Shoppers walking down Oxford Street (Image: Getty)
Everybody has their Boxing Day traditions, whether it’s a family meal, a day for movies and leftovers, or – for many – a day at the shops. The Boxing Day sales are a major event for millions of people, offering the final chance of the year to grab a great bargain, or pick up some essentials for the year ahead.
To make these sales possible, retailers are working overtime to prepare their stores, with hundreds of thousands of staff reporting for duty on Boxing Day.
But despite their hard work, front line staff are more at risk than ever from violence and abuse from customers.
Along with incidences of theft, violence against retail workers and delivery drivers has increased dramatically in recent years. Our last Crime Survey showed over 1300 incidents of violence or abuse every single day.
Retail is a diverse employer: from teenagers taking on their first job to parents returning to the workforce. These are the people who work tirelessly to serve us in a shop or bring us our deliveries, every single day.
Yet they are subjected to racist and sexist slurs, threats with weapons, and violence. And while the violence can be over in a moment, the victims carry these experiences for a lifetime, affecting their colleagues, their friends, and the family they go home to.
So this Boxing Day – one of the busiest shopping days of the year – spare a thought for the hardworking people in retail that make your shop possible.
As the final sales of the year begin, we ask to public to stand with us in the fight against retail crime. A small effort to be kind and considerate goes a long way, especially for our retail colleagues, who are giving up time with their own family to help make our Boxing Day as enjoyable as possible.
Christmas may be over for another year, but there’s no reason why the spirit of kindness should not live on today, and all year round.