Protect the Protectors: EDI-USA Has the Gear You Need to Keep Retail Security Staff Safe

With the holiday gift-buying season upon us, brick-and-mortar retailers are bound to see an upswing in the number of shoppers, along with more physical altercations involving customers and shoplifters. Keep your security staff safe with EDI-USA’s wide range of protective gear! Check out our array of anti-stab and bullet-resistant vests, and contact us to determine what products are right for your business’s needs.

According to recent industry reports, violent shoplifting events have been on the rise for years. According to D&D Daily, the year 2022 set an all-time record for violent retail crime, which rose more than one-third since 2019. That record was quickly broken the following year: according the National Retail Foundation (NRF)’s 2023 Report, retailers saw a 35% average rise in violent shoplifting events just since 2022! This trend shows every sign of continuing: the Council on Criminal Justice reported that in the first half of 2024, shoplifting in the U.S. rose by 24%, despite a downward trend in other crimes nationwide.

Culprits aren’t just armed with their fists; many carry weapons ranging from pepper spray to knives and handguns. Keep your security and loss-prevention personnel safe from pepper spray attacks with EDI-USA’s visors and face masks. Safeguard your staff from knife attacks with our stab-resistant vests, or custom-order EDI-USA® bullet-resistant vests with additional Level 1 or 2 stab resistance built-in.

*Anti-ballistic technology is very different from anti-stab and anti-spike technology. Make sure you understand the difference, so your staff are protected from multiple kinds of assault.

Retail security and loss-prevention officers face unpredictable but ever-escalating rates of workplace violence, whether intervening to protect customers during armed altercations and robberies or apprehending potentially armed shoplifters.

Retailer Macy’s alone has seen a spate of armed attacks by shoplifters on security guards in the last twelve months, as far apart as Yakima, Queens, Wilmington, Boston, Philadelphia, and Sacramento. Such attacks have resulted in several hospitalizations and at least one fatality.

Violent retail crime is by no means limited to big-box stores and national chains. Last year, 13% of small business owners reported experiencing daily retail theft, with 45% of retailers reporting reduced hours or location closures in high-crime areas.

The rise of smash-and-grab style ORC, as well as shootings in malls and retail parking lots, has led some retailers to install crime-deterrent smoke bomb and pepper-spray systems of their own. If you’re considering such measures, make sure your staff’s eyes and airways are protected from “friendly fire” with EDI-USA respirators and gas masks.

Don’t leave your security staff vulnerable! Guards and loss-prevention officers are often the first line of defense against theft, as well serious injury, before police can arrive. Contact us today to find out more about how EDI-USA’s gear can help ensure your employees—and your bottom line—are protected.