NEW ZEALAND | ShopCare has launched a national Retail Pledge, calling on retailers and organisations across the supply chain to recognise workplace violence and aggression as a critical health and safety risk.
The initiative follows the September 2026 ShopCare National Customer Aggression Survey, which found that 91 percent of the 2,538 customer-facing workers surveyed had experienced aggression in the previous 12 months. Among retail respondents, the figure was 90 percent.
The findings have reinforced concerns about the treatment of frontline workers and the need for employers to take practical steps to prevent harm, respond to incidents, and support affected staff.
Through the ShopCare Retail Pledge, participating organisations formally acknowledge occupational violence and aggression as a significant workplace risk, requiring the same attention as other critical health and safety issues.
Signatories commit to identifying risks, introducing appropriate controls, improving incident reporting, and ensuring workers receive support when violence or aggression occurs. The pledge also encourages organisations to share information, learn from industry experience, and promote respectful behaviour.
A central part of the commitment is ensuring that incidents are properly reported and followed up. ShopCare's research found that 27 percent of respondents who experienced abuse had not reported it to their employer, highlighting the importance of workplace reporting systems and employee confidence in management responses.
The pledge also extends beyond individual retailers. ShopCare is encouraging suppliers, landlords, technology partners, industry bodies, and policymakers to participate, recognising that improving safety requires cooperation across the retail sector.
Founding organisations have already committed their support, with ShopCare inviting further participation from businesses of all sizes.
The initiative places responsibility on employers to move beyond acknowledging the problem and demonstrate how risks are being managed. For retailers, this includes reviewing existing safety measures, ensuring staff know how to report incidents, and checking that preventative controls are effective.
ShopCare is encouraging organisations to make a formal commitment to safer workplaces, with the aim of ensuring violence and aggression are no longer accepted as part of working in retail.
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