Keeping Employees Safe in the Face of Rising Retail Crime

The increasing frequency and severity of retail crime continues to make waves in the national news and impact consumers and businesses across the country. Just recently, we’ve seen Starbucks choose to close locations and Walgreens reduce its operating hours in certain cities.

In addition to impacting revenue, the lesser discussed—but equally detrimental—consequence is the heavy toll that retail crime is taking on employees. A 2021 study reported that 86 percent of asset protection managers said that an organized retail criminal had verbally threatened an associate with bodily harm and 76 percent reported that an associate had been physically assaulted. Retail is becoming an increasingly unsafe environment in which to work, making it more difficult for companies to hire and retain employees in an industry that is already stretched thin by labor shortages. Read more at Loss Prevention Magazine.