How to improve health and safety in the retail industry

Key risks to customer safety in retail stores

Key risks to customer safety in retail stores include slips, trips and falls, injuries caused by poorly-maintained equipment, physical assaults and overcrowded accidents. 

While distinct figures for customer injuries are unavailable, the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that almost 354,000 nonfatal injuries occur in the retail sector per year, the third-highest number of injuries per industry behind only healthcare and manufacturing. 

Efforts to improve store safety must be attuned to address the following types of risks:

• Slips, trips and falls: Slips, trips and falls can be caused by several factors, including inclement weather, improper cleaning practices, failure to remove rubbish and unsafe cable management, all of which create hazardous conditions for guests.
• Theft-related incidents: Shoplifting and external theft are common threats to shop health and safety. With almost 90% of retailers believing shoplifters have become more violent in recent years, theft prevention must be a top safety priority. 
• Unforeseen emergencies: Fires, natural disasters, violent attacks and other similar emergencies pose serious and complex threats to customer safety. As these events are hard to predict, store safety policies must include easy-to-follow response plans.
• Crowds and bottlenecks: Foot traffic fluctuates depending on numerous factors, from the time of day or year to local events or emergencies. This increases the risk of bottlenecks and crowds forming, which can cause severe injuries.
• Improper maintenance: Loose displays, poorly-stacked merchandise and damaged electrical equipment can pose risks to customers as they move around retail stores, including broken bones, cuts, lacerations, blunt force injuries and electrical shocks.
• Vehicular hazards: Best practices for health and safety in stores must also extend to outdoor areas such as concourses and parking lots, with poor traffic management, in particular, posing significant risks related to collisions with cars and pedestrians.

Best practices for enhancing customer safety in retail stores 

When developing policies and practices to improve safety in retail stores, the above types of risks must be equally considered. Efforts to improve customer safety in retail stores must be viewed as continuous, with equal commitments from everyone involved. 

While the specifics might vary depending on the unique conditions in different retail environments, below are key best practices for improving store safety that can be reliably applied to all retail businesses.

1. Prioritize accessibility in store layouts

Trip hazards, overcrowding, and poorly arranged product displays are commonly involved in customer injuries. One study found that slips, trips and falls account for over 30% of retailer insured losses. While eliminating accidents may not be possible, retailers can reduce their occurrence by ensuring store layouts are designed with accessibility in mind.

Ensuring aisles are wide enough for multiple customers and wheelchair users to move freely, the store is well-lit, and products are arranged so they’re easy to reach for all customers, which can be effective hazard-mitigation measures. Other steps to consider include clearly labeling aisles to aid route planning and further widening aisles that see heavy traffic.

2. Leverage security technologies

Modern security technologies with built-in smart functionality can be invaluable in improving store safety. For example, retail security cameras with AI analytics tools can be configured to autonomously identify hazards like obstructed aisles and overcrowding, potential security threats, and intrusion events. Remote alerts can be sent to on-site security staff and managers, enabling them to enact swift and relevant responses.

Retail access control systems can also improve safety in retail stores by ensuring high-risk areas, such as stock rooms, storage closets and maintenance rooms, remain inaccessible to unauthorized individuals without valid credentials. 

When security cameras and access control are integrated with other security technologies, such as alarm systems and sensors, stores can leverage enhanced situational awareness and real-time alerts to effectively assist with retail loss prevention efforts.

3. Perform frequent maintenance

To help enhance customer safety in retail stores, managers must devise strategies for checking, testing and maintaining all pieces of in-store equipment. Damaged equipment and infrastructure like displays, shelving units, signage and electrical equipment can cause serious harm to customers if not appropriately addressed, so frequent checks must be performed.

An appropriate retail shop health and safety policy will include provisions to assess, test and maintain all potentially hazard-forming equipment regularly. Store safety checklists should be created with clear instructions on how to test equipment, report faults and replace damaged items promptly, with records kept continuously to support ongoing auditing efforts.

4. Regularly conduct risk assessments and safety audits

New hazards emerge regularly in fast-paced business environments like retail operations. This could negate the results of risk assessments performed only a few weeks or months ago. This can be of particular concern in stores with high employee turnover, and during high-traffic times like the holidays when temporary workers are brought in.

Building security assessments and safety audits should be performed at least once a year as part of an effective and compliant retail shop health and safety policy. They should be more frequent in larger, high-traffic stores. All identified risks should be investigated to determine the likelihood of each causing serious harm to customers and staff. Risks considered severe or highly likely to occur should be prioritized in terms of mitigation. 

Assessments should be conducted with support from qualified retail safety and security professionals, and records should be kept for posterity. Legal, local and industry-specific safety guidelines for retail stores typically require documentation of safety assessments and improvements to be properly stored and organized to assist future audits and reviews.

Store safety leaders should also conduct workplace walkthroughs and employee interviews to identify present and potential hazards, review historic incident reports and consult established safety guidelines for retail stores.

5. Offer staff training sessions

Efforts to improve customer safety in retail stores must be a daily priority. All workers should perform their roles with best practices for health and safety in mind. Staff across all levels of the business must be trained to spot, respond to and report hazards to management.

Qualified professionals must conduct health and safety training in retail shops at least once a year, and new hires must receive comprehensive training as part of their onboarding. Staff should also participate in emergency drills to ensure preparedness. To show a true commitment to customer safety in retail stores, leaders should consider running extra sessions before busy periods and incentivizing staff health and safety qualifications.

How to create a culture of health and safety in retail stores

Initiatives regarding health and safety in retail stores must not be viewed as simple checks performed to maintain compliance. Instead, they should be positioned as central tenets of a business’s core purpose. Concerted efforts must be made to create a health and safety culture in retail stores to help ensure all staff members prioritize health and safety in daily tasks.

1. Incentivize skill development and safety training

Customer-facing employees are best positioned to uphold safety standards and ensure hazards are spotted and addressed promptly. Thus, a foundational aspect of creating a health and safety culture in retail stores is incentivizing staff across all levels of the business to pursue extra safety qualifications.

The more staff trained in professional first aid, fire safety, hazard perception, active harmer response and similar safety processes, the lesser the risk of serious hazards causing harm to customers. Offering benefits to pursue such qualifications can also normalize safety training among workers, influencing new and part-time staff to consider skill development.

2. Encourage employees to identify and report risks

Employees on the shop floor are best positioned to identify potential risks before severe impacts occur, so they must have a safe and reliable way to report issues to team leaders. Reporting solutions are a key component of effective shoplifting prevention, hazard perception and customer safety initiatives, so time must be taken to ensure they’re intuitive. 

Examples of effective reporting solutions include mobile-based systems designed to enable staff to report issues promptly from any secure smart device, as well as panic buttons and silent alarms. Less immediate risks may be reported in person or through confidential online reporting tools, with efforts to encourage positive opinions on reporting among teams.

3. Communicate safety protocols to customers

Customers also play an important role in promoting health and safety in retail, with shoppers expected to follow safety protocols when attending the store. Installing clear signage around the store reminding people of health and safety best practices can help ensure compliance and subtly influence customers to remain aware of hazards while shopping.

Tips for maintaining compliance with safety standards

Legal and regulatory bodies request that retailers uphold a range of safety standards to ensure the safety of customers and staff, failure to comply with these can lead to significant fines and legal repercussions. Retail stores are typically inspected by health departments at least once a year but can be more frequently depending on unique risk factors.

While standards can vary by state, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration

(OSHA) rules provide a good base from which to prepare for inspections. Below are some tips for maintaining compliance with safety standards.

• General requirements: OSHA Standard 1910.22 outlines general requirements for store safety. To maintain compliance, retailers must ensure all areas of the premises, including all walking-working surfaces, are clean and orderly.
• Operational features for exit routes: OSHA Standard 1910.37 covers rules for maintaining exit routes. Retailers must ensure exit routes are free from hazards, arranged with safe travel in mind and are adequately lighted/​marked at all times.
• Medical services and first aid: OSHA Standard 1910.151 outlines medical and first aid requirements. To maintain compliance, retailers must ensure that staff with adequate training and fresh first aid supplies are always on-site. 
• Accident and injury reports: OSHA recordkeeping requirements state that employers with more than 10 employees must keep records of all serious workplace injuries and illnesses and post a summary between February and April of each year.
• Fire prevention plans: OSHA Standard 1910.39 concerns fire safety regulations. Retailers must create, secure and make comprehensive fire prevention plans available and regularly maintain all fire prevention measures to maintain compliance.

Enhance security measures to improve store safety

Ensuring customer safety in retail stores is paramount to business success. Retailers are responsible for protecting staff and customers from harm, and upholding this responsibility can bring about wider benefits including improved business reputation and increased customer trust.

Efforts to improve health and safety in retail stores must be continuous, with organizational and technological safety measures assessed and improved upon regularly. To owners and managers of retail stores, consider when your current security measures were last properly evaluated, and think about how modern retail security systems may be deployed to enhance your efforts.