More than 90% of rural retailers across England have fallen victim to shoplifting over the past year as crime continues to rise across the country, according to new research.
A survey by NFU Mutual found that farm shops, machinery suppliers and other countryside businesses are increasingly being targeted by thieves.
The study revealed rural retailers lost an average of £83,000 each annually due to theft and related crime.
For some businesses, the financial damage was far greater, with one in 20 retailers reporting losses exceeding £500,000.
John Harris said his Broadditch farm shop near Gravesend was broken into last Easter after thieves smashed their way inside and stole a safe containing £5,000 along with charity donation boxes.
“We normally don’t leave money in the shop, but because of the way the weekend fell, there was more in the safe than normal,” Harris said.
“It felt personal, like a gut punch. It was a weird, horrible feeling.”
Police have charged one man in connection with the burglary, although the case has not yet reached court.
The survey also found that nearly a quarter of rural retailers had been targeted more than six times within a year.
Alongside theft, 46% of retailers said staff had experienced verbal abuse, while one in four reported physical assaults on employees.
More than three-quarters of respondents said they believed crime levels in the UK had increased during the past 12 months.
Zoe Knight warned that rural businesses remain particularly vulnerable because of their isolated locations.
“Farm shops are often family-run operations and embedded into the local communities,” she said.
“They have sadly been targeted in the past and continue to be so, due to their remote locations, so it is vital that owners take all necessary and appropriate preventative steps to try to deter thieves.”
Official figures from the Office for National Statistics show shoplifting offences in England and Wales increased by 20% between 2023 and 2024.
The problem worsened further last year, with police recording more than 519,000 shoplifting offences in the 12 months to September 2025.
Separate research by the British Retail Consortium found inner-city retailers were slightly more likely to be targeted than rural businesses, although countryside stores were close behind.
In response to the growing crime wave, the UK government introduced the Crime and Policing Bill earlier this year.
The legislation created a specific offence for assaulting retail workers and removed the £200 threshold previously applied to lower-level theft offences.