Nearly half of retail workers considering quitting over mental health Retail Nearly half of the UK’s millions of retail workers are considering quitting the sector over concerns for their mental health, as the majority report facing abuse at work. Retail is the sector in which the most workers (52 per cent) have faced verbal abuse in the past year, as 44 per cent mull quitting the [...]
Labour hands police ‘long-overdue’ violent shoplifting powers Retail The government has handed the police a set of “long overdue” powers to crack down on soaring levels of violent shoplifting, which has been branded a “national scandal”. The crime and policing bill was granted royal assent on Wednesday, meaning assault against retail workers is classed as a specific offence, and the effective immunity for [...]
Labour to curb jail terms for shoplifters as retail crime fears grow News Labour’s plans to scrap most prison sentences of under a year will see thousands of prolific shoplifters avoid jail, in a move that risks intensifying pressure on retailers already warning of rising violence and disorder. The changes, introduced under the Sentencing Act, mean around 98 per cent of shoplifters currently in custody would instead qualify [...]
M&S boss: Sadiq Khan is soft on crime April 3, 2026 Marks and Spencer has hit out at the Mayor of London for being soft on crime, after crowds of young people have targeted London shops in the past week. Thinus Keeve, the supermarket’s retail director, has called on Sadiq Khan to crack down on violent disorder against retailers, after a Marks and Spencer (M&S) shop [...]
Retailers hit by subdued October as Budget threat looms November 11, 2025 UK retailers suffered a “subdued” October as Brits tightened their pockets ahead of what is expected to be a tax-heavy Autumn Budget. Retail sales increased 1.6 per cent year-on-year but remained below the 12-month average of 2.1 per cent, marking the weakest growth since May. The new data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and [...]
Violence against retail workers ‘unacceptable and untenable’ September 29, 2025 More than a quarter of retail workers say that they have experienced physically aggressive or violent behaviour in their current jobs as the UK continues to battle a years-long fight against high-street crime. More than one in five retail workers in London have to deal with an angry customer ‘every day’, according to research by [...]
Palo Alto rallies on M&S hacks, but earnings fail to woo investors May 22, 2025 A spate of high profile cyber incidents on British retailers, including Co-op, Harrods, and most notably, Marks and Spencer, has placed cybersecurity spend back in the limelight – and Palo Alto is reaping the costs. Yet, investors are digesting a mix set of quarterly results revealed on Thursday. Ben Barringer, global tech analyst at Quilter [...]
As retail crime soars, is better tech the answer? April 24, 2025 Retail crime has soared by a fifth year-on-year, with retailers now questioning how to deal with extremely high shrinkage amid already-thin margins. Shoplifting offences rose by 20 per cent to 516,971 offences in December, up from 429,873 offences last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. The effect is a whole lot of shrink. [...]
Starmer needs to “smash the gangs” behind shoplifting and phone theft March 12, 2025 The clip shared on social media yesterday by the BBC’s Nicky Campbell was unremarkable only because variations of it can be seen every day. Two men frantically empty shop shelves of cosmetics, pouring them into large bags while onlookers film the outrageous scene. They make no effort to hide their faces and when their bags are [...]
Retail crime ‘spiralling out of control’ despite £1.8bn spent on protection January 30, 2025 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 [...]
