Interim results from over 2,000 retail staff responses show that in the last twelve months (change from last year):
• 69% (-2) have experienced verbal abuse.
• 45% (-3) were threatened by a customer.
• 12% (+3) were assaulted.
During the annual Respect Week, Usdaw members are raising awareness of the union’s year-round ‘Freedom from Fear’ campaign and talking to the public to promote a message of ‘respect for retail workers’. This year, for the first time, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), Usdaw, the Retail Trust and the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) are joining forces for a coordinated response to the scale of the issue, combining activity in shops and workplaces with public campaigning.
Running from 9 to 15 November 2026, the partnership will unite ACS’s ShopKind, Usdaw’s Respect for Shopworkers Week, the Retail Trust’s Let’s Respect Retail and NBCC’s Safer Business Action Week. Together, they will encourage respect for retail workers, call on shoppers to change their behaviour and support practical action against crime affecting businesses and their communities.
Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “This year’s annual survey interim results show a welcome, but slight, downturn in the level of abuse and threats retail workers are experiencing while doing their jobs, which reflects the recent small downturn in shop theft. However, it is very worrying that violent incidents are increasing. It appears that the number of incidents is in decline, but the severity is increasing and some violent shop theft is now being classified as robbery.
“The Government has invested in policing, with specific projects to tackle retail crime, and that appears to be having an effect. We welcome the passing of the Crime and Policing Act. This new legislation will deliver a much-needed protection of retail workers’ law; which needs to be brought into force as soon as possible, an end to the indefensible £200 threshold for prosecuting shop theft, which has effectively become an open invitation to retail criminals; along with Criminal Behaviour Orders, which came into force last month.
“This week, Usdaw activists will be campaigning in their workplaces and communities, calling on the shopping public to ‘respect retail workers’ and ‘keep your cool’, particularly in the run up to Christmas when the number of incidents increases as shops get busy and customers become frustrated. This is a hugely important issue for our members and they are saying loud and clear that enough is enough.”
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “The safety of retail colleagues is the top priority and it is heartening to see more targeted policing investment and better industry collaboration. Together we can drive down the shop theft, threats and verbal abuse which harm our high streets and communities.
“The landmark Crime and Policing Act delivers better protection for retail workers and scraps the £200 low-level theft threshold, alongside new Criminal Behaviour Orders. As the industry unites for Respect Week from 9 to 15 November, retailers remain fully committed to working with Usdaw, the police and the Government to build on this progress so that every shop worker can do their job free from fear.”
Voices from the frontline: These are some of the comments shop workers shared when responding to Usdaw’s survey:
Shop theft: “Asked shoplifter to leave the store, he then threatened to stab me with a knife several times.”
Age verification: “Impatient customers verbally aggressive because queues are long and refusing age-restricted products as no ID available.”
Alcohol/drug related: “Spat at and sworn at because he [a customer] was refused alcohol.”
Sexual harassment: “A customer threatened to beat me and my whole family up, before saying he could find people who could r**e me and my manager when I caught him stealing.”
Racism: “Called a 'P**i' and spat at when [shoplifter] asked to leave the store for theft.”
Homophobia: “Stopped a proxy sale and got verbally abused with homophobic comments and threatened me that she will find my home address and hurt me.”
Assault: “I had 2 full cans of beer thrown at me by a shoplifter.”
Threats: “Teenage boy threatened to rearrange my face, lifted a hammer to me.”
Abuse: “We get a lot of verbal abuse and threats on checkouts/self-service from customers due to staffing problems.”
Filming without consent: “Verbal abuse from a customer recently who tried to film me when I called him out on his aggression.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest with around 370,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also represents many workers in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
Interim results of the Usdaw’s 2026 survey are based on 2,233 responses from retail workers, in face-to-face interviews with Usdaw workplace reps. The final results of the survey will be published early next year.
Usdaw’s Freedom From Fear Campaign seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse against workers by engaging the public, shop workers and the Government. www.usdaw.org.uk/Campaigns/Freedom-From-Fear
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion