Most independent retailers are finding it harder to keep trading, according to a new survey by the Fed into retail crime and the illicit tobacco and vape trade.

When asked whether rising retail crime, employment and energy costs, and the proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill were making it harder for their business to survive, 96% of respondents said yes.

The survey also found that 66% of members had seen a rise in retail crime — including shop theft, violence and abuse — since January 2025.

Respondents were also asked if they could afford to improve security over the next year to tackle rising retail crime. 86% said no. Meanwhile, 87% felt that local authorities and Trading Standards had not done enough to curb the trade in illicit goods.

The Fed urges government support as shoplifting cases exceed 500,000

The survey also found that 95% of members believed the forthcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill would drive more shoppers to illicit traders, if the proposed restrictions are implemented. 97% said the government needs to carry out more consultation with the retail community, particularly small businesses.

Mo Razzaq, the Fed’s national president, said the survey’s findings were “disturbing” but not “surprising”.

He said: “Independent retailers are being hit from all sides, with criminals who steal from our shops and attack us and our staff largely going unpunished, and soaring costs and increased legislation pushing more retailers ever nearer to being forced to closing their doors for good.

“We have repeatedly warned the government in no uncertain terms that independent retail is on the brink of disaster unless our industry receives the support it so desperately needs to survive.”

Razzaq added that the Fed will make the government aware of the survey’s results to continue to impress upon them the “real, serious problems” the sector is facing.

Read more: OPINION: Tackling shop crime needs action, not just words – Mo Razzaq, national president, the Fed