A third of retail employees are concerned about fewer customers as consumer confidence dips

• One in four shoppers plan to cut their spending due to the cost of living crisis
• Click and collect is now the favoured shopping experience for clothing and beauty (19%) and the grocery (18%) sectors
• Less than half of consumers feel there is the right amount of shop floor staff available to help them

20 September 2022 – LONDON – A third (33%) of retail employees expect to see fewer customers amid consumer confidence dips during the cost of living crisis according to market research by the leading retail and hospitality technology company, Fourth.

Unsurprisingly the cost of living crisis is having an impact on the customer, with one in five consumers (18%) expecting to spend less on groceries this year. With the cost of living continuing to rise, shoppers are reviewing how they spend their money. Just over a quarter (26%) are planning to cut their budgets for clothes and shoes before the end of the year, while holidays (28%) and other luxury purchases (25%) will also feel the impact. However, these spending drops will be less pronounced for sport and leisure (7%) and automotive (9%); potentially due to these items generally being stand-alone purchases.

Enhancing the shopping experience with technology to meet demands

Fourth’s latest research, featured in their white paper Navigating the Retail Industry Today, also shows that it remains incredibly important for retailers to understand consumer needs to attract them back to the high street amid challenging times. Currently, fewer than half of consumers (48%) feel there is the right amount of shop floor staff available to help them when they are making purchases.

Ahead of the festive season, consumers are favouring a blended retail experience that combines the ease of online shopping with the convenience of collecting their goods in-store, driving customers back to the high street where they’re likely to spend more when picking up purchases.  Shoppers are looking for retail brands to balance both useful technologies alongside an enhanced in-store staff presence. When it comes to the tech that consumers feel most improves their experience, click and collect comes out on top with shoppers for both the clothing and beauty (19%) and the grocery (18%) retail experiences. Interestingly, an eCommerce presence was ranked as least likely to improve the retail experience (clothing and beauty, 9% and grocery, 7%).

Encouragingly, both retail leaders and employees alike are aware of their shopper’s preference for click and collect, ranking first and second respectively as an important factor to business success for the remainder of the year.

Responding to this latest data, Sebastien Sepierre, Managing Director – EMEA, Fourth, said: “It is not surprising to see shoppers review their spending habits given the intensity of the cost of living crisis. As inflationary pressures increase, a great customer shopping experience is what will differentiate retailers, and those that can optimise for this will most likely come out on top in a competitive environment – particularly with more consumer-friendly features such as click and collect. 

However, it’s worth noting that great customer experience isn’t possible without an engaged, supported, and efficient workforce, so it’s important leaders prioritise employee needs alongside business success, and invest in the technologies that will optimise shift scheduling, forecasting, and employee engagement. By offering more support through this technology, retailers will improve staff retention. This is an essential piece of the puzzle for retailers navigating the unprecedented challenges the remainder of the year will bring.”

Methodology
This whitepaper is built on insights from three surveys. One was a survey of 251 HR, digital transformation, IT, finance, and operations decision makers at senior manager level or above in retail sector firms of 500-6,000 people, a second survey was of 250 retail employees in the UK, and the third survey was of 1,000 consumers (nationally representative). The surveys were conducted by Fourth in collaboration with Censuswide in July 2022.

About Fourth
Fourth is the leading digital workforce management, payroll and HR provider for the global retail, restaurant, and hospitality industries. Fourth’s solutions give businesses oversight of how they can control costs, scale profitability, improve employee engagement and maintain compliance through its  AI forecasting and data analytics suite. It serves more than 7,000 customers across 120,000 sites globally.

Our cloud-based, technology platform and mobile applications power the world’s leading brands, including Holland & Barrett, Robert Dyas, Ryman, Boux Avenue, Selfridges, Tesco Family Dining, Gail’s Bakery, Corinthia Hotels, The Dorchester, The Ivy, The Ritz, Soho House, Burger King, Pizza Express, The Wentworth Club, and Sodexo.