Omnichannel
Retail's biggest blind spot
To close the culture gap this holiday season, retailers should communicate early and often, and begin engagement before peak season starts. Recognize daily, not yearly, and celebrate small wins in real time; those moments compound into lasting trust.
December 1, 2025 by Gideon Pridor — Chief Marketing Officer, Workvivo
Every year, retailers repeat the same cycle: a frantic scramble to recruit, train, and schedule armies of seasonal staff. But this obsession with logistics hides a deeper issue. Frontline employees are treated as temporary fixes to plug into rotas, not as people whose loyalty and performance could transform the customer experience.
Imagine if seasonal workers wanted to return year after year, refer friends, or go above and beyond because they truly felt part of something. That's the potential most companies miss. The real competitive advantage is culture and connectedness. Employee expectations have shifted, and ignoring this creates a crippling engagement gap.
The seasonal formula is broken
The standard approach of hiring quickly, training just enough, and adding short-term perks starts to crack almost immediately. Research shows that 42% of frontline employees don't believe their company cares about them as people, 87% aren't sure their company's culture applies to them, and half believe their company prioritizes office staff. In some sectors, frontline attrition reaches 60-80% annually.
This is both a morale issue and a financial sinkhole. Recruiting and onboarding a single frontline worker costs ~$3,000-$5,000. Multiply that by thousands of seasonal exits, and the losses are staggering. The hidden costs are even larger: lost knowledge, pressure on remaining staff, and a dip in service quality right when expectations are highest.
Peak season is a stress test
The holiday rush magnifies whatever foundation you've built. When stores overflow and schedules tighten, employees either rise to the occasion or disengage entirely. According to recent research, the most challenging aspects of frontline work, like high stress (34%), understaffing (31%), emotional exhaustion (26%), intensify during peak season. Seasonal bonuses don't fix this.
What makes the difference is whether employees already feel connected, informed, and valued. The best retailers build these habits continuously to ensure that everyone, from HQ to the shop floor, feels included. They use mobile-first employee experience apps so information and communication reach every worker. They recognize wins in the moment. They make leaders visible through authentic human moments, like a video from the CEO instead of a faceless memo. By Q4, these routines create resilience under pressure.
Culture drives ROI
Culture drives measurable results. According to Gallup, highly engaged workforces deliver 43% lower turnover, 81% lower absenteeism, and 18% higher productivity.
Consider Woodie's, Ireland's largest DIY retailer. In 2014, only 57% of staff felt informed about company changes and just 25% felt recognized. Leadership overhauled communication and recognition, rolling out an employee experience app to all employees. Within a few years, engagement jumped more than 50 points, communication scores hit 88%, and recognition soared to 83%. Treating frontline workers as brand builders, not seasonal labor, pays back many times over. When employees understand the "why" behind their work and feel part of the story, customers notice.
Gen Z is rewriting the rules
By 2030, Gen Z will account for nearly 30% of the U.S. workforce, and many will be in frontline roles. This generation expects transparency, digital-first communication, and visible leadership as standard. If those needs aren't met, they leave.
This generation isn't content to simply sell their time. They seek meaning, belonging, and authenticity. The old buzzword "work-life balance" feels outdated because for them, there's no separation. There's only life, and work is simply part of it. They don't want to "suffer through" work; they want to contribute, connect, and grow.
When that sense of meaning is missing, disengagement shows up in customer experience. Engaged employees create loyalty and delight; disengaged ones create indifference. With razor-thin margins, disengagement can undo even the best sales strategy.
Leadership's responsibility
Transformation must start at the top. Employees notice when leaders communicate directly and consistently, and when they vanish until November. They notice when recognition is authentic rather than scripted.
In my experience working with retail leaders, the difference 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.
The strongest retailers treat culture as strategy. They budget for it, measure it, and hold leaders accountable. They don't treat frontline staff as expendable, but as valuable customer-facing ambassadors that drive growth.
The real competitive advantage
By the time Black Friday arrives, the foundation is already in place. The retailers who thrive, design the employee experience with the same rigor as customer experience — they map the employee journey, invest in moments that matter and reinforce belonging all year-round.
For everyone else, the cycle continues: another frantic scramble, another wave of exits, another peak season lost to short-term thinking. The blind spot is culture, not staffing. And until retailers confront it, peak season will keep exposing the cracks.
To close the culture gap this season, leaders should communicate early and often, and begin engagement before peak season starts. Use clear, human messaging that reaches everyone. Recognize daily, not yearly, and celebrate small wins in real time; those moments compound into lasting trust.
At the end of the day, seasonal success is about helping the people you already have feel like they belong.
About Gideon Pridor
Gideon Pridor is the Chief Marketing Officer at Workvivo, the employee experience platform acquired by Zoom. Pridor is a veteran marketing leader with a track record of growing disruptive startups into global leaders that redefine their markets. Before Workvivo, Pridor was VP Marketing at TravelPerk, one of the world’s fastest-growing SaaS companies, Perfecto (acquired by Perforce), and others. Pridor is a frequent speaker at industry events, an HR tech enthusiast, and a startup mentor helping companies build their story and tell it to the world.
