Violence and abuse against shopworkers is costing UK retailers at least £235m a year in people-related costs, according to new analysis from Reveal Media, which warned the true bill could be far higher once under-reporting is taken into account.
The figure covers the workforce impact of abuse directed at frontline staff, including absence, staff turnover, lost working time, injury-related compensation and wider disruption to teams.
The findings come against a backdrop of persistently high levels of retail abuse.
The British Retail Consortium said in its 2026 Crime Report that violence and abuse against shopworkers had fallen from 2,000 incidents a day to 1,600, but remained far above the pre-pandemic level of 455 a day and was still the second-highest level on record.
Poppie Foakes, director of wellbeing innovation at Retail Trust, said the effects of abuse extended far beyond the immediate incident.
She said: “The Cost Calculator tool developed by Reveal Media is helping retailers understand the commercial impact of incidents of violence and aggression, highlighting that this is not simply an HR issue, but a business one.”
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