Building a Retail Workforce for an Uncertain Future

Retailers navigating new tariffs and ongoing supply chain volatility face one strategic opportunity: investing in their workforce through learning and development (L&D). As these challenges squeeze retailers between higher costs and consumer price sensitivity, the retail environment will shift, and employees must have the skills to be agile in changing conditions.

Amber Vanderburg, founder of The Pathwayz Group, an international talent development organization, described the impact of the challenges. “We have cost pressures upstream and operational reactions downstream to the customer,” she said. “These stressors will impact product assortment, pricing and inventory, ultimately affecting the labor market.” 

Paula Rosenblum, managing partner and co-founder of Retail Systems Research, agreed, adding that sales will slide, affecting the labor market.

With so much operational and strategic uncertainty, Rosenblum suggested that retailers consider what they do know. “We know omnichannel is not going away, so that must still be completed and dealt with,” she said. “I suspect that stores must exist, and that pure direct-to-consumer isn’t going to work. And beyond that, I don’t think anybody knows the future.”

Although much about the retail future is unknown or uncontrollable, the workforce is a controllable variable. Retailers must invest in their people to deliver operational excellence and  superior customer experience, even in a difficult market. By prioritizing learning and development, retailers can ensure employees have the adaptability, flexibility and resilience to thrive and help drive business even in an uncertain environment.

The Current State of Retailers’ Workforce Investments

So, how are retailers preparing their workforce for the changes ahead? Deloitte’s U.S. 2025 Retail Industry Outlook reported that two-thirds of retail executives plan to make “moderate-to-major” workforce investments toward hiring, retention, and future-readiness.

Retailers recognize the importance of empowered employees, and although the road to empowerment is through training, it’s often the missing link. In fact, Rosenblum said, retailers often underinvest in the very training that can enable success.

While retailers may not always live up to their promises, Vanderburg emphasized that the intention to invest is there, even with the retail industry’s high turnover rate. Due to this churn, retailers are more inclined to minimize training investment. “The temptation is just to onboard them to do the job and then occasionally do customer service training or something similar,” she said.

But onboarding-only models don’t provide the ongoing depth of knowledge or just-in-time information needed in today’s dynamic retail environment. That lack of training results in employees being unprepared for their responsibilities. Consequently, they may leave — or worse, stay but underperform. For long-term success, retailers must invest in strategies supporting employee development.

How to Build a Future-Ready Workforce

Vanderburg said that investing with purpose is the way to build an employee development strategy. “As you invest, make sure the people understand what the training offers them, what careers and job duties the training prepares them for,” she added.

AI Helps Improve Performance

AI-driven task management platforms are designed to handle mundane and repetitive tasks. Most CHROs (87%) believe that AI will play a critical role in boosting workforce productivity, while 76% think AI will take on tasks employees traditionally perform.

But even if retailers can afford these platforms, and AI can take on more tasks in areas such as inventory management and personalizing customer experiences, more work is needed to develop a future workforce, Vanderburg said: “We’re not going to become an AI tech-transformed organization by just giving us new tools.”

While AI can create additional capacity among the workforce, L&D unlocks the capability. Without training, the tools alone will not lead to transformation.

Creating the Blueprint for the Next Generation of L&D

The momentum to fulfill evolving workforce needs is underway. Fifty percent of CHROs anticipate a shift toward human-centered leadership and people-focused management, making the opportunity to help employees develop their skills ripe. 

Vanderburg said retailers will benefit when employees reallocate time savings from technology to spend more time with their customers and personalize experiences. “That ability comes with training by upskilling our talent to be strategic and more critical thinkers,” she said.

Rosenblum added that extending critical thinking to customer service training is key. This empowers employees to make broader decisions within a set of boundaries.

Vanderburg agreed, saying the actual investment is helping retail employees develop a different mindset. Instead of training an employee to know everything about a product, the training would prepare the employee to use critical thinking skills to find the answer.

A Future-Ready Workforce is a Healthy Workforce

Preparing for future demands can be stressful, even when that future brings opportunity. Nearly 60% of CHROs said the emphasis on well-being and mental health will increase. And the top reasons deskless workers stay in their jobs include job stability (50%), work/life balance (46%), and satisfaction with workplace connections (43%), according to research from SHRM and Fidelity Investments research.

As retailers prepare their workforce for the days and months ahead, one thing is clear: Giving employees more than technology is necessary to elevate human skills that can adjust and adapt to changing environments.

“It’s easier to do transactional things, but the customer experience is tougher,” Vanderburg said. “My prediction is that with emerging technology, we can use high-tech and high-touch to create that personal experience.”

Retailers that invest in human capability — through intentional, ongoing development — won’t just weather uncertainty. They’ll lead through it.