New exclusive staff data shows that while many retail leaders are excited about the opportunities afforded by advancing in-store technologies, the store staff themselves still have many reservations.
Exclusive survey data by Retail Week and Workday for the Talking Shop report shows that 89% of the 500 store staff surveyed in August 2024 believe that the stores of the future will incorporate more technology in them with 75% of staff expecting this to take the form of more experiential offerings for customers, and 77% think stores will offer consumers more personalised offerings.
While the push to invest in new technologies represents a potentially exciting new chapter in the long history of the stores, the report shows that the technological push in stores concerns some staff.
A staggering 40% of store staff survey respondents agree with the statement: “There will be no stores in five years’ time” – up 2% from 2023.
This growing pessimism is echoed by the 13.6% of store staff who say online competition is their main concern about working in the retail industry today, and the further 9.6% who say the poor financial outlook for the sector is their primary concern.
This is definitely a concern for retail leaders, and one that shouldn’t be ignored as they push forward with their new technological investments.
The data, conducted for Retail Week’s Talking Shop report, highlights just some of the new changes that customers can expect to see coming to stores in the near future, and how retail store staff roles are being adapted to respond to these changes.
While some retailers and their staff are struggling to adapt to the pace of technological change, here are a few case studies of retailers who are rolling out in-store technology investment well:
The group’s new London flagship opened in November 2023 and includes an Algorithmic Perfumery, which employs AI to create personalised scents for shoppers.
Sports Direct has installed running gait analysis machines across a number of its flagships from March 2023, which use 3D foot-scanning technology to offer personalised insights on a customer’s running pattern, biometrics and weight balance.
The group added repair studios to a number of its stores since September 2022, which allows shoppers to alter, repair, and add personalised stamps to previously purchased items from the fashion retailer.
EE
Telecoms retailer EE has ploughed £6m into opening 10 new flagship stores across the UK within the next year, which invites shoppers to see the “future face of retail”. The stores will include several “experience zones” including a dedicated gaming area.
Lush is one of the most famous retailers for upholding a reputation as an experience-led store, known for featuring spa treatments.
Colleague engagement alongside innovation in-store is the answer to a successful and progressive retail store.
As 2025 brings new questions surrounding AI, in-store technology and the future for retail staff, Retail Week’s Talking Shop report puts store staff first and outlines how best retail groups can ensure tech investments have a genuinely positive impact across their stores.
Fast-paced changes
Retailers substantially investing in technology have succeeded in offering a unique, immersive and personalised experience for shoppers.
The deployment of technology in retail stores has mostly been positively received by employees, and Retail Week’s Talking Shop report also revealed that 48% of survey respondents said the pace of digital change in their store is reasonably fast-paced but they can keep up – down 10% year on year.
However, some employees do feel that the pace of in-store technology investment is being forced through too quickly.
When asked how engaged they feel in digital changes being made in store, the largest proportion (48%) say changes come from the top of their retailers and they have no say in them – up 5% compared with our 2023 survey.
Almost a third of the store staff surveyed (32%) either disagree or strongly disagree that they are given enough time to properly plan when asked to conduct new daily tasks in-store.
The report shows that while the opportunities presented by new in-store technologies are many, staff have concerns that need addressing. The challenge then for retail’s senior leaders is to ensure the technology that is deployed does not blindside frontline workers but genuinely helps them to do their jobs and, importantly, serve customers more effectively.
These are just a handful of findings from Talking Shop. Access your copy of the report to read all the data and:
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Get under the skin of the staff that underpin your business – learn what they need, and want, to get the most out of them
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Read honest opinions from staff on tech adoption and the use of AI in stores
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Discover what frontline workers think stores of the future will, and should, look like
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Learn from retailers investing heavily in store staff and frontline tech to drive growth
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