Half of UK retail workers surveyed aren’t required to report abuse, or don’t know if they are.
Your incident records may not show everything your people experience. And what happens after an incident is closely linked to how they feel about coming back to work.
Free webinar · 17 November
3pm GMT · 10am ET · 7am PT · Recording available.
AWARE is founded and funded by Reveal Media Limited.
In 30 seconds
If you run a store, a region or a retail business, this is what workers like yours tell us.
of UK retail workers report verbal abuse from a customer in the past month.
Based on 4,429 UK retail workers surveyed between 9 May 2026 and 21 September 2026 · October 2026 reading · responses to 21 September 2026.
UK and US retail, side by side.
The levels of abuse are similar. 82% of UK retail workers report verbal abuse from a customer in the past month, compared with 85% in the US. 36% in the UK report threats or physical attacks, compared with 30% in the US.
Workload is the most common pressure in both countries. Pay is a bigger pressure in the US: 75% compared with 62% in the UK. Aggression is named by 51% in the UK and 42% in the US.
The main difference is reporting. 51% of UK retail workers are required to report incidents, compared with 35% in the US. What happens after a report is similar: 76% in the UK and 68% in the US say nothing happens beyond an acknowledgement, or they do not know what happens.
The link between support and how workers feel is similar in both countries. Among workers who feel not supported at all, 85% in the UK and 88% in the US feel negative about work. Among those who feel very supported, that falls to 29% in the UK and 26% in the US.
What workers face
Most report verbal abuse. More than a third report threats or physical attacks.
From customers, in the past month
46% report verbal abuse three or more times in the past month.
Asked to choose up to three things that add most to their stress at work, 81% name workload or understaffing and 62% name pay or cost of living. 51% name customer abuse or aggression.
The questions: “In the past month, how many times have you been verbally abused, insulted or shouted at by a customer?”, “In the past month, how many times have you been threatened or physically attacked by a customer?” and “Select up to three things that significantly add to your stress at work.”
What happens after a report
Little follows a report. Few are told what’s being done about it.
51% of UK retail workers are required to report incidents of customer aggression or violence. Of those required to report who answered what typically happens next, 76% say the incident is logged and nothing follows, they get an acknowledgement and no more, or they don’t know what happens.
41%
say the incident is logged and nothing follows
of workers required to report
6%
are told what’s being done about it
of workers required to report
An employer’s incident records show that an incident was reported. They don’t show what happened afterwards.
The questions: “Does your employer require you to report incidents of customer aggression or violence?” and “After an incident is reported, what typically happens next?”
Support after abuse
The less supported workers feel,
the more negative they are about work.
Feel negative about going to work, by how supported they feel
60% of those who face abuse or aggression feel not very or not at all supported.
Within each level of abuse, the unsupported are still far more negative.
The questions: “When you experience verbal abuse or aggression from customers, how supported do you feel by your employer?” and “How does going to work feel right now?” Negative means “Dread it” or “Not great”.
Free webinar · 17 November
3pm GMT · 10am ET · 7am PT
The findings, live
What frontline workers tell us, what happens after an incident, and where an employer can start looking at its own response. Recording available.
RegisterUse now
Use the conversation guide
A short practical guide for Store, People, Operations and Loss Prevention teams to examine what happens after abuse.
Open the guideTalk to us
Your own business
A briefing on these findings for your board, leadership or People team.
Work in retail yourself? Tell us what happens where you work. It takes a few minutes, and we don’t publish respondent-level data. Take part →
Pass this on
Open it in your own email with the link ready, or copy the link.
Get new findings by email
One email when new findings are published. Reveal Media Limited holds your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy policy →
Sign up