Retailers May Be Playing a Dangerous Staffing Game

Set against the backdrop of a near 20-year low in seasonal retail hires this holiday season (Challenger, Gray & Christmas projecting ~450,000 positions against ~461,500 in 2025, which was itself the lowest figure since 2008 – and NRF suggesting an even lower range of 325,000 to 375,000) come two recent reports which suggest understaffing challenges could frustrate both retailers and shoppers in this most important sales period.

First up is a OnePoll report outlined by RetailCustomerExperience editor Judy Mottl on Nov. 5: The most relevant findings here being that roughly one quarter of retail frontliners report being impacted by staffing shortages each and every day, with that number growing to 44% of retail workers saying they’re impacted by the same on a weekly basis. Nearly the same cohort of retail workers (41%) suggested they are thinking of quitting their jobs, citing a lack of training to short-staffing – which leads to “disconnection and burnout.”

And the lede of a Nov. 12 summary of a Logile survey indicates that these problems, among others, are creating significant customer frustration – to the point where more than three-quarters of polled U.S. shoppers have walked away from a purchase during peak times.

“As retailers head into the stretch from Black Friday through New Year’s, when crowds push stores harder than any other time of year, shoppers are already walking away from ordinary busy-hour trips. The Logile 2026 Peak Hour Penalty Report found 78% of shoppers have left a store without buying anything in the past six months because of rush-related problems like long lines or a lack of help. The findings also highlight how staffing gaps, empty shelves and inconsistent store readiness can hurt the shopping experience, putting immediate sales and long-term customer loyalty at risk,” the report read.

Further findings outlined by Logile’s survey data include:

• Abandonment costs: Across the reported purchase abandonment, the average lost by retailers at the till was $113. There’s also an implied reputational cost with each consumer that walks out annoyed or frustrated – as more than half (55%) of shoppers have “stopped treating a store as their regular store” or reduce their visits after a repeated poor experiences.

• Shoppers point the finger at store management or corporate: Nearly two-thirds (59%) blame store management or corporate actors for stores being a mess during peak shopping times, while only 8% blame retail frontliners on-shift at the time. Further, roughly three-quarters (74%) of consumer respondents agreed that understaffing during busier times is a planning failure, not bad luck.

• Out-of-stocks and shuttered checkouts are top-of-mind problems: Staffing problems extend beyond the floor, with 46% of shopper saying they’ve seen empty shelves during peak shopping times, and 48% have stared down closed checkouts while in a packed store.

“Shoppers see a long line at 5 p.m. on a Friday as something a store should have anticipated, and they’re right,” said Purna Mishra, president and CEO of Logile.

“Store teams work incredibly hard, but they can’t always overcome disconnected plans, staffing gaps or shelves that weren’t replenished in time. The opportunity for retailers is to anticipate demand and connect the decisions that follow, from staffing and scheduling to inventory and store execution. That’s how you move from reacting to the rush to being ready for it,” Mishra added, with the report going on to underscore that the above research points were gathered during a non-holiday period, and that the coming Christmas season could push these pain points into stark relief.

Questions for further discussion:

• Do you believe that retailers may be underemphasizing the value of in-store staffing, versus labor costs, during this upcoming holiday season? What are your personal expectations as to how this will play out in the U.S. retail sphere over the next two months?

• Are retailers mismanaging the current staffing situation versus peak shopping periods, or is running leaner labor and relying more on tech infrastructure and self-guided shopping simply the way in-store retail will be run now and moving forward? Which retailers are doing the best job of this balancing act, and which are exhibiting very real problems?

• How much stock do you place in the data provided by OnePoll and Logile versus your own gauge of how traffic, conversion, and consumer sentiment health heading into holiday 2026 – and with the past retail year in the rear-view mirror?