Store Associates

Sam’s Club will raise pay to incentivize workers to stay with the company — and not jump ship to Costco. Sam’s Club, the membership club arm of Walmart, will increase its minimum wage to $16 starting in November from $15 an hour. It will also raise wages for its nearly 100,000 employees, ranging from 3…

In the last few years, retail stores have transformed from delivering basic sales functions into much more. They're now customer engagement hubs, micro-fulfillment centers, omnichannel service centers and much more. As the lines between channels continue to blur, the variety, volume and velocity of store associate tasks has exploded. Recent research with retail executives —…

Is your organization struggling not only to attract and retain talent but also to keep existing employees engaged and satisfied? If so, you’re not alone, especially if you’re in the retail industry. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the retail labor market shortage saw its most drastic cut in November 2021, when almost…

“Scott, we’re doing all we can to support our managers, but they just can’t seem to motivate our employees. What do we do?” I meet many business leaders in my work as a speaker and consultant and I hear their challenges. Four out of five conversations are about employees. Usually it’s their hourly employees, those…

The retail landscape has undergone tectonic shifts in recent years, leaving managers to navigate sometimes unfamiliar if not entirely new territory. From deploying emerging technologies to training staff on urgent theft prevention strategies, today's retail leaders wear many hats as they work to boost productivity, deliver consistent experiences, and protect the bottom line. With 2024…

With consumer prices beginning to plateau, retailers are beginning to feel cautiously optimistic over their future revenue streams. However, the index remains up 3.2 percent from a year ago, and with federal student loans now due for the first time in over three years, this makes a recipe for wallet-conscious shoppers. Now, shoppers are cutting…

Employees are an essential component in any brick-and-mortar store and play an important part in creating a positive customer experience. To stay competitive against online retailers such as Amazon.com, physical stores need to invest in their employees and ensure their satisfaction is at its peak. Given the present job market, this has escalated in importance.…

Keeping up with the fast pace of retail is a never-ending cycle between maintaining brand promise, fostering employee productivity, and improving the customer experience. These three factors are all dependent on the other: employee productivity is key to meeting consumer demand, and meeting consumer demand is vital to increasing revenue and protecting the brand. Given…

The retail industry is an integral part of the U.S. economy, providing jobs for 52 million people across the country, more than any other industry. Frontline retail workers are the glue that holds businesses together. Yet, the challenges they face often go unaddressed, especially given their growing list of responsibilities, made even longer by the…

Retailers are facing a major conundrum: consumers are flocking back to brick-and-mortar retail while the struggle to adequately staff stores has never been greater. High turnover in retail isn’t new. According to McKinsey & Company, annual employee turnover among frontline retail workers has been at least 60 percent for a long time. But record inflation…