More than one in every four convenience store workers have considered quitting due to safety concerns, according to exclusive data provided to Better Retailing.

The YouGov survey by Motorola Solutions included 1,000 respondents. It was revealed to Better Retailing that 167 respondents were independent convenience store staff. Twenty-eight percent of them have considered quitting due to safety concerns. By comparison, 23% of respondents from major supermarkets have considered quitting.

The results found that those in convenience stores were more likely to consider quitting due to retail crime, feeling unsafe working at night and concern for customer safety, than supermarket staff.

Despite these trends, workers in convenience stores are less likely to have experienced retail crime than supermarket staff. Only 14% of convenience store respondents have experienced a physical attack on a colleague in the last 12 months. The number rises to 21% for supermarket staff. Similarly, 36% of convenience store respondents have witnessed a grab and run incident. In comparison, 65% of respondents from a supermarket have witnessed a grab and run. Forty-five percent of convenience store respondents experienced a hostile customer interaction in the last twelve months, versus 65% of supermarket workers.

Violent abuse is pushing retail staff to quit

At the Usdaw Crime Summit last week, Midcounties Co-op head of store support Chris Chandler told attendees: “We’re seeing colleagues leave because of crime and the risks they face, including spitting, verbal abuse, and violence.”

He continued: “There’s been an unprecedented level of attacks against our frontline colleagues. The risk and fear of crime in our stores has never been higher. I had one of my colleagues dragged across the shop floor by their hair. We’ve had colleagues attacked in car parks, with hammers, knives, and threatened by guns.”

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Also at the summit, policing minister Diana Johnson said: “This is the shocking reality of being a shopworker in 21st century Britain.

“Just last week I met with a shop worker in my own constituency who sent me CCTV footage of him being punched 50 times by a customer he was trying to help.

“I say to retail workers, we will back you and we will protect you. There is no place for anyone who abuses shopworkers, and we are changing the law to come after you.”

More than half of the staff that Motorola surveyed thought their employer could do more on safety. Panic buttons, CCTV and body cameras were the top three tools staff are requesting in local shops.

Vivienne Francis, vice-president, channel sales EMEA at Motorola Solutions, said: “No one should feel unsafe at work, but our survey reveals retail workers’ concerns for their own safety and the safety of shoppers.

“The concerns are amplified as we head into the holiday season, when shops are busier, stay open later and may be understaffed. The need for enhanced security is more pressing than ever to help deter theft, de-escalate hostile customer interactions and simultaneously notify everyone, including 999, in emergencies.”

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