Rural retailers are facing growing levels of crime, with new research suggesting that the problem is no longer confined to busy high streets and major urban centres.

According to research reported by The Guardian, nine in 10 rural retailers have been victims of crime in the past year, with affected businesses losing an average of £83,000. The findings cover farm shops, rural stores, agricultural suppliers, and other businesses operating outside traditional town and city retail environments.

While inner-city retailers continue to report the highest levels of crime, the figures highlight how widely retail crime is now being felt across the UK. Rural businesses are often more isolated, may have fewer staff on site, and can face longer response times from police or emergency services. That combination can make theft, burglary, and repeat offending particularly disruptive.

The research also points to the human impact of retail crime. Almost half of rural retailers surveyed said staff had been verbally abused over the past 12 months, whilst a quarter reported that staff had been physically assaulted.

For many retailers, the issue is the wider cost of disruption, security upgrades, staff wellbeing, and the loss of confidence that follows an incident as well as the value of goods stolen.

The findings come at a time when retail worker protection, repeat offending, and information sharing between retailers, police, and industry partners remain high on the agenda across the sector.