News Briefs
- 5/23/2025
Survey: 82% of retail employees feel 'regularly overwhelmed' at work
Retail workers say that understaffing and poor schedule management is having an impact on their productivity.
That’s according to the 2025 Logile Labor Planning & Optimization Report from AI-powered workforce solutions firm Logile, which found that 80% of retail workers say unpredictable schedules and short-staffing add stress to their jobs, with 82% feeling regularly overwhelmed at work. More than three-quarters (77%) of retail workers say their store regularly loses sales due to poor scheduling or staffing decisions.
More than half (51%) of retail workers said their store is short-staffed during busy periods most of the time, with 25% saying this happens almost every time their store gets busy. Nearly a third (31%) of frontline workers are actively considering quitting due to poor scheduling or lack of hours, with another 22% saying they’re close to that point if conditions don’t improve.
[READ MORE: Survey: 76% of retail workers looking for career change]
Seventy-four percent of frontline associates say they’re open to automated, traffic-based scheduling tools, but adoption hinges on trust. Those surveyed said that systems must consistently deliver accurate, fair schedules that earn buy-in over time.
“There’s a clear disconnect between plan and practice. Retailers have made meaningful strides in prioritizing workforce initiatives, but our research shows that many are still missing the opportunity to fully connect their planning efforts with store-level reality,” said Purna Mishra, founder and CEO of Logile. “By integrating real-time demand data and modeling store-specific labor needs more accurately, retailers can close the loop between planning and execution — improving service, supporting staff and strengthening the bottom line.”
Logile’s survey was conducted on 500 American retail store associates via Pollfish.
- 5/23/2025
Customers expect free returns, but don’t always make them honestly
Free returns are becoming a requirement, but retailers must watch for abuse of their policies.
Almost nine-in-10 (88%) of more than 6,000 consumers surveyed across the U.S., Canada, U.K., France and Germany now expect free returns as a standard offering and 60% have made one in the past 12 months.
The "2025 Global Returns & Profit Impact Report" from global commerce solutions provider Rithum also reveals that 61% of respondents cite poor fit as the main reason for returning items and one-in-three have returned products that didn’t match their online description or images.
In addition, 47% of respondents have stopped shopping at a retailer because of an unfavorable return policy and 41% say they consider return policies before making a purchase.
[READ MORE: Return policies key to online purchases, customer loyalty]
Fashion leads returns – and return abuse
Almost seven-in-10 (68%) respondents have returned clothing or footwear in the past year, and more than one-in-three (36%) admitted to “bracketing” or intentionally buying multiples to try on at home and return.
Half of respondents younger than 35 say they commonly buy more items than they need with the intent to return. In addition, half of all respondents rely heavily on customer reviews when buying clothing or shoes.
"Returns are no longer a post-purchase afterthought – they’re shaping buying decisions," said Lou Keyes, CEO at Rithum. “For brands and retailers, the return experience has become a critical business lever, not just a logistical function. The businesses that adapt can turn them from a cost center into a competitive advantage."
- 5/23/2025
Nominations Open: CSA’s Top 10 Retail Center Experiences awards
Chain Store Age is now accepting nominations for its Top 10 Retail Center Experiences awards, which honor open-air centers, malls, retail-based mixed-use centers, and neighborhood centers that set the mark for making properties destinations for events, fine dining, and recreational pursuits--as well as great shopping.
Last year’s winners included Triple 5’s Mall of America in Minnesota, Kimco’s Dania Pointe lifestyle center in Florida, and the JLL-operated Ka Makana Ali’i in Hawaii.
The nomination should include:
- The name and location of the nominated property;
- The name of the property’s owner and operator;
- The nominator’s name, title, email address, and phone number;
- And most importantly, what your center does to draw more guests to your properties on more days of the week and keeps them there longer.
Click here for the nomination form. (All nominations will remain strictly confidential.)
CSA will unveil the 2025 list of Top 10 Retail Center Experiences in CSA's July/August print edition.
The nomination deadline is June 17, 2025.
Questions? Please contact Chain Store Age real estate editor Al Urbanski at [email protected].
- 5/22/2025
Court OKs CVS Pharmacy’s bids on select Rite Aid assets, including 64 stores
The wind down of a former retail pharmacy powerhouse continues.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey has given the green light to CVS Pharmacy bids on the prescription files of 625 Rite Aid pharmacies across 15 states in areas that CVS serves, as well 64 physical Rite Aid stores in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. (The court also approved the sale of certain Rite Aid prescription files to Walgreens, Kroger and others.)
“We’re well-positioned to serve our existing customers and patients, as well as those who may be transitioning to us from Rite Aid,” CVS said in a statement. “We’re working closely with Rite Aid on plans to ensure that the transition will be seamless for patients and customers and access to pharmacy care is not interrupted. Once the sale is finalized, we look forward to welcoming Rite Aid colleagues who are interested in applying to join the CVS team.”
Rite Aid has been winding down operations, including closing stores, since it declared bankruptcy earlier this month and said it was pursuing a "strategic and value-maximizing sale process" for substantially all of its assets. The company, which had some 1,300 stores at the time of its filing, is still looking to sell some of its stores to other retailers, with an auction planned for June.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, CVS had more than 9,000 retail pharmacy locations nationwide.
- 5/22/2025
Chain Store Age to close on Memorial Day
The offices of Chain Store Age will be closed on Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day. We will reopen and resume publishing DayBreaker on Tuesday, May 27.
We wish our readers a happy and safe holiday weekend!
- 5/22/2025
GoodRx to offer independent pharmacies direct contracts
A prescription drug savings platform is launching a new offering for locally-owned and operated pharmacies.
GoodRx, which began directly selling and fulfilling orders for eligible prescription and over-the-counter medications online in October 2024, will roll out a new featured called “GoodRx Community Link” in June 2025.
GoodRx Community Link will enable locally-owned and operated pharmacies to directly contract with GoodRx on pricing and manage participation in the company’s integrated savings programs that seamlessly integrate with existing customer insurance plans.
Direct contracts leverage cost-plus models to provide independent pharmacies with more direct control over pricing and favorable margins. GoodRx says it is committed to helping independent pharmacies better manage pricing directly with the platform while continuing to provide consumers with affordable prices on their medications.
GoodRx, which reduces prices on nearly 200 prescription medications by an average of 40%, also partners with drugstore retailers including Walgreens and the pharmacy operation of Hy-Vee.
In addition, the company collaborates with diabetes care provider Sanofi to offer access to Lantus (insulin glargine injection) 100 Units/mL in the U.S. for a discount price of $35 for a 30-day supply, directly competing with reduced-cost insulin programs offered by Amazon and Walmart.
[READ MORE: GoodRx takes on Amazon, Walmart with discount insulin coupons]
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