Dear Retail, Maybe the Problem is You
The shopping experience kinda sucks. Here's why.
We all have people in our lives that complain way too much. They live good lives, are healthy, and are generally well off, but for some reason, they love complaining.
This person is an idiot.
That guy drives too slowly.
This couple is blocking the doorway.
Right, I know life can be hard sometimes, but not everything is terrible, and if everything is, in fact, constantly terrible from your point of view,
maybe it’s you.
The retail industry is like that grumpy person in your family. They often gripe:
Nobody wants to work.
We can’t hire anyone.
It’s too hard to find cashiers.
The industry has long had the shadow hanging over it that it isn’t a “real job.”
But what if it could be?
Maybe the problem is you, retail.
Cutbacks and Bad Ideas
This grumpy outlook is where the retail industry currently resides. There is endless complaining with no innovation and minimal action. When there is action, the ideas are bad.
Retail companies are constantly in the mode of “we can’t because.” Insert an excuse here. Or they offer minuscule bonuses and tout their generosity.
For twenty-five years, a failure to innovate has been attributed to cost-cutting. Companies wanted to save money in the short term, so they covered their eyes and ignored the future.
They cut payroll.
They cut training programs.
They cut back the staff on the floor.
They asked the leadership teams in stores to do more with less
Every
Single
Year.
Now, most stores are uninspired, bleak boxes flooded with overhead fluorescent lighting and non-existent merchandising. They’re also understaffed—understaffed on purpose. To save money, remember? Even though the cost of goods has skyrocketed.
Theft became a big issue, so they locked everything up. Even the $4.99 shampoo - locked up. Instead of hiring more people, they placed the product in tiny jails. Everyone hates this solution. Customers hate it, and so do employees.
A year ago, self-checkout was supposed to solve all their problems. Remove half of the registers and replace them with self-checkout stands. Most people don’t like this solution, either. It’s alright if you’re buying a few things, but an entire cart of groceries? No, thanks.
Self-checkout has also led to a rise in inventory loss. Whether intentional or not, when you ask people who don’t work for you to ring themselves up, mistakes are more likely. Because, why do they care if they ring themselves up wrong? There’s no incentive to do it right.
Retail stores said, “Oops!” and began closing some self-checkouts. Some companies now require you to be a member with them before you can use the self checkouts.
What is going on?
Is every retail company run by people who have never worked in stores? That’s how it feels because the solutions they’re testing are downright terrible.
There’s a time and place for an expeditious experience. Yes, sometimes self-checkout is the way to go. But whoever thought having fewer people on the floor was a good idea is in the wrong business.
Here’s What Should Happen
Hire people
If you can’t hire people and you’re complaining that no one wants to work, you’re not paying enough. Wages need to rise.
Provide training
I mean training beyond the initial onboarding training. When I ran stores, the number one question I got from new hires was, “What does the training look like?”
When people are new, they want to learn everything and be set up for success. Make sure that happens during the first week and every month after that.
Create teams
Stop having everyone do everything.
Stores operate best when there is a shipment/warehouse team, a sales team, and a merchandising team. Sure, some people can cross over and help wherever, but the teams need to be defined.
There needs to be one person in charge of that team - no more rolling managers or whoever is working that day. That setup is garbage.
Staff the floor
Employ a sales team and train them on how to talk to customers. Customer service is a dying art. Fantastic customer service is not about selling stuff; it’s about making connections and giving a shit about the person standing in front of you.
Your front end should click
You need cashiers that are fast, friendly, and accurate. You can find these people. It’s not impossible.
Hire people who ask you questions. When you interview, walk through the store and talk. If people can match your pace, they may be a good fit. However, they may not be a good fit if they fall behind or get lost.
Retail is a Real Job
Working in a retail store is incredibly dynamic. Let’s stop acting like it’s not. Store employees have to be ready for anything. Anyone can walk through the door, and they have to be prepared to handle almost any situation.
I’ve led teams through:
Power outages
Global Financial crises
Wildfires
Covid
Enraged customers
Massive grab and runs
So, hire people, pay them well, and staff your stores. Create special teams for each department of the store. Respect people’s time away from work. Don’t ask them to do everything and burn them out.
The state of retail essentially sucks, and it’s the retailer’s fault.
I know because I’ve seen what it’s like to work with a fully staffed store. Everything clicks. Customers are happy and salespeople are relaxed because they’re not also in charge of shipment, merchandising, and online orders.
Get rid of the jails for your products.
Self-checkout should be an option (without a membership, please), but it should not be your main front-end offering.
Make the shopping experience easier for your customers. That’s all anyone wants. They want to find what they’re looking for, ask an employee a few questions, discover something new, and check out easily.
Retailers, all these problems you cite, you can also fix.
Maybe it’s time to look in the mirror and ask yourself if all your problems are self-inflicted. Stop the “woe as me” act and spend some money. Hire people. Innovate. Make money. Grow. Be the company that people love to visit.
It’s still possible, I promise.
Dig this article? Please share it with someone who would dig it, too!
So, what retailers are getting it right?
Check out our post from last week:
Kit Campoy is an author and retail expert with 20+ years of experience leading retail teams. She thrived on building relationships with customers and motivating sales teams. Now, as a ghostwriter, she leverages this people-centric approach to craft compelling content that resonates and ignites brand loyalty.
This lays it out perfectly comparing retail to a grumpy person who has only complaints and no vision or solutions! Makes it seem all the more obvious that companies need to make the changes you recommend. I want to scream, "Come on!!! Just DO this!!".
I really want to shop in person for several categories of goods but the experience is so awful now I just don't. I will probably never set foot in a Walmart again due to the checkout situation. Plus the stores are unorganized and filthy. I used to buy most of my clothes at Kohl's but now there's very little actually in the stores. In the store they direct you to purchase online. I don't like to buy clothes online due to the insanity of women's clothing lack of consistent sizing. I'm looking for stores who still care even a smidge.