Heads Up, Retail Leaders: It's Going to Be a Weird Year
(Thanks, Government)
For anyone leading a team in retail right now, you already know. It’s weird.
You look back on last year’s numbers and things are off. If you’re comparing KPIs to last quarter or six months ago, you may be bummed out. It’s going to be a weird year.
It already is a weird year.
The new United States administration has been in place for exactly one month. In that month, they’ve caused a ton of damage. Let me give you a rundown of a few things. After that, I’ll explain what I would do if I were in charge of a store team right now.
The current American administration is run by a felon. This man was convicted on 34 counts for trying to illegally influence the 2016 election. Once sworn in, he chose an unelected billionaire from South Africa to run government efficiency.
The billionaire then hired some twenty-year-olds to rip apart a large part of the foundation of America and called it “saving money.”
Here’s a (not so) quick list of some damage:
Halt to federal aid.
Halt to USAID - so, the help we are giving worldwide is in limbo.
The creation of DOGE (the billionaire and his bro pack)
Freeze on federal hiring. They’ve fired many government workers, including those who oversaw nuclear plants and National Park staff. Oops!
Tried to tear apart birthright citizenship (they can’t. It’s in the constitution.)
Launched an all-out attack on DEI.
Fired a bunch of people in the Federal Aviation Administration.
Refusing to allow transgender people to exist or serve in the military.
Declared immigration a "national emergency” and began ICE raids.
Pissed off Canada with tariffs and threats to “annex” them—which means invading and taking over their country.
Pissed off Mexico with tariffs and renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
Pulled out of the Paris Agreement—the landmark international deal to limit rising global temperatures.
Declared a "national energy emergency," promising to fill up oil reserves. They will be drilling for more oil. Watch out, national parks.
Signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the UN's health body, the World Health Organization (WHO).
Ripped down pages of information from the CDC website. So, we don’t have any information on what viruses are spreading or how bad they are. Like avian flu and influenza.
Trying to roll back voter rights with the SAVE Act (married women, heads up).
Trying to make abortion a punishable offense.
And so much more.
Overwhelm and cruelty are the point. That’s how you destroy democracy.
Wait, this is an article for retail leaders, right?
It is.
Let’s talk about what I would do right now if I were leading a team in a store.
Keep an eye on the news, but don’t be consumed by it.
Some news sites to consider are: BBC, NPR, AP News. These are legitimate news outlets with no spin.
The other day I posted a quick note about national retail sales. It was this: January saw the biggest decline in U.S. retail sales in nearly two years. The slowdown raises concerns about economic growth as the first quarter gets underway. From Indiana 9 News. MANY leaders were like, “Oh. I thought I just sucked at my job.”
Know that you don’t suck at your job.
Every year in retail is a little different. This year is about to be wild. It will be unpredictable. You can’t control tariffs, wildfires, or boycotts. This year, we’ve seen these three already. It’s still February.
Take the pressure from HQ with a grain of salt.
Your company is stressed out right now. They don’t know what to do because we are in uncharted territory as a country. Do they commit to DEI? Do they say nothing? Do they pull back on orders because they’re unsure about consumer spending? What about tariffs and the supply chain? There are a lot of questions right now that no one has the answer to.
They will pass this stress on to you in the form of “Why is your business down?” Take it in stride. Or tell them - “Because Nazis are trying to tear apart our country and people are distracted.” Whatever.
Be upfront with your sales team.
Keep the sales team in the loop with what you know. If you’re unsure, say, “I don’t know, but if I hear anything I’ll let you know. Will you do the same for me?” You’re in this together. Lean on each other.
Take breaks.
Work, of course. But take breaks. Take ALL your breaks. Take extra. Go outside. Get a coffee or a matcha. Take 5 minutes and stretch. Put on headphones and listen to waves on the beach or rain. Just listen. Small breaks do so much good.
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Whenever I led teams through chaotic times, my humanness went way up. I was there for the people. We got our tasks done. We were also leaving on time.
This level of chaos is super exhausting. It’s so taxing.
Empathy, caring, and understanding go up.
Micromanaging and stressing out go down.
We can only do so much. Do what’s in front of you and go home.
Your customers are feeling the same way. People don’t spend money when they feel like this. They hold on to it. For security. For a boycott. For a lot of reasons.
You don’t suck at your job. We have a president who sucks at his job, so everything is terrible right now. It won’t be this way forever. Take care of yourself, the people you love, and the people on your team.
Lead on.
Kit Campoy is an accomplished retail expert and author. She leverages her two decades of leadership experience to inform and inspire.
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Sums it up. The sad truth and also some great tips to retail survival. Really like the idea of asking associates what they have heard supporting the "in this together" need.