Store staff call on retailers to invest in pay and working conditions to avoid Christmas burnout

For retailers to get the most out of their store staff this peak season, they must prioritise pay and working conditions, integrate in-store tech to enable workers to do their job better, and leadership must listen to, and value, the views of those on the frontline. 

These are some of the top findings revealed in Retail Week’s Talking Shop report, whereby 500 UK store staff (full- and part-time) were interviewed to uncover what motivates them and the biggest challenges they face. 

The report, produced in partnership with Workday, found only 68% of store staff believe communication from their head office to their place of work to be ‘somewhat’ or ‘very effective’, while 47% don’t feel their views are listened to by their employer. 

Motivating staff during Christmas 2024 

Pay and working conditions 

With the persisting cost-of-living crisis impacting incomes it is perhaps unsurprising to learn that pay is the primary worry for store staff and the biggest area retailers should tackle this Christmas – 27.2% of respondents cite poor pay and working conditions as their biggest concern.  

Poor pay and working conditions were found to be a major concern for retail workers across the board, no matter their age or tenure. 

Shopfloor pay has risen substantially across many retail sectors, particularly in grocery, in recent years and for many employers it now sits well above the UK national minimum wage of £11.44 an hour for those aged 21 and over.   

The pay challenge puts substantial pressure on mid-sized and smaller retail operators, whose budgets do not match those of a major chain, to increase salaries or risk losing out in the war for talent.  

Despite cost pressures, pay is undeniably an impactful lever for retailers that want to attract and retain shopfloor staff to pull.   

Many retailers took action ahead of the golden quarter to invest in staff pay. This includes discounter Aldi with its second salary boost coming in March representing a £79m investment in pay overall. This increase, which benefited more than 28,000 store colleagues, saw the discount grocer’s minimum hourly rate uplift to £12.40, ahead of the real living wage at £12. 

Aldi also revealed an £800m investment into its UK operation in September, which chief executive Giles Hurley said was partly to “reward our amazing colleagues” and create “thousands” of new jobs. 

In-store tech investment and the value of communication 

The majority of store staff want retailers to embrace technology to empower them in their roles; with 73% stating that having the right technology in place will help their operations. 

However, almost half (48%) said they had no say in digital changes happening at their store so bringing employees on the journey with better communication is a necessity this golden quarter. 

When it comes to tech store staff want to see, the first area of focus is stock availability and ordering. Twenty-nine per cent of store staff, the largest proportion, said they feel tech that could drive improvements in transparency would have the biggest impact in helping them to do their jobs. This is the second consecutive year this area has been the top priority for store staff.   

Several retailers have made investments in this area in readiness for Christmas. This includes Waitrose, which in May launched a trial with Trust Retail in a selection of its stores to give staff at the grocery chain a real-time view of stock on their shelves.  

Alongside stock availability, 20% of frontline workers said better access to staff rotas and schedules is an area where tech could help them work more effectively.  

Furthermore, 51.4% of staff said they would welcome a mobile app that enabled them to see their rotas, swap shifts, book holidays and view pay information, while a further 37.2% said they would consider using it.