Retail workers at Bunnings and Kmart are being threatened by customers more than 1000 times a month, with many incidents involving weapons.

Parent company Wesfarmers, which also owns Target and Priceline Pharmacy, has revealed the extent of worsening rates of retail crime.

Incidents involving threats of serious harm at Bunnings rose by 66 per cent while threatening incidents at Kmart increased 29 per cent, chief executive Rob Scott said.

The company recorded 13,500 instances of customers threatening workers in retail stores across 12 months, he told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Thursday.

More than 1000 of those instances involved physical assault and several hundred threats of serious harm, often with a weapon.

The company has increased security at high-risk

See Full Page