Customer Service

How retailers can ease store associate stress as holiday season arrives

The word stressful doesn’t quite do justice when it comes to a retail associate’s workday. But retailers can take actions to make employees feel safer and happier in their role.

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November 5, 2026 by Judy Mottl — Editor: RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com, Connect Media

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As the holiday shopping season arrives full force and Thanksgiving is just weeks away, retail store workers, from managers to frontline helpers and cashiers, are bracing for the most stressful sales period of the year.

The word stressful, however, doesn't quite do true justice when it comes to a retail associate's workday. The challenges range from unhappiness with work scheduling and feeling overworked to the increasing number of volatile and threatening incidents, and a growing feeling of being unsafe during the workday.

Consider this statistic: Two in 5 (41%) retail workers are considering leaving their jobs in the next 12 months. The reasons range from a lack of formal training to staff shortages, which are driving disconnection and burnout.

Almost half (45%) of retail employees have experienced verbal abuse or threatening behavior from customers or members of the public at work and 16% report customer behavior has worsened over the last five years. Over half of retail workers, 53%, have been asked to carry out a task without the relevant training. This isn't just leading to some simple mistakes as 28% report that inadequate training has contributed to a mistake that could have caused physical harm to a customer, and 22% said it has put their own or a colleague's safety at risk.

One quarter of retail workers report being impacted by staff shortages every day, with 44% reporting being impacted several times a week or more, and 40% believe these staff shortages are putting the public at risk.

The findings, revealed in a OnePoll report conducted on behalf of Kahoot! 360 and based on a survey of 2,000 U.S. frontline workers, point to challenges that could undermine a retailer's ability to grow sales and store traffic while retaining employees and building brand loyalty.

What retailers need to do

While boosting store security and establishing clear incident reporting processes are good first steps, retailers need to do more.

In the best case scenario, retailers should be preparing for the holiday sales season months before the crowds start to flow in, according to Sean D'Arcy, chief solutions officer at Kahoot! 360.

That way the full-time and part-time staff are already in training and involved in communication with the seasonal staff being incorporated when hired in the month or season.

"Employers can make a real difference by getting the basics right before the seasonal rush begins, because nobody should walk into it feeling unprepared," D'Arcy said in an email interview.

Providing store associates with good scheduling processes and technology, as well as training on handling customer interactions should be part of the overall employee management strategy.

"That means giving teams the right tools and knowledge, and support they can turn to the moment the job starts to feel overwhelming," D'Arxcy said.

Providing managers with training and clear policies on store incidents is just as important.

"It means taking negative customer interactions seriously when they're reported, rather than treating it as just part of the job and giving managers the time and backing to act on it," D'Arcy said. "And it means consistently giving seasonal and existing staff the latest information they need, when they need it, rather than relying on a one-and-done induction whether that's when managing a challenging customer, working with a new product promotion or implementing an updated returns policy."

The holiday rush magnifies whatever foundation a brand has established, according to Gideon Pridor, chief marketing officer at Workvivo.

"When stores overflow and schedules tighten, employees either rise to the occasion or disengage entirely," Pridor wrote in a blog on RetailCustomerExperience, noting retail workers have cited high stress (34%), understaffing (31%), emotional exhaustion (26%) in their role and that those aspects intensify during peak season.

"Seasonal bonuses don't fix this. Treating frontline workers as brand builders, not seasonal labor, pays back many times over," he writes.

For managers looking to reduce store associate stress and boost worker happiness comes down to being visible and present.

"For example, spending just a few hours each week on the shop floor during peak season restocking shelves, chatting with associates, and listening to what is and isn't working, makes a significant impact. It's not a grand gesture but sends a message that leadership is in with them, not just watching from a distance."

About Judy Mottl

Judy Mottl is the editor of RetailCustomerExperience.com and DigitalSignageToday.com at Connect Media. She is an award-winning editor, reporter and blogger who has worked for top media for nearly four decades, including AOL, InformationWeek and Internet News, as well as for leading technology providers including HP. She’s written everything from breaking news to in-depth industry trends and reported on technology long before the internet arrived, including the debut of the first smartphone. When she's not sharing insights on digital signage deployments and trends in retail customer experience she's on the beach or watching the latest live murder trial.

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