From forecasts that Halloween could prompt a spike in shoplifting and UK consumers becoming more resistant to returns, to analysis and retail reactions to the Autumn Budget, what’s been making waves in retail this week?
Spooky Season expected to see shoplifting surge
Retailers have been warned Halloween could prompt a significant spike in theft incidents in-store, according to the latest forecasts by SAI.
Data from its SAI One Platform, which analyses insight from more than 1,000 UK retail locations and inputs from over 30,000 cameras every day, showed that in 2025 Halloween (Fri, 31 Oct) shoplifting rose by +67% on the daily average.
This year, with Halloween falling on a Saturday – consistently one of the highest risk days of the week for retail crime – shoplifting is forecast to rise 150% year-on-year.
“Halloween provides retailers with an early opportunity to kick off their Peak Trading campaigns. But with that potential reward comes risk – and the darker side of Halloween is becoming a growing challenge for retailers,” said Clare Hoole, Head of UK at SAI.
Sainsbury’s joins Retail Trust’s ‘Let’s Respect Retail’ campaign
Sainsbury’s has become the latest grocer to join the Retail Trust in campaigning for respect for shop workers as the sector enters its busiest trading period ahead of Christmas.
The UK’s second biggest food retailer will call on shoppers to treat its staff with respect and kindness from next month as part of its support for the Retail Trust’s Let’s Respect Retail campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the impact of crime and abuse on shop workers.
“No colleague should come to work worrying about abuse, threats or violence, which can have a serious and lasting impact on their wellbeing,” Tracey Clements, Chief Retail, Logistics and Supply Chain Officer at Sainsbury’s commented.
“We are taking action to keep colleagues and customers safe but no retailer can tackle this alone, which is why we’re backing the Let’s Respect Retail campaign,” she added.
WHS rolls out x-hoppers’ comms platform to 300+ stores
WHSmith will roll out a connected comms solution from x-hoppers, the smart, AI-powered retail communication platform from Wildix, across 300+ of its UK stores.
x-hoppers will support WHSmith’s store teams, offering a complete communication platform of wireless headsets, a web app for head office and an AI-powered assistant. This will help deliver faster customer support at the till and on the shopfloor for shoppers, while colleagues remain connected to improve operations and productivity.
The move follows a pilot in WHSmith’s Manchester Piccadilly station store, one of its busiest travel locations, which saw more than 43,000 smart notifications delivered to colleagues’ headsets and helped deliver a sales uplift of up to +22% in key categories.
“Our colleagues need to be able to help customers quickly, especially when stores are busy,” commented Karl Stakes, Director of Operations at WHSmith. “x-hoppers keeps our teams connected, so customers get help faster and colleagues are never on their own. The pilot showed what it can do, and we’re pleased to be rolling it out.”
Retail reacts: Autumn Budget 2026
From reaction to the changes to business rates and online marketplace VAT requirements, to investment in AI and technology and support for retail sector workers, we take in analysis from industry thought leaders, trade bodies, retailers and innovators.
Read the full round up: 2026 Autumn Budget – LIVE – Retail Rewired
Bodycare builds micro-influencer creator network
Value-led health & beauty retailer, Bodycare, is galvanising its High Street return with a community-led social strategy, optimising content from its fast-growing micro-influencer network with a custom-built AI platform, designed and delivered in partnership with commerce specialist, PMC.
This has seen Bodycare blending commerce and experiences in-store, running all store operations, including its creator studios, through its proprietary, custom-built AI platform, AIMEE.
AIMEE underpins each store’s dedicated, free-to-use content production studios, which allow digital creators and micro-influencers to generate hyper-localised content that drives community engagement. To date, Bodycare has onboarded 700 micro- and nano-influencers.
House of Bruar reports engagement boost from e-receipts
Scottish luxury department store, House of Bruar, has transformed its in-store CX with dynamic digital receipts from Yocuda, turning everyday transaction records into valuable post-purchase touchpoints.
The move to e-receipts has given House of Bruar greater visibility into purchasing habits made within its physical store, as well as offering post-purchase engagement to drive repeat purchase and loyalty.
“Digital receipts have been a valuable addition to the in-store customer journey, giving customers a convenient, paperless way to keep track of their purchases while also creating another touchpoint with House of Bruar,” said Ali Black, Head of Retail at House of Bruar.
Across post-purchase engagement, Yocuda digital receipts are already delivering a 70% open rate, while click-through rates reached 6%, helping to drive store shoppers back online.
Younger shoppers switch brands due to poor loyalty schemes
Younger shoppers are the most likely to abandon a retailer over its loyalty scheme, despite feeling more loyal to retailers than they did three years ago, according to new research from HyperFinity.
Research in HyperFinity’s Retail Loyalty Index Pulse report, which was produced with Bloomreach and Eagle Eye, found that 61% of under-35s feel more loyal to retailers than they did three years ago, yet 28% have stopped shopping with a retailer because of its loyalty programme – this compares to just 10% of over-65s.
“Younger shoppers may feel more loyal to retailers, but that loyalty cannot be taken for granted,” Thomas Hill, Co-Founder of HyperFinity, commented. “A scheme that offers generic rewards or fails to deliver on its promises can quickly undermine that relationship.”
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