Phillips said Gauteng had the country's highest rate of attacks on retailers - accounting for 46% of all attacks in the country - followed by the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
Cash Connect’s statistics are based on statistics from the SA Banking Risk Information Centre, the police and the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa.
Phillips said the retailers that reported the biggest increase in attacks were those involved in liquor. "Within this sector, there has been a 21% increase in attacks year-on-year. We believe that’s because of their heavy reliance on cash,” he said.
Phillips said research showed that only 29% of the country's retailers had automated systems in place, such as safes, to handle cash. "The rest rely on traditional methods of making cash deposits at banks, which makes them incredibly vulnerable to attacks.”
He said while crimes such as cash-in-transit heists against retailers were down in general, that "is not a reason to throw a party".
“There needs to be an enormous effort to deal with criminals involved in attacks on retailers, who when displaced by police anti-crime initiatives turn on softer targets in the retail sector,” he added.