• Research firm IDC recently shared its findings from a report looking at retail workers in South Africa.
• Unsurprisingly, many retail workers feel overworked, but do believe that access to more technology could address this.
• The study was sponsored by Microsoft, with IDC also finding that there is a gap between the need for new technology and digital transformation in the retail sector.

In the wake of the pandemic, South Africa’s ecommerce space experienced significant growth, evolving into one of the most mature retail sectors in the country.

What about the traditional brick-and-mortar environment? Has it been able to keep pace? If not, what steps need to be taken?

These are all questions that a recent IDC study looked at. Sponsored by Microsoft, the study titled “Empowering Retail Associates in South Africa” found that many local retail workers are feeling greatly overworked, at 38 percent.

This is not surprising given the rising cost of living coupled with layoffs that are happening across myriad industries all over the world. Technology, however, could present a solution to this growing problem.

The study found that “almost all (81%) of those polled believed technology would enable them to do their job more effectively and 77% felt it would lead to them being more engaged with their organisation”.

“Over half (52%) of all associates indicated skills development as a key area that technology could bring about significant improvement in, and 50% said it could improve customer experience,” the study added.

In Microsoft’s view, more needs to be done in order to assist retail workers to be more effective, along with helping them cope with the mental toll and rigours that often come with this line of work.

“We often refer to them as ‘the deskless workforce’ – our economic lifeline during the height of the pandemic, working overtime to maintain our supply chains, at considerable risk to their own physical and mental health,” stressed said Colin Erasmus, COO at Microsoft South Africa (pictured above).

“We owe them solutions to their challenges, and technology has enormous potential for retailers to take the important first steps toward improving the employee experience for associates,” he continued.

One of the other interesting elements picked up in the study, is the ever-widening gap when it comes to acknowledging the need for new technologies and the rate at which digital transformation is happening in the retail space.

To that end, IDC discovered that “62% of retail associates in South Africa believe that their organisation is below or on par with the industry average”.

According to Erasmus, this is set to change. “The good news is many retail organisations in the country are pursuing their frontline work transformation initiatives, driven by customer demand and broader industrywide transformation – and with a focus on the employee experience,” he pointed out.

Along with creating a happier and more fulfilled workforce, there are also business benefits to embracing new technology in retail and empowering workers with said solutions, with IDC predicting that investments in digital platforms and automated learning technologies will bring a 40 percent increase in productivity to organisations.

“Retail associates have traditionally been underserved by technology, despite the fact that their challenges are growing, and arguably at a pace in excess of those faced by their back-office colleagues. Human-machine collaboration, new skills and a workplace that blends physical and digital tools can bring a brighter future for these essential workers,” concluded Erasmus.

[Image – Photo by The Nix Company on Unsplash]