The Retail Trust and AlixPartners have been tracking the well-being of people working in our sector for three years, and 2025 looks set to be the toughest year for the industry recorded by the Retail People Index, writes Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust.

It’s no secret that the retail industry has had a challenging and uncertain twelve months.  

We ended 2024 with reports that the retail industry had experienced the highest number of job losses since the start of the pandemic. On top of this were warnings that the rising employment costs following the autumn Budget were likely to lead to further job cuts. 

Now, as we reach the end of 2025, the ONS has revealed there were 74,000 fewer retail jobs in September, as job numbers across the industry hit a record low.  

And new data from our Index has revealed the impact this is having on those still working within what remains the UK’s largest private sector employer.  

The quarterly Retail People Index, produced in partnership with global consulting firm AlixPartners and supported by the Retail Trust’s data partner WorkL, shows that workers are not only unhappier this year, but the risk of them leaving their jobs or working while unwell is also increasing. 

We saw significant drops in well-being at the end of 2024, with spikes in people working while unwell and looking to quit following the Budget.

The latest report has found that happiness levels have failed to recover this year, as more people cope with ongoing uncertainty around their jobs and the stress of working within under-resourced teams.   

By the end of September, well-being was 6% lower than at the same time last year, the number of retail workers at risk of leaving their jobs had increased by 12%, to more than half of all staff, and 13% more people were working while unwell. 

It’s the first time since the Index began tracking retail well-being in 2023 that morale has not improved during the summer months. It’s also the first time that retail workers aged between 35 and 44 have reported feeling unhappier than any other age group. 

Between July and September, older Millennials were found to be most stressed and anxious, more felt they weren’t being adequately recognised or developed, and 60% were at risk of leaving their jobs. 

Many of them will have years of experience in our sector and may have well-established retail careers, but it appears they are now being hardest hit by the steep rise in employers’ costs and the uncertainty this has created across the sector.   

The likely increase in financial pressures on businesses over the coming months sets the tone for a challenging year ahead.  And the busy Christmas period, combined with a rise in shop worker abuse, will only add to the pressures on staff.  

Three quarters of workers have experienced abuse this year, nearly half are verbally or physically assaulted every week, and many say that their experience is worse during the festive shopping period.

This is why the Retail Trust has been calling on shoppers to share a greeting, a thank you and a smile with shop workers to help ease the burden this Christmas, as part of our Let’s Respect Retail campaign.  

We launched this campaign because I still passionately believe that retail is a brilliant place to work and build a career. The challenges facing retail are real, but so too is our ability to respond with empathy, leadership, and long-term commitment to our people. We cannot afford to see these latest findings as inevitable or irreversible.  

And I’m inspired by the 200 retailers partnering with the Retail Trust to help their colleagues feel more hopeful, happier, and healthier at work.   

Retailers’ well-being budgets are naturally coming under strain, but the best employers still recognise the need to address the uncertainty retail workers face and prevent a further decline in morale and turnover.

Whether it’s financial education, clearer communication to navigate the changing market conditions, or new ways of upskilling and developing their people, this support will not only make employees happier but will strengthen resilience at a time when our industry needs it most.  

Because, after all, protecting the well-being of retail workers is not just the right thing to do. It is also essential for the future strength of our businesses, our high streets, and the millions of people who depend on them. 

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