Scottish shopkeepers are battling a £170 million shoplifting explosion that is killing businesses.
Latest figures show that Scottish businesses have footed a record bill as gangs of organised thieves and more and more occupational shoplifters wreak havoc in shops.
The cost of thieving has almost doubled from the £90 million recorded in 2022.
The relentless rise of theft has been accompanied with rising levels of violent attacks – with 170 incidents of violence or abuse to Scottish shop workers every day last year – and nearly 4000 violent attacks.
Business owners claim that a £3 million boost to combat retail crime, announced by the Scottish Government last year, is a drop in the ocean – and a more visible police presence is needed to deter the thieves.
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Deputy Head of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “Shockingly, retail crime continues to skyrocket.
“Theft cost Scottish retailers £170 million last year.
“That leads to customers having to face both higher prices and more inconvenient shopping as retailers have to mitigate the costs and shrinkage resulting from this criminal behaviour.
“We estimate there were 170 incidents of violence or abuse to Scottish shop workers every day last year; with nearly 4000 violent attacks in the last year.”
He added: “It’s not acceptable that retail staff in Scotland have to operate in this climate of fear.
“Whilst the recent Budget announcement of £3 million to help tackle retail crime is a good start, the reality is a much greater effort is needed across the criminal justice system to get this situation under control and protect workers and customers.”
The comments came as the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Crime Survey found that retail violence and abuse increased over 50% to more than 2,000 incidents a day
The survey showed that incidents of violence and abuse in 2023/24 was three times the level of 2020, with racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons through the roof.
The Scottish Government said 543 offenders have been convicted after the introduction of legislation protecting shop workers in 2021.
The BRC’s Annual Crime Survey found 61% of respondents in the UK described the police response to incidents as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.
Theft reached an all-time high with over 20 million incidents (over 55,000 per day) costing retailers £2.2 billion in 2023/24 (up from £1.8 billion the previous year).
Many more incidents are linked to organised crime, with gangs systematically targeting stores across the country, stealing tens of thousands of pounds worth of goods and rotating around multiple stores.
The UK Labour Government has pledged remove the £200 threshold of ‘low level’ theft and make a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retail crime is spiralling out of control.
“With little faith in police attendance, it is no wonder criminals feel they have licence to steal, threaten, assault and abuse.”
Scotland’s Minister for Victims and Community Safety, Siobhian Brown said: “Retail crime causes significant disruption and harm, especially for shop workers, and any increase in these types of incidents, including where children are involved, is concerning.
“The Scottish Government’s draft budget makes available £3 million in 2025-26 to help tackle retail crime. This is in addition to an investment next year of a record £1.62 billion for policing – an increase of £70 million on 2024-25.
“I condemn any violence against retail workers and would always encourage retailers to report all crimes to Police Scotland.”
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