Shop owners have called on the Home Secretary to specifically ban attacks on retail workers.
The Government should create a new crime of assault, threat or abuse of a retail worker, dozens of business leaders said.
Nearly 90 bosses, from Aldi's UK chief executive Giles Hurley to Charmaine Griffiths, who heads the British Heart Foundation, said such actions should be considered an aggravated offence.
This would align English and Welsh laws with the Protection of Workers Act 2021 passed in Scotland.
“This stand-alone offense would send an important signal that our colleagues will receive better legal protection and act as a deterrent to potential offenders. “This action must be taken without delay,” the letter said.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “It is vital that action is taken before the scourge of retail crime worsens.
“We are seeing organized gangs threatening staff with weapons and emptying stores. We are seeing violence against colleagues who are doing their jobs and asking for age verification.
“We are seeing a torrent of abuse directed at working staff in the workshops. It is simply unacceptable: no one should have to go to work fearing for their safety.
“It is time for the Government to put its words into action. We need to see a separate offense for assaulting or abusing a retail worker, as exists in Scotland.
"We need the Government to support the millions of retail workers who kept us safe and fed during the pandemic, and support them, just as those workers supported us."
A BRC survey found that incidents of violence and abuse towards retail workers almost doubled in the 2021-22 financial year compared to before the pandemic.
It is estimated that around £953 million was stolen from retailers.
Yvette Cooper, Labour's shadow home secretary, said: “Our high streets and shop workers are being let down by a Conservative government that has repeatedly refused to act to keep our streets safe or protect workers from stores of atrocious abuse and violence, and has cut 10,000 police officers. and PCSO of urban centers and neighborhoods.
“The Labor Party is calling for stronger action against abuse of shop workers, including on sentencing, and we will restore neighborhood policing and city center patrols with 13,000 more officers and PCSOs.”
