Retail Productivity: The Era of Doing More with Less

No matter where in the world you are reading this from, the last few years have been a bit of a whirlwind.

Regional conflicts and wars, supply chain disruptions, rising and falling inflation and a whole bunch of negative press headlines have dominated the landscape.

It’s easy to reflect with a negative mindset. And it is no surprise that consumer confidence is still low as the cost of living continues to bite.

But there could be light at the end of the tunnel. When times are hard, every little bit counts.

Retailers are helping their customers spend less and consumers are finding ways to make do with what they have. With consumerism taking a dive, perhaps now is the perfect opportunity for retailers to also see what more they can do for less.

What challenge are retailers facing now?

Shrinking margins and cautious consumers force retailers to stretch existing resources to stay profitable.

Retailers exist to sell stuff and make a profit. Many have other brand values and ethics that influence decision-making, but if they don’t sell stuff, they won’t survive.

A recent McKinsey & Company study reported that consumers are still concerned about price rises and buying more deliberately.

Now more than ever, customer loyalty is key for retailers. With consumers spending less and opting to consolidate shopping trips to retailers where they find the most value, getting them through the door in the first place is half the battle.

But if consumers are spending less, what can retailers do to keep their margins at acceptable levels without putting prices up and eroding customer loyalty?

Referencing back to the title of this piece, ‘doing more with less’ is part of the answer.

What we mean by that is productivity.

What is retail productivity?

Retail productivity is the measure of store output over a given time period.

It can show how effective a store is at using its resources to generate sales. Increasing productivity is about squeezing more out of those resources that you already own.

Easy to write down in a blog post, trickier to do in practice.

But it is possible.

• It is possible to make your employees 10x faster at counting inventory.
• It is possible for employees to spend more time with customers to encourage sales.
• It is possible to fulfill more online orders in less time.

Research from Accenture pointed to a change in narrative around retail productivity. No longer about cost reduction, business leaders are seeking growth from the same resources through innovation and process improvement.

Before you can improve retail productivity, it must be measured.

How do you measure retail productivity?

Retail productivity is measured by assessing how effectively labor and inventory are used to generate sales.

Certain KPIs, such as sales per labor hour and inventory turnover, are measured across days, weeks, and months.

This approach smooths out any peaks and troughs, helping to gain a good understanding of how your store and your employees are performing.

High productivity is also dependent on efficiency. Inaccuracies can be costly.

Having to redo tasks or deal with the fallout from an error can cost retailers time and money, especially if the error impacts customers.

To improve productivity, we are looking for an uplift in the rate of task completion. Approaches that can tackle multiple tasks simultaneously will see better business results.

When on a quest for better productivity and efficiency, retailers often turn to technology.

How can technology unlock higher retail productivity?

Technology can help automate tasks, cut errors, and free up workers to focus on other value-adding areas.

Having the right technology is a crucial step in maximizing the value from your retail operations. The current climate may dictate how much new investment can take place. Retailers may need to squeeze more out of their existing assets to boost productivity.

Many retailers are leveraging smart devices to look after their stores and their customers. Their versatility and user friendliness give them the edge over legacy hardware. By integrating solutions like an inventory scanning system, retailers can further optimize how they manage stock and fulfill orders.

But once you have maximized how fast a human can go, further productivity gains will need to be found elsewhere.

How Scandit boosts retail productivity

Scandit Smart Data Capture, integrated into existing smart devices, can transform retail employee productivity by automating tedious tasks and providing real-time data for faster decision-making.

Just a few lines of code from Scandit can make a world of difference.

Here are two scenarios that demonstrate productivity improvements.

Faster inventory receiving and counting

It can be tedious and time-consuming to scan and count inventory one by one, even if using a smart device. MatrixScan Count can take this task and make it lightning-fast and error-proof. By scanning and counting multiple barcodes simultaneously, counting workflows can be up to 10x faster.

Accelerated order fulfillment

Fulfilling online orders is a process that contains many steps. Accelerating each of those steps with Scandit Smart Data Capture to makes sure the customer gets the right order, on time, every time.

Location guidance, unmatched scanning performance for faster picking and packing, augmented reality for destaging and collecting. These condense the total time it takes, allowing more orders to be fulfilled with the same resources.

Why freeing associates from tedious tasks matters

The other upside of automating tedious tasks is that employees can spend more time on value-adding or revenue-generating tasks, such as helping customers in the store.

Not only is it important for employees to have the time to guide and support customers to help the sales process, but they must be equipped with the right information when they are there.

By accessing real-time information from their devices, employees can discuss product availability and offer upsells and cross-sells based on the data at hand and the conversations they are having.

Upskilling employees with the insights and knowledge to offer first-class clienteling that can positively impact the revenue side of retail productivity. It also means that sales aren’t lost while an employee is performing a back-of-house task that could be automated.

Driving store and employee productivity even further.

What should retailers do now to be future-ready?

Optimising existing tools and processes so stores stay lean, agile, and resilient is paramount. Making the most of existing retail tech investments is mission-critical for staying competitive.

While the current environment presents challenges, it also offers retailers an opportunity to reassess and find ways to maximize their existing resources. Preparing now to be as lean and agile as possible for the rocky road ahead.

Perhaps our current situation will be the kick that retailers and consumers alike need to make sure we are being as productive as we can and looking after our costs, lifestyle, and each other.

Make your retail operations more productive

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Retail productivity FAQs

What is retail productivity?
Retail productivity measures how efficiently a store uses its resources to generate output, such as sales, over a specific period. It’s calculated by tracking the number of tasks completed (like inventory counts or order fulfillment) against the time taken, typically averaged across days, weeks, or months.

Why is improving productivity crucial for retailers today?
Boosting productivity enables retailers to do more with less, helping them maintain margins and operational efficiency without raising prices.

How can technology enhance retail productivity?
Technology, such as smart data capture, speeds up tasks, reduces errors, and automates repetitive processes.

Can retailers boost productivity without buying new hardware?
Yes—smart data capture can be integrated into existing smart devices. By leveraging devices already in use (e.g., smartphones), retailers get productivity gains without significant investment in new equipment.

What specific tasks benefit most from these productivity enhancements? Tasks like inventory counting, order picking/fulfillment, price verification, and shelf management see the biggest improvements. Tools like MatrixScan Count and other Scandit solutions enable faster, more accurate execution of scan-heavy retail workflows.