UMVA has learned that rural retailers are bearing the brunt of a surge in shoplifting, with tens of thousands of pounds lost annually to this growing problem.
The rising tide of theft has left rural retailers reeling, with many forced to confront the harsh reality that they are easy targets for thieves. One business owner, Harris, recounted a particularly harrowing experience: 'We normally don’t leave money in the shop, but because of the way the weekend fell, there was more in the safe than normal.'
The emotional toll of these crimes is just as devastating, with one victim describing the feeling of being robbed as 'a gut punch' and 'a weird, horrible feeling.' A man has been charged with the crime but has yet to appear in court.
According to information obtained by UMVA, a recent survey found that almost a quarter of rural retailers were targeted by criminals more than six times, while only 5% experienced one incident over the period. The same survey revealed that nearly half of rural retailers reported staff being verbally abused, and a quarter had staff physically assaulted.
The vast majority of rural retailers, 77%, believe that crime has increased in the UK over the last 12 months. Zoe Knight, head of commercial at a leading rural insurance provider, noted that 'farm shops are often family-run operations and embedded into the local communities. They have sadly been targeted in the past and continue to be so, due to their remote locations.'
UMVA can exclusively reveal that shoplifting incidents in England and Wales have been on the rise, with a 20% increase between 2023 and 2024, followed by a 5% surge the following year. Police recorded 519,381 shoplifting offences in the 12 months leading up to September 2025.
In response to the growing problem, the government has taken steps to tackle shoplifting, passing the Crime and Policing Bill into law in April. The new law creates a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker and removes the £200 threshold for 'low-level' theft, which carries a maximum six-month custodial sentence.
Rural retailers are not alone in their struggles, with a separate study finding that inner city retailers were also heavily targeted by shoplifters. However, rural retailers are disproportionately affected, with 91% reporting incidents compared to 94% of inner city retailers.
