28% of retailers rely on yelling to alert employees of an emergency
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According to a recent retail report by Motorola Solutions, petty theft (54%), grab-and-run theft (35%) and hostile customer interactions (31%) have increased in the last year. Two out of three retailers are at least somewhat concerned for their personal safety at work heading into the holiday shopping season.
Retail workers and managers said they access landline telephones (58%) and PA systems (45%) to report store safety concerns while nearly one-third (28%) would rely on yelling to inform coworkers of an incident.
Respondents said their stores currently feature video security systems (76%), alarm systems (64%) and merchandise sensors (44%), but that additional technologies would make them feel safer such as artificial intelligence (AI) to detect guns (42%), access control systems to lock doors when threats are detected (36%), wearable/mounted panic buttons to alert for help (30%) and license plate readers to identify vehicles associated with criminal activity (30%).
About one-third (36%) said their employer has introduced a new worker safety measure in the past 12 months, with top changes including increased emergency response training (49%), more timely communication about in-store incidents (41%) and additional security personnel (33%).
One in four (26%) respondents said they have considered leaving retail due to safety concerns.
Read the full report here.
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