This is what retailers should prioritise this silly season

Mark Thomson, Director of Retail Industry Solutions at Zebra Technologies. Image supplied

These negative experiences could impact the retail experience for shoppers, the worker experience for employees, and hit retailers’ bottom line.

It will be front of mind as many major retail chains ramp up their hiring efforts to meet increased consumer demand. Major e-commerce and shopping centre retailers across the region have created tens of thousands of roles each, ensuring that they can maintain high service levels.

But imagine the challenge of onboarding tens of thousands of new hires, and sorting schedules between new, seasonal staff and longer serving staff, while fairly processing time-off requests.

Retailers are also under pressure to protect shoppers and employees, ensure quality shopping experiences, and minimise theft and loss – it’s a lot to achieve as we enter the busiest retail time of the year.

Zebra’s recently published Global Shopper Study found that shopper satisfaction globally has declined compared to last year, with European shopper satisfaction below the global average.

Shoppers find it annoying that products at higher risk of theft are locked up in security cases and worry that retailers will raise prices to cover the cost of theft and crime at a time of renewed worries about inflation and the cost of living.

In recent years, there has been a significant shift in the expectations of the newer employees too, like GenZ, who are entering the workforce. They value the pay check, but also a sense of purpose and balance in their work lives – they want employers to be mindful of wellbeing.

Many retailers have acknowledged this by adjusting their hiring practices and improving working conditions, including fair and more flexible scheduling, recognising that happy employees are key to successful sales seasons.

Creating a safe and supportive environment protects employees but can also contribute to a more harmonious workplace. Retail workers must feel assured that their well-being is a top priority, especially during the shopping season when stores are teeming with customers and tensions may rise.

Retailers need to ensure they have the right number of staff on the shop floor, the right skill set, and the ability to keep frontline retail assistants supported and connected.

This year, it’s about more than the shopper experience and full shelves – retailers need to keep their employees safe. Having enough employees and the ability to call for support can make all the difference.

But scheduling can be a significant source of frustration for many retail workers and scheduling managers. Some employees want more hours, others less, some need training while others need to be on the floor to support seasonal hires. How are managers to balance the needs of the store, the shopper experience, the personal lives of workers, and the need for safety?

Having some control over one’s shifts, the opportunity to swap shifts or adjust hours as needed, more dynamic visibility of schedules and gaps, and more readily knowing the skills mix each person has, can make a difference. Likewise, making sure retail assistants on the shop floor, storage rooms and checkouts can keep in touch with a call or text in real time, send an alert, or quickly allocate a task, is useful.

These might not seem the obvious employee wellbeing or crime fighting tools that come to mind, and they don’t make us think of Christmas. But imagine trying to operate without them, or hoping a manually updated spreadsheet or dozens to hundreds of people trying to organise and keep up to date on a mobile phone app?

Right now, eight in 10 retail associates (87%) in Europe are concerned about the lack of technology deployed to spot safety threats or criminal activity, says Zebra’s study. That has to change.

Most shoppers (71%) in Europe and globally are concerned the stores at which they shop are experiencing high levels of theft and crime. Like associates, they worry threats can’t be spotted or stopped. It’s crucial to remember that while technology can facilitate better work experiences such as scheduling and communication, it’s the human element that truly makes a difference, and that has to be even more true as we head into the festive season.