Shop assistants and the retail renaissance

BAD FOR shop assistants, good for shoppers. That is the obvious inference from the upheaval in retailing that is leaving shopping malls and high streets, and millions of low-income jobs, surplus to requirements, yet panders to the consumer’s craving for convenience. It is, though, an oversimplification. Retail-related jobs will change but not disappear. And shoppers must make uncomfortable choices about privacy and the exploitation of data.

Start with jobs. In America and Europe, retailing is a huge employer, especially of women and young people. The National Retail Federation, an industry body, says retailers are the largest private-sector employers in America, engaging 32m. In the EU about one in six workers have retail or wholesale jobs. Even before covid-19, the rise of e-commerce, retail bankruptcies and shop closures were leading to job losses. Lockdowns during the pandemic exacerbated that. In America 2.4m retail jobs were shed in March and April 2020. By January just 2m had been recovered. Yet many lost jobs are offset by e-commerce-related employment as warehouse workers, couriers and grocery pickers. America’s Bureau of Labour Statistics says jobs in transport and warehousing grew by more than 500,000 in the seven months to December. Amazon alone added that number last year. The Progressive Policy Institute, a think-tank, says industries related to e-commerce created 900,000 more jobs between the end of 2007 and the start of 2020 than those lost at bricks-and-mortar stores.