Ann Summers cuts store staff safety incidents following Reveal Media body worn camera roll-out

Ann Summers, a UK lingerie, underwear and bedroom toys retailer, reports a 42% reduction in personal safety incidents during a trial of body worn cameras across three flagship stores. The Reveal Media camera technology will now be rolled out to further high risk stores.

The eight-week trial occurred at stores in Edinburgh Princess Street, London Oxford Street and Nottingham city centre. Edinburgh reported zero police attended incidents during the trial period, and recorded its quietest Fringe season on record in terms of incidents.

The body worn cameras also received zero complaints from customers in the trial.

Ann Summers introduced the cameras in response to increasing concerns around staff safety. Many of its stores are staffed by women, including colleagues in early supervisory roles, who were increasingly encountering aggression, intimidation and people under the influence of alcohol or other substances during their work day.

Sam Tenner, Head of Business Risk at Ann Summers, says: “It’s a sad fact that it’s tougher to work on our high streets, and with resources dwindling, the ability for police to respond in the way in which we might hope isn’t realistic anymore. So, with instances of confrontation or aggression up, we saw body cameras as a viable personal safety tool.”

“Our motivation was purely around making our people feel we’re investing in the right tools to keep them safe and showing them how to use those tools to actually de-escalate aggressive behaviour.”

Alongside the R1 cameras, Ann Summers is also using Reveal’s DEMS 360 software, a digital evidence management system that securely stores and organises footage. When cameras are docked in-store, footage is automatically uploaded to the cloud, allowing authorised team members to review incidents quickly and determine whether further action is required.

Tenner says: “Reveal has made a huge difference to the safety and confidence of our staff and given our board the belief we are tackling an important potential problem.”

Alasdair Field, CEO at Reveal Media, says: “The team at Ann Summers were dealing with something no retailer should have to normalise - aggression toward staff. Seeing our cameras actually change that dynamic on the shop floor, not just in theory, is why we do this work. Fewer incidents, more confident colleagues, and safer store environments, that’s the difference.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Retail security will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.