H&M ‘tests in-store body cams’ to tackle retail crime

Swedish fashion brand H&M is reportedly testing body cameras across three UK stores in a bid to tackle growing retail crime.

The retailer told The Mail on Sunday that it is trialling the technology in one store in Edinburgh and two in London.

“We’re testing this new technology in a three-store pilot to assess what beneficial impact it may have, along with proper staff customer service training, on de-escalating and reducing incidents for the safety of both our colleagues and customers,” an H&M spokesperson told This is Money over the weekend.

The move comes as retailers across the UK explore a range of security measures to tackling rising retail crime.

In May, Currys has announced its largest ever investment in in-store security with the rollout of headsets at stores nationwide.

The move follows a successful trial of the VoCoVo developed technology in 20 stores.

The headsets aim to help staff stay better connected and therefore safer on the shop floor amidst the rise in shoplifting and abuse incidents across the retail industry.

In February, Tesco unveiled a new multimillion-pound security hub in Daventry, Northamptonshire, as part of a major investment to tackle the growing problem of retail crime across its UK stores.

The high-tech centre, which operates 24 hours a day throughout the year, analyses thousands of hours of CCTV footage to target shoplifters and protect staff from violence.

Security operators have been assigned responsibility for monitoring specific groups of stores across the UK.

bp has also rolled out a crime intelligence platform across its 300 company-owned stores and has provided staff with body cameras at 70 locations.

The Auror platform allows the company to gather and share relevant information on retail crime with local police and other retailers.

H&M’s trial comes after figures from the British Retail Consortium published in March revealed that nearly a quarter of the UK population have witnessed shoplifting taking place while at a shop in the last 12 months.

The organisation also found that around 23 per cent of customers have seen the physical or verbal abuse of staff including racial or sexual abuse, physical assault or threats with weapons.

In January, the BRC’s annual crime survey also found that retail crime is at the highest level on record with losses reaching £2.2 billion.

It also showed that there were over 2,000 incidents of violence and abuse over 2023-2024, more than triple the levels recorded in 2020.

Separately, shopworkers’ union Usdaw, has produced its own research which shows 77 per cent of retail staff experience abuse, with 53 per cent on the receiving end of threats and 10 per cent experiencing assault.