A Guide to Store Safety in the Retail Industry

Store safety lapses in retail can have significant consequences, both for your employees and your bottom line. Consider this: a shopping center in NYC had to pay $2.75 million in a settlement to a customer who tripped and fell on an uneven sidewalk.

This comprehensive guide explores health and safety best practices, complying with regulations, and promoting a culture of safety in retail stores. Further, we discuss how digital retail audit software can help you achieve top-notch safety standards.

Store Safety: Why Health and Safety in the Retail Industry Matters?

Prioritizing safety in store management goes beyond compliance. It safeguards your employees and customers. Examples of hazards range from overexertion injuries to exposed wires from lightning.

These incidents, unfortunately common, can lead to reputational damage, as well as costly lawsuits and workers’ compensation claims.

Effective retail workplace health and safety programs foster a positive work environment, reduce accidents, improve employee morale, and reduce risks for your retail business.

Health and Safety Regulations in Retail: Legal Obligations for Employers

Retailers have a legal duty to provide a safe workplace for their employees. For instance, in the US, retailers have a legal duty to follow the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) guidelines to provide a safe workplace.

Although safety guidelines for retail stores vary based on location, common requirements include

• maintaining a safe work environment 
• providing retail workplace safety training
• recordkeeping of accidents, injuries, and training provided to employees.

The Financial Implications of Workplace Accidents and Injuries in Retail

Beyond the human cost of employee injuries, accidents in retail pose a significant financial burden on businesses.

Financial costs incurred due to accidents and injuries are of two types: direct and indirect. 

Direct costs include medical expenses, workers’ compensation claims, and lost productivity due to absences. Indirect costs encompass potential lawsuits, retraining replacement staff, and damaged morale, impacting employee retention. For instance, Walmart had to pay $7.5 million to a customer who got hurt while buying melons from one of its retail stores.

These costs can significantly erode profits and hinder a store’s long-term success. Thus, prioritizing staff and customer safety in retail stores becomes an ethical obligation and a sound financial investment.

Health and Safety in Retail Stores: Common Risks and Hazards

Retail stores present a unique environment with inherent store safety risks. Here are some of the most common safety hazards in retail stores:

Slips, Trips, and Falls

According to the 2023 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, slips, trips, and falls cost employers $16.99 billion in 2022. Some common causes of these store hazards include

• uneven floors
• cluttered aisles with merchandise encroaching on walkways
• spills left unattended
• wet weather tracked in from entrances. 

Additionally, improper footwear for staff, such as shoes with worn treads or no slip resistance, can significantly increase the risk.

Electrical Hazards and Safety Tips

Improper use of appliances, damaged cords, and overloaded circuits can all lead to electrical shock. These incidents not only cause injury and property damage but can also disrupt retail store operations and damage your reputation.

You can significantly reduce these risks by implementing a proactive electrical safety program, which includes routine inspections for damaged equipment, proper use of extension cords, and retail safety training on hazard identification and safe work practices.

Manual Handling Injuries

Lifting heavy objects without proper training or equipment, stocking shelves that require constant bending and reaching, and using unstable ladders or stools to access high shelves contribute to Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs).

Implementing safe lifting protocols, encouraging proper posture during stocking tasks, and providing sturdy, well-maintained ladders can significantly reduce the risk of these injuries.

Workplace Violence and Aggression

Retail staff can be vulnerable to verbal abuse, threats, and even physical assault from customers. Dealing with difficult customers, particularly those frustrated with long queues, product unavailability, or returns, requires de-escalation techniques and clear retail communication strategies. 

Security measures, such as visible security personnel and well-lit parking areas in supermarkets, can deter potential incidents and create a safer environment for employees.

Fire Hazards

The National Fire Incident Reporting System reported 16,500 office and store fires in the United States in 2020 that caused $932 million in direct property damage.

Thus, retailers should implement fire safety measures in retail stores, which include:

• adequate storage of flammable materials
• routine electrical inspections
• staff training on fire extinguisher use and evacuation procedures
• maintaining a proper fire log book
• placing and maintaining fire safety alarms

By implementing these store safety measures, retailers can significantly reduce the risk of fire and ensure the safety of employees and customers.

Retail Store Safety Tips: How to Ensure Health and Safety in Retail Shops?

Proactive safety measures in retail stores are essential for creating a positive work environment and protecting your employees and customers. Here’s a breakdown of key retail safety tips that should become part of your store SOPs:

Conduct Retail Store Risk Assessments 

Regular risk assessments in retail businesses are the cornerstone of a strong safety program, as they identify potential hazards before they cause accidents.

Audit apps like GoAudits can streamline the assessment process through customizable pre-built retail checklists that address common hazards like spills, damaged flooring, and improper lifting techniques.

With the help of these retail safety checklists, you can conduct thorough and consistent inspections, ensuring all areas of your store are evaluated regularly.

Best Practices for Comprehensive Risk Management in Retail

Effective risk management in the retail industry is critical for safeguarding assets, employees, and customers, ensuring business continuity, and protecting the brand reputation. While focusing on immediate health and safety is essential, a robust strategy requires a broader framework to handle the diverse operational and financial risks in the retail industry.

1. Establish a Foundational Retail Risk Assessment

The foundation of any successful risk program is a thorough retail risk assessment. This process goes beyond simply noting physical hazards; it involves systematically identifying, analyzing, and evaluating all potential retail risks across every facet of store operations.

• Systematic Identification: A detailed risk assessment for a retail shop must cover physical hazards (like equipment failure or fire), security threats (shrinkage, organized retail crime, workplace violence), and operational issues (e.g., supply chain disruption, inventory control failures).
• Prioritization: Once risks are identified, evaluate their likelihood and potential impact. A comprehensive risk assessment for a retail store ensures that high-impact and high-probability threats, which could lead to significant financial loss or regulatory fines, are prioritized for immediate action. For multi-site chains, standardizing the shop risk assessment process is key to achieving consistent compliance.

2. Implement Proactive Mitigation and Control

After conducting your initial risk assessment for a retail store, the next step is to implement effective controls to minimize or eliminate identified risks. This requires a proactive, integrated approach that mirrors the standards used in sectors requiring high public trust, such as risk management in retail and hospitality.

• Control Measures: For physical safety risks, this means establishing regular maintenance schedules and using digital checklists to ensure daily compliance (e.g., checking floor wetness, ensuring aisles are clear). For security and financial risks, control measures involve secure cash handling procedures, advanced CCTV systems, and robust employee training on theft prevention and de-escalation tactics.
• Training and Culture: A strong risk culture ensures that employees are the first line of defense. Staff training must be continuous and cover not just compliance, but also the reasoning behind risk procedures, empowering teams to identify and report new or emerging retail risks.

3. Continuous Monitoring and Auditing

Risk management is an ongoing cycle, not a one-time event. To ensure the effectiveness of controls, businesses must establish continuous monitoring and review processes.

• Internal Audits: Regular audits are crucial for checking compliance against established safety and operational standards. Focus specifically on potential audit risks in the retail industry, such as non-compliance with merchandising standards, poor record-keeping, or failure to follow safe manual handling procedures.
• Review and Refinement: Periodically review the original retail risk assessment findings and update them based on new incidents, changes in store layouts, or evolving regulatory updates. This ongoing feedback loop ensures that the overall risk management in the retail industry remains adaptive, effective, and relevant to the current business landscape.

Provide Retail Workplace Health and Safety Training for Employees 

Training empowers employees to recognize hazards, follow store safety procedures, and report concerns. Retail checklists can be a valuable asset in this process.

By transforming safety guidelines for retail stores into a step-by-step process, checklists allow you to demonstrate proper techniques, highlight potential risks, and implement best practices.

Integrating these checklists into training sessions allows you to explain the reasoning behind each safety measure and ensure a clear understanding.

Maintain a Safe Work Environment

Maintaining a clean, well-organized store is essential for preventing accidents and safety hazards.

• Create SOPs for housekeeping and cleanliness that outline proper retail cleaning protocols and waste disposal procedures. 
• Schedule regular store audits and ensure timely repairs of equipment to avoid accidents caused due to faulty equipment.
• Create a culture of open communication where safety is a priority. Conduct regular safety inspections to identify potential hazards and ensure adherence to established protocols.

Apart from scheduling and completing inspections, you can take safety audits one step further with GoAudits. Your team can assign corrective actions as soon as a discrepancy is found, and you can monitor the resolution in real-time.

With GoAudits we save at least 20 hours a week across different users, especially writing action plans, as now everything is done in one place.

Kartella Fuller, Director of Operations & Guest Experience, Goodwill

Practice Cash Handling Safety 

Cash readily available in stores is a target for theft. To ensure safety:

• Prioritize secure cash handling procedures
• Limit the amount of cash in the drawers
• Establish frequent deposit schedules
• Utilize a secure safe with restricted access for cash storage

Additionally, train your employees in retail theft prevention, which includes recognizing suspicious behavior, de-escalation tactics to manage agitated customers, and emergency response procedures.

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