Southern Co-op’s Welcome franchisee, Richard Inglis, has got behind the latest #ShopKind campaign which is  backed by the Home Office and supported by over 100 leading high street retailers.

In a new consumer polling conducted for the #ShopKind campaign, it has been revealed that more than one in three people believe that shopping has become more frustrating as a result of the cost of living crisis and 36% of customers have personally witnessed a shopworker being verbally or physically abused by another customer

The #ShopKind campaign, backed by the nation’s shopkeepers and trade union USDAW, aims to remind customers about the importance of being considerate to shopworkers and each other. The new polling highlights 31% of customers are more anxious when they shop and which situations are most likely to lead to abuse of shopworkers, the most frequently cited triggers in the survey were:

1. Not enough staff to serve
2. Queues at the till
3. Products not being available

The British Retail Consortium’s annual Crime Survey shows that there are over 850 incidents of violence and abuse every day in the retail sector. In June 2022, new provisions came into force as part of the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act to make attacking an individual who serves the public, including shopworkers, an aggravated offence.

This week retailers are reminding customers to ShopKind in stores and acknowledge the important role of shopworkers to communities. New films from the ShopKind campaign highlight the impact that abuse by customers can have on shopworkers here: [LINK]

Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman said: “It’s clear that the cost of living crisis is putting additional pressure on people when they’re out shopping, but this is too often translating into abuse of shopworkers. Colleagues in shops are there to help and deserve to be treated with respect, and there is never a good excuse to be abusive towards them. We’re pleased that there is such widespread support in the retail sector and from the Home Office for the Shopkind campaign, which we hope will urge frustrated shoppers to think twice before an incident escalates into abuse.”

Richard Inglis, Welcome store franchisee in partnership with Southern Co-op, said: “I do my best to protect my colleagues from any abuse but sometimes people’s frustrations can unexpectedly turn into anger. I was grateful for the opportunity to get the ShopKind message across in the latest campaign videos as it’s a personal plea for customers to remember that we’re human at the end of the day. We have so many lovely customers but sadly verbal abuse can have a seriously negative effect on us all so please try and stay kind.”

If you have any information about someone who is abusive or violent towards retail workers, please let Crimestoppers know 100% anonymously on freephone 0800 555 111 or by competing a simple and secure Anonymous Online Form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

Retailers looking to get involved with the campaign during #Shopkind Week (17^th – 23^rd April) can download supporting materials from the National Business Crime Centre website here: https://nbcc.police.uk/business-support/shopkind/shopkind-webpage.