Study: Understaffing, lack of anti-theft tech make retail workers feel unsafe heading into holidays
With retail crime rising in recent years, many U.S. retail workers are apprehensive about the holiday shopping season.
A majority (57%) of American retail workers report feeling unsafe going into the peak holiday shopping season, according to Motorola Solutions’ second-annual U.S. Retail Worker Safety Report. Many retail managers and staff surveyed said they have experienced increases in various forms of crime in their stores in the past year, with petty theft (66%), grab and runs (48%) and hostile customer interactions (46%) being reported by many. One-in-10 retail workers surveyed also said they have experienced physical attacks from customers.
In other findings, over 65% of retail workers said they expect to be understaffed this holiday season, which will impact how safe they feel going into peak shopping. More than two-thirds of respondents (68%) who expect their stores to be understaffed said they don't feel safe because of it, and 50% said they are concerned for the safety of their shoppers.
The survey also found that retailers are making more calls to first responders. More than 20% of those surveyed said public safety personnel such as police, EMS and fire are being called to their stores at least once per week, an increase of 16% over 2023. Emergency personnel are called to stores two-to-three times per month for 17% of respondents.
In terms of solutions for retail crime, respondents pointed to access control systems (35%), license plate readers (32%), panic buttons (32%) and body cameras (20%) as measures that make them feel safer. However, few retail workers reported having those security measures in place. Of those surveyed, 12% said they have access control systems, 9% have panic buttons, 7% have license plate readers and 6% are using body cameras. A majority of respondents said that their stores have more traditional security systems in place, such as video security systems (79%) and alarm systems (59%).
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Almost half of survey respondents said body cameras would help them feel safer, and a majority said the technology can help stores to better understand incidents (66%) and support investigations (66%). Additionally, more than four-in-10 (42%) said body cameras can be a deterrent to aggressive and criminal behavior in stores.
“As we approach peak shopping season, it's clear that the retail industry continues to grapple with theft and, at times, even more violent crimes,” said Sharon Hong, VP of ecosystem solutions at Motorola Solutions. “Retail workers and managers surveyed believe technology can play a role in helping to curb the issue, from deterring theft to de-escalating hostile customer interactions. Technology can also simultaneously notify everyone, including 911, of an emergency, quickly and efficiently connecting those in need with those that can help.”
Independent market research firm Researchscape conducted the survey for Motorola Solutions, which included 1,322 full- and part-time U.S. retail employees.
