Mass Amounts of Retail Workers Are Quitting — Will You Be Able To Shop at Your Favorite Stores?
Written by
Dawn Allcot
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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Retail isn’t easy work, as anyone who’s ever worked with the public knows. It’s also one of the lower paying fields, with the average retail salary in the U.S. at just $14.99 per hour, or $31,183 per year, according to statistics from Talent.com. That’s more than $10,000 less than the living wage for a single person in all 50 states, based on GOBankingRates research.
With all this in mind, it’s not surprising retail workers are quitting at higher rates than ever before. A 2022 study from McKinsey found the quit rate amongst frontline retail workers to be more than 70%, the highest of any occupation.
Increased shoplifting, irate customers, and rising costs due to inflation all contribute to retail workers’ dissatisfaction. As customers complain about the high cost of everyday items, retail workers may sympathize, but it’s out of their power to do anything about it. Still, they are on the receiving end of these complaints and others.
A poll from the National Retail Federation, published by Bloomberg, showed that 77.6% of retail workers were concerned with “guest-on-associate violence,” while more than 70% worried about organized retail crime. It’s a lot for someone who isn’t even making enough money to live on to contend with.
As the attrition rate in retail continues to rise, consumers will be increasingly affected.
Will Rising Wages Equal Rising Prices?
Many advocates for increasing minimum wage say paying retail workers more should not increase prices in stores. A report from the Economic Policy Institute noted that even if every penny of a $15 minimum wage was directed to price increases — rather than made up through reduced profits or improved productivity and streamlining — it would only boost prices by less than 0.5%. That is less than 100 times the rate of inflation the past two years, according to EPI.
However, higher wages may not solve the problems of retail worker resignations, since low pay is just one of the elements causing workers to quit.
Staffing Shortages Lead to Shortened Store Hours
What’s even more likely than higher costs is shortened store hours, several news sources indicate. It’s not unusual to stroll through a mall on a weeknight and see several stores closed; sometimes signs indicate that it’s due to a lack of staffing or because of call-outs.
Quick-service restaurants like McDonalds and Chipotle reduced hours in 2022 due to staffing issues, Fortune reported. Retailer Macy’s also reduced its operating hours in January 2022 due to labor shortages.
For retailers, this could be one solution.
Other stores, like Costco, are turning to increased self-checkout lines with staff on-hand only to reduce shoplifting or membership fraud, where people shop with a Costco membership belonging to a friend or family member.
What To Expect When You Shop
Until policy changes empowering retail workers and providing steady hours and better pay come from the top down, it’s unlikely we will see any positive changes.
In the meantime, a little kindness and understanding at your favorite retail store could go a long way. When you walk into a store, expect to be more self-sufficient finding items, as there may be a lack of associates on the floor.
Expect longer lines and more self-checkout registers. It’s a good idea to check Google Maps for store hours before you leave your home, in case the hours have changed. You might also use Google Maps to choose a time to shop when the store is less crowded.
Of course, there’s always online shopping to make life easier for yourself and retail clerks, alike.
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