Red Ant research looks at what has changed for store associates since adoption of retail technology

Ten years ago, Red Ant commissioned a piece of research into how store associates felt about their roles, conducted by OnePoll. A decade on, it asked them to put the same questions to store associates in the UK and the US to assess how their sentiment has changed.

The key results brought a number of differences into focus, including:

Store associate knowledge – there has been a 44 percentage point increase in confidence in product knowledge (53% in 2015 compared with 97% in 2025)

Customer expectations - customers now expect even more from store associates: 77% expect them to find stock, compared with 66% in 2015; 65% expect them to provide more product information, compared with 45% in 2015; 63% expect them to make recommendations, compared with 47% in 2015.

Technology and training – there were two constants spanning the ten-year interval: Belief that technology has a positive effect on their role (74% in 2015, compared with 73% in 2025); Lack of training – store associates are still not getting full, comprehensive training (58% got less than half a day’s training in 2015 compared with 63% in 2025)

Key takeaways:

There has been a revolution on the shopfloor in being able to access product and customer information, leading to increased store associate confidence and customer demands.

Some areas require more investment, and some store associates still have no access to tech: dtore associates are expected to do more but their level of training has not changed in a decade -there’s work to be done to ensure they can excel at their jobs.

Red Ant CEO Sarah Friswell says: "We’ve been working with retailers for 15 years now, so we’re in a unique position to be able to look back on our own research to see what has changed for store associates since the adoption of retail technology.”

“It’s very encouraging to see that it has significantly improved their level of confidence, and we’ve also been able to identify gaps in training which we can tackle with our clients. It proves that, though there is still work to do, retailers are on the path to recognising and elevating the role that store associates play in their business."

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Red Ant was among the finalists at the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering.