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Tax bill may impact retailer strategy in several ways

January 4, 2018

Retailers will likely be hiring less workers and embracing automation technology due to the new federal tax laws.

The first place to be automated will likely be the cash register, given lower new equipment costs that will come into play under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law before 2017 came to a close, according to a CNBC report.

The report notes, however, that going the automation route isn't cheap while the tax write-off will be immediate.

"If prices of equipment don't change, you might see companies accelerate plans to buy equipment they were already thinking about buying," Corey Goodman, a partner in the tax department of law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, told CNBC. "If a company is planning on investing in equipment, the tax savings will be greater doing it sooner rather than later."