Amid an ongoing and unprecedented labor shortage, retailers are implementing enticing bonuses, benefits, and various perks to secure seasonal staff. Throughout the pandemic, retail employees have played a crucial role in maintaining everyday life. They kept grocery stores running during frantic shopping sprees and adapted to new takeout and delivery demands in restaurants striving to survive. Initially hailed as heroes, many retail workers now find themselves burned out and disillusioned. They’ve faced significant health risks, including high exposure to the virus, and have dealt with public confrontations about masks and vaccines. As the holiday shopping frenzy approaches, retailers are increasingly desperate to attract new staff, especially after years of treating them as expendable.
Major retailers such as Macy’s, Walmart, and Amazon are responding by offering substantial incentives: $500 referral bonuses, free college tuition, and signing bonuses up to $3,000. This holiday season is projected to be exceptionally busy, and with the ongoing labor shortages, retailers are scrambling to prepare. Signs of this struggle are already apparent, with empty shelves, long checkout lines, and visibly understaffed stores as Black Friday nears.
For the first time in a long while, workers have the upper hand in the job market, with far more positions available than candidates to fill them. Experts attribute this shift to several factors: pandemic assistance allowing individuals to save, many retail workers transitioning to safer jobs, and a growing refusal to accept low-paying positions that jeopardize their health. Additionally, the profound impact of over 750,000 American deaths during the pandemic continues to shape the labor landscape, particularly affecting BIPOC and low-income communities.
Mark Johnson, a retail studies expert at Columbia University, notes that retail workers previously had limited choices based on geography and available hours. “Now, they can select positions that offer the best benefits, bonuses, and pay rates,” he explains. This year, Walmart is seeking to hire 150,000 new employees at a wage of $17 an hour. Saks Off 5th has decided to close on Thanksgiving to attract potential workers, and Nordstrom is offering bonuses up to $650 for seasonal staff.
Joel Carter, a retail consultant, emphasized that the onus is on retailers to cater to workers’ needs. “It’s hard to believe that retailers, who have treated their employees as mere cogs in their profit-driven machine, are surprised by the labor shortage,” he remarked. “Workers now have agency like never before.”
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In summary, retailers are urgently trying to attract workers ahead of the bustling holiday season, offering significant bonuses and incentives to address the ongoing labor shortage. As workers gain more negotiating power, the landscape of retail employment is shifting dramatically.