Lingerie retailer, Ann Summers, has recorded a 42% reduction in colleague safety incidents during a trial of body-worn cameras across three of its UK flagship stores in partnership with Reveal Media.

Ann Summers introduced the camera pilot in response to increasing concerns around staff safety, after associates were encountering frequent aggression and intimidation on shift.

This is against a backdrop of ongoing retail crime, with the BRC suggesting instances of violence and abuse against retail workers now exceeds 1,600 incidents a day.

Keeping colleagues safe

“It’s a sad fact that it’s tougher to work on our High Streets,” said Sam Tenner, Head of Business Risk at Ann Summers. “So, with instances of confrontation or aggression up, we saw body cameras as a viable personal safety tool.”

The pilot took place across the retailer’s Edinburgh Princess Street, London Oxford Street and Nottingham city centre locations, and helped to reduce crime and police-attended incidents during the eight-week trial.

It also prompted good levels of acceptance among Ann Summers’ customers, highlighting that body-cam tech and CX can successfully coexist, even in retail environments requiring high levels of discretion.

Changing the dynamic

Alasdair Field, CEO of Reveal Media, said the trial had “changed the dynamic” on the shop floor, resulting in “fewer incidents, more confident colleagues and safer store environments.”

“Reveal has made a huge difference to the safety and confidence of our staff and given our board the belief we are tackling an important potential problem,” Tenner added.

The Reveal Media camera technology will now be rolled out to further high-risk stores across the Ann Summers estate.

The move comes as the lingerie retailer continues to invest in its digital transformation programme, having recently migrated its core integration layer onto PMC’s Graphene platform.

Ann Summers’ Technology & Supply Chain Director, Jeanette Copeland, will be speaking at the Retail Technology Show next week alongside PMC’s Technology & Solutions Director, Elliott Winskill, outlining how it moved from complexity to composability.

During the two-day show, taking place at London’s ExCeL on 22 & 23 April, 125+ of retail’s brightest minds, including leaders from Currys, Aroma Zone, the BRC and Frasers Group, will join six dedicated RTS conference tracks offering sector-shaping insight.

To register to attend RTS 2026: https://www.retailtechnologyshow.com.