UK retailers and shopworkers' union USDAW have written a joint letter to the police urging them to do more to stop what they say is a “torrent” of shoplifting.
In the letter to the Police and Crime Commissioners, the shop groups called for it to be easier to report crimes and robberies that involve violent attacks on staff to be prioritised.
"Shop theft is far from a minor crime, it is the primary trigger for violence and abuse of shopworkers and often committed by prolific offenders or organised crime gangs," said the letter.
Signatories included the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the Association of Convenience Stores, the British Independent Retail Association, the Federation of Small Businesses and the National Federation of Retail Newsagents.
Sussex commissioner Katy Bourne on behalf of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners said she understood the retail sector's frustration but added the police face a huge daily demand for resources.
"From the many businesses I have met it is sadly evident that, too often, the policing response they have received – assuming they got one - is not what they expect," she said.
The BRC estimates shoplifting now costs the sector £1 billion a year with local convenience stores feeling the brunt of the rise.
John Lewis Partnership, owner of department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, recently said theft from stores had cost it £12 million in its latest half-year.
Waitrose has started to offer police officers free coffees to attract them into stores and act as a deterrent to would-be thieves.
Clothing chain Primark said its half-year profit margins had been hit by increased theft, while supermarket Tesco is now offering staff bodycams.