Store Associates

Sephora Introducing New Store Concept, Beauty Upgrades
July 25, 2017 at 10:27 am

Sephora said it's planting its "smallest footprint" in the U.S. yet with the launch of freestanding makeup studios. The beauty retailer announced plans last week to roll out the new Sephora Studio concept across the U.S., with the first location opening in Boston this week. The studios will be about 2,000 square feet, less than half…

Starbucks Names ‘Chief Partner Officer’ Amid Understaffing Allegations
July 19, 2017 at 12:15 pm

Starbucks has tapped Lucy Helm, an 18-year veteran with the company, for the role of chief partner officer. Helm had been serving in the role on an interim basis before the announcement. Starbucks refers to its employees as “partners,” and its partners haven't been happy with staffing at store…

Training Associates Won't Matter Unless Retailers Measure Results
June 30, 2017 at 10:12 am

Retailers around the world are focused on creating an enhanced in-store shopping experience with passionate sales associates who have intimate knowledge of products and drive engagement on the sales floor. This investment in time and resources are done with the understanding that increasing sales relies on increased customer satisfaction, units per transaction, visual merchandising and…

Wal-Mart Paying Store Employees to Deliver Packages After Work
June 2, 2017 at 10:41 am

Wal-Mart is testing a new program that lets store associates opt into delivering e-commerce ship-from-store orders. Marc Lore, chief executive of Wal-Mart U.S. e-commerce, explained that the program uses technology so workers can set preferences such as how many packages they want to deliver, weight limits for the packages and which days they would like…

Report: Half of All Retail Jobs Could Be Lost to Automation in 10 Years
May 23, 2017 at 1:28 pm

Between 6 million and 7.5 million retail industry jobs are vulnerable to automation within 10 years, according to a report by Cornerstone Capital Group released this week. The report concluded that the jobs of 47 percent of the 16 million Americans currently working in retail could be made redundant by highly automated e-commerce and other innovations.…

Wal-Mart Facing Lawsuits From Former Employees
May 16, 2017 at 10:50 am

Wal-Mart is being sued for both allegedly denying health benefits to same-sex spouses of employees as well as rejecting pregnant employees’ requests to limit heavy lifting, climbing on ladders, and other potentially dangerous tasks. In the former suit, an employee in Massachusetts (where same-sex marriage has been legally recognized since 2004) attempted to add her…

New Study Names Favorite Retailers, Shows Impact of Associate Engagement
March 20, 2017 at 10:26 am

If you were to Google "hot topics in retail," you’d get a long list of articles outlining how to engage customers with mobile optimization, social media, omnichannel, loyalty programs and the Internet of Things. While no one disputes these are very important aspects of today’s retail businesses, a recent study from Market Force Information reminds…

The Great Digital Divide Between Consumers and Store Associates
March 16, 2017 at 9:50 am

In today’s hypercompetitive retail environment, there’s mounting pressure for retailers to leverage their brick-and-mortar presence as a competitive advantage. This reality arguably makes the store associate the most important asset retailers have. Associates can provide the personal service that differentiates their shopping experience from their competitors, including online pure-play retailers. In fact, store associates that…

Wal-Mart Gives More Than $157 Million in Bonuses to Associates
March 15, 2017 at 10:28 am

Last week, Wal-Mart gave a share of more than $157 million to more than 850,000 employees in the U.S. These cash bonuses were based on their stores’ performance in the fourth quarter. The bonuses were awarded on the heels of Wal-Mart U.S. recording its strongest comp sales performance of the year in the fourth quarter…

Home Depot to Hire 80,000 Workers for Spring Season
March 3, 2017 at 12:14 pm

The Home Depot announced today that it would add more than 80,000 temporary positions in stores and distribution centers around the nation for its spring selling season. This is roughly the same number of seasonal hires the company made last year. Jobs are available in customer service and sales, lot associates, freight and receiving, store…