“No People” Is No Longer an Excuse: Retail Summit Showed the Industry Is Changing Faster Than Ever

Retail Summit 2025, held at the end of March in Prague, is one of the most important events in Czech retail. Our HR retail consultant Martina Pavelková focused on human resources and recruitment trends at the conference. Her insights clearly reveal one thing: companies that fail to adapt to the new realities of the labor market will fall behind.

Employee Data Drive Profits More Than Sales Statistics

Retail companies have traditionally invested millions in analyzing customer behavior, tracking conversions, and optimizing sales floors. However, one of their largest budget items – personnel costs and turnover – is often overlooked. It’s estimated that training a single retail salesperson costs between 30,000 and 50,000 CZK, and high turnover can cost companies millions annually.

“Thanks to data, companies can calculate and track how much hiring new employees costs and compare this with whether it would be more cost-effective to introduce more attractive benefits rather than lose quality staff.” This calculation can determine whether a company makes a profit or a loss, yet most retail firms still do not approach it systematically.

Automation as a Lifeline for Regional Retail

Czech retail faces a paradox: while urban areas have a relatively healthy interest in retail jobs, many regional positions remain unfilled long-term. Chains like Coop are therefore seeking alternative solutions that allow them to stay in business even where staff are scarce. “Autonomous stores are an innovative solution, especially for areas in the Czech Republic that need a shop but struggle to find suitable employees,” explains Pavelková. Coop operates an extensive network of stores in regions where finding staff is extremely difficult. Autonomous solutions don’t replace people for now, they enable business in areas where it would otherwise be impossible.

Employer Branding: From a Choice to a Matter of Survival

In today’s labor market, where finding and retaining suitable employees is increasingly difficult, simply advertising a job and waiting for responses is no longer enough. Companies must actively build their appeal as employers, or they’ll face an uphill battle for top candidates.

“Whoever wants top talent will need to be a love brand for candidates,” Pavelková states. Surveys consistently show the same brand names topping the list of those perceived as desirable by young people. One area many companies overlook is offboarding: “Today, the most important point for employer branding is arguably offboarding. Even a departing employee matters, and a company’s approach to them can position it as one that cares, even when things don’t work out.”

Development Instead of Money: How to Keep People in a Demanding Environment?

Retail work is inherently demanding, irregular shifts, weekend work and frequent customer interactions in varying moods. Traditional solutions like higher wages have their limits, since competitors can always offer more. The real solution lies in understanding what employees truly need.

“Not everyone wants to become a manager, but even a salesperson can grow. Being given responsibility for a task builds a deeper connection with the company. That feeling of trust can be truly important,” Pavelková explains. It’s crucial to give employees a sense of purpose: “Employees must always know the answer to the question WHY. Why we do something a certain way, why it matters. Only when we understand the ‘why’ can we transform effort into success.”

Happy Employees as a Competitive Advantage

Retailers invest heavily in creating a perfect customer experience from store design and staff training to loyalty programs. Yet the best customer experiences happen where employees feel good and approach their work with enthusiasm.

“Customer experience is the alpha and omega right now. Customers want more and more. And we all know retail is mainly about emotions,” says Pavelková. But how do you reach the right emotions? “A happy employee comes to work with joy and is essentially our best advertisement. That positive attitude spreads, it’s like a mirror.”

From Complaints to Solutions: How to Practically Handle the Lack of People

“‘There are no people’ is such a cliché,” Pavelková comments on a recurring summit theme. Retail Summit 2025 demonstrated that today’s successful companies don’t focus only on how to sell more to customers, but primarily on how to find and retain quality employees and innovate. At S&you, we know that behind every successful team are people who perfectly fit the company culture. “When it comes to recruitment, we rely on deep expertise. We came from retail, we know how it works, and what challenges companies face,” explains Pavelková, outlining our competitive edge. “Plus, every brand has a specific DNA that we strive to understand so we can find someone who resonates with it and shares the same values. That’s the real match.”

Retail Summit 2025 clearly showed that the future belongs to companies that know how to work with their employer brand, respond to regional differences, and build teams based on values, not just CVs. Curious what meaningful recruitment could look like? Get in touch with us.

• Contact us
• Share article