Over 80% of shops report increase in violence towards retail workers, Scottish Grocers Federation survey finds

Over 80% of shops have reported an increase in violence towards retail workers, according to a new survey.

A report from the Scottish Grocers Federation found 83.5% of convenience retailers have seen an increase in violence towards workers, with almost two-thirds (62.5%) having at least one member of staff who has experienced mental health and wellbeing issues as a result of retail crime.

The average cost of retail crime also skyrocketed to £19,673 per store in 2024/25, up 38% from the previous year as an average across the 755 stores which took part in the SGF annual crime survey.

Scaling up the sample to represent all 5,220 convenience stores in Scotland, this accounts for an annual cost of approximately £102.7m which is crippling the sector.

Findings were gathered from stores all over Scotland in the SGF Crime Report & Safer Business Guide 2024/25.

Information gathered for the report and published during the SGF annual Crime Seminar, being held at Doubletree by Hilton, Edinburgh, shows that:

99.8% of convenience retailers agree that shoplifting has increased in the past year, while 99.5% say that shoplifting is now a daily occurrence.
More than eight out of every ten stores report that hate crime occurs once a month, while almost all say that violence against staff occurs at least once a month (83.3% and 99.6% respectively).
Likewise, almost all (98.8%) of respondents also report experiencing weekly incidents of abuse when refusing a sale or when asking for proof of age.

SGF chief executive Dr Pete Cheema OBE said: “The reality for many shop workers across Scotland is that each time they go to work, they risk being assaulted, stabbed, spat on, threatened, or abused. Our latest Crime Report which has been published at the SGF Crime Seminar in Edinburgh today, shows the true extent of crime devastating the Scottish convenience sector.

“Across every metric, retail crime is on the rise and the impact on staff, businesses and communities can be overwhelming. That is why we have named our event today ‘Retail Crime – A Threat We Can’t Ignore!’, and our question to the government is, what will it take for decision makers to act?

“Retailers desperately need urgent support, now. The police and courts can’t cope, and many crimes are going unreported because retailers don’t believe the authorities will respond. Offenders know they’re unlikely to face any consequences for their crimes and even if they are arrested, many will spend years awaiting conviction.”

Analysis of the data also reveals a fall in confidence in the Scottish justice system to tackle the growing problem of retail crime.

Almost half (48.2%) of respondents saying they are either unlikely or very unlikely to report shoplifting incidents to the police.

Minister for Victims and Community Safety Siobhian Brown said: “I condemn any violence against shop workers and would always encourage retailers to report all crimes to Police Scotland.

“I am concerned by the significant harm and disruption caused by retail crime, which is why we are making £3m available in the 2025-26 Budget for Police Scotland to work with the retail sector to help tackle this issue.

“This is in addition to an investment next year of a record £1.62bn for policing – an increase of £70m on 2024-25.”