billion the previous year). “Many more incidents are linked to organized crime, with gangs systematically targeting stores across the country, stealing tens of thousands of pounds worth of goods and rotating around multiple stores.”
US Retail Fatalities Fall to Pre-Pandemic Levels
According to the just published D&D Daily Retail Fatalities Report, in 2024, nearly 500 people (481) were killed in retail stores. This is down 29% from the previous year, when 681 people were killed.
Eighty percent of those killed are victims (customers, store associates, security/LP/LE) and 20% are suspects. The store or the mall accounted for 52% of the deaths followed by parking lots at 44%.
The highest number of deaths were recorded on the weekend with being shot accounting for 91% of them. Convenience stores dominate with the highest fatalities (42%), followed by restaurants (11%), and grocery (7%). The top five cities for retail fatalities in 2024 were Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Memphis.
According to the latest National Retail Federation (NRF) Security Survey, traditional security solutions and strategies still hold promise in attempting to solve retail crime.
In the same NRF survey retailers reported a 93% increase in the average number of shoplifting incidents per year in 2023 versus 2019 with a 90% increase in the dollar value loss to shoplifting over the same time period. Additionally, 84% of retailers say that violence during a crime has become more of a concern in the last year.
Solving the Retail Crime Problem
Retail crime threats are real, more visible, and are getting more violent. They are also not isolated to the United States as similar patterns have emerged in other countries including the UK and Australia. The problem is complex as are the solutions.
Above is a chart that I have shared in multiple public presentations across the world. Key messages include:
- Retail technology solutions have not kept up with the growth of the problem. Too many silo products chasing niche opportunities, not tackling the challenges in an integrated approach. AI will contribute to the growing list of important new solutions.
- The legal framework is stuck in the past and is not keeping pace with advancements in new business models in areas that both add to the problem and help solve it.
- The internet is both an opportunity and a curse as a platform for fencing stolen products. Better solutions and laws are needed to address this challenge.
- Higher connectivity across interrelated frameworks is the new required normal. To effectively tackle the problem of retail shrink, strong partnerships are needed across multiple boundaries, especially between retailers, industry groups, and law enforcement. The good news is that successful models are in place in various parts of the world, but it will take different, more innovative thinking to evolve to broader global adoption.
Increased retail violence in multiple countries is an alarming trend. Customer and employee safety need to be our number one priority in whatever path we take to address the problem. It is time to reinvent retail once again for a brighter more profitable future where shrink is managed and consumers are the center of immersive, safe customer experiences.