As incidents of crime, from theft to abuse of retail workers, remain high, shoppers are increasingly stepping in to support store staff, reveals the latest data from SAI Group, the leading AI intelligence solution for physical retail.
With the British Retail Consortium (BRC) estimating that 5.5 million incidents of shoplifting took place last year, costing the industry ~£400 million, retail crime remains rife.
In addition to theft, retail workers also face a growing number of instances of violence and abuse while on shift, with 1,600 incidents per day reported last year, the second highest level ever recorded and x3.5 higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Stubbornly high levels of retail crime
Such is the prevalence of retail crime that consumers are also reporting witnessing rising levels of theft and abuse in-store.
The BRC estimates 14 million consumers witnessed retail crime last year, while original research of over 1,000 UK shoppers by SAI Group shows that 61% have noticed more incidents of crime in-store in the last 12 months, rising to seven in ten (72%) of Gen Z consumers.
As inflation continues to rise – and food prices tipped to be +50% higher in November than at the start of the cost-of-living crisis - consumers expect this financial strain to worsen retail crime rates; 76% believe incidents of theft and abuse will rise further in the next 12 months.
Despite recent changes to the Crime & Policing Act last month, including tougher penalties for shoplifting and stronger protections for retail staff, UK consumers remain doubtful that this will create meaningful change. 68% believe stricter punishments will fail to remedy retail crime and reduce levels of abuse and shoplifting faced by store associates while on shift.
Shoppers step in to prevent retail crime
With two fifths (37%) of customers feeling angry when witnessing retail crime and a further 34% feeling sympathetic towards retail staff, this - alongside the perception that store workers remain vulnerable despite stronger legislative protection - is prompting more customers to step in.
SAI Group’s research points to customers becoming ‘have a go heroes’, with over a third (36%) saying they have stepped in to support retail workers facing physical abuse, rising to 54% of Millennials.
A further 43% have shown their support to retail staff facing verbal abuse, also rising to 59% of Millennials. Shoppers are also stepping in to help tackle shoplifters, with 33% physically apprehending thieves in-store when retail workers either weren’t available or weren’t able to prevent it, rising to 49% of Gen Z.
“While it’s clear customers want to support retail workers, retail crime prevention requires holistic strategies that are proactive rather than reactive – they must act as a sword and a shield,” said Som Sinha, CEO of SAI Group.
“While theft and abuse are rooted in criminality, they are also symptoms of broader operational blind spots and store complexity. Stores need systems in place, not just to protect store workers when crime happens, but to proactively prevent instances of crime taking place in the first place.
"That requires store-wide data and real-time actions to effectively stop crime before it escalates,” Som added.
Blending computer vision with GenAI, the SAI One platform turns traditionally ‘passive’ store surveillance systems into an active, operational platform for real-time store intelligence, supporting connected operations alongside loss prevention.
Its Visual Language Model (VLM) analyses live data from video feeds to build a comprehensive, contextual picture of how stores operate. By surfacing meaningful signals, insight cues and timely staff alerts that deliver real-time responses to operational issues and incidents, the platform enables stores to operate safely – and profitably.