5 Ways Retailers Can Tackle High Turnover
Retail turnover is expensive. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry faces an average annual turnover rate of nearly 60%, with 22% of attrition happening within the first 30 days and 43% within the first 90 days. That’s a massive operational and financial burden—especially when volume hiring is already a challenge.
The cost of replacing a single hourly retail employee averages nearly $5,000 (or about 16% of the employee’s annual salary), and that doesn’t even factor in lost productivity, reduced customer service, and the strain it places on store managers and coworkers. In a tight labor market, relying on endless cycles of re-hiring isn’t a sustainable strategy.
Retailers need to shift their thinking: high turnover doesn’t have to be inevitable. With the right strategies in place, you can improve retention, reduce hiring costs, and build a more stable, engaged workforce.
Here are five proven strategies to tackle high turnover—starting even before an employment contract is inked.
1. Start by Making Better Hires
Many turnover problems start with misalignment. Candidates accept jobs they’re not a fit for—or weren’t expecting—and leave once they realize the role isn’t right for them. Resumes can’t always predict performance in fast-paced retail environments, where soft skills like adaptability and customer service are critical.
That’s where Harver’s Smart Job Navigator can help.
Smart Job Navigator eliminates guesswork and gut hiring decisions by:
- Automatically matching candidates to the roles they’re best suited for—even if it’s not the one they applied for
- Screening candidates using assessments to measure real-world competencies like communication, problem-solving, and situational judgment
- Routing top talent to high-priority openings, helping you fill roles faster without compromising quality
By matching people to the right job from the start, you reduce early turnover and build a workforce that stays longer and performs better.
Learn how Smart Job Navigator improves fit and speed in volume hiring.
2. Invest in Onboarding and Training
Once you’ve made the right hire, the next challenge is keeping them.
The onboarding period is critical: new hires who feel unsupported or overwhelmed are far more likely to leave. A well-structured onboarding process—including role-specific training, clear expectations, and consistent check-ins—can significantly improve 90-day retention.
Engaging, purposeful training can:
- Reduce employee frustration
- Boost confidence in handling real-world scenarios
- Show your company is invested in its people
Retail employees, who feel prepared and valued are less likely to churn—and more likely to grow with your business.
Explore onboarding best practices that reduce early attrition.
3. Make Flexibility and Predictability Work Together
Retail schedules can be unpredictable by nature, but that unpredictability is a major cause of burnout. Employees need to plan their lives—and too often, retail jobs make that difficult.
Here’s how to balance flexibility with structure:
- Respect scheduling preferences whenever possible (days, times, total hours)
- Plan schedules two weeks in advance to give employees time to adjust
- Build in backup coverage with salaried managers or extra part-time staff to avoid last-minute asks
- Offer flexibility where you can—such as shift swapping, paid time off with notice, or flexible pay periods
Predictability builds trust. Flexibility builds satisfaction. Together, they reduce one of the biggest sources of turnover in the industry.
Read more about the importance of flexibility to key Gen Z hires.
4. Create a More Engaging Workplace
Retail jobs are often high pressure, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be rewarding.
Employee engagement goes a long way toward building a workplace where employees want to stay. This includes:
- Recognizing accomplishments, both big and small
- Connecting individual success to company-wide impact
- Encouraging collaboration and team support
- Giving timely, constructive feedback that helps employees grow
Even small efforts to improve workplace culture can drive loyalty, reduce attrition, and create brand ambassadors inside your stores.
5. Use Data to Understand (and Reduce) Turnover
Finally, don’t guess what’s causing your turnover—measure it.
Capturing feedback from new hires, tracking 90-day attrition rates, and analyzing quality-of-hire metrics gives you a clear view into what’s working—and what’s not.
Key data to keep tabs on:
- Retention rates by job type and store
- New hire performance and manager satisfaction
- Turnover triggers, such as inconsistent schedules or inadequate training
When you track and act on this data, you can fix the root causes of turnover rather than just the symptoms.
Download Harver’s white paper, “7 Hiring Metrics Every Retailer Should Track,” for more insights.
Turnover Isn’t Inevitable. It’s Fixable.
In a labor market where great talent is harder to find—and more expensive to lose—retailers can’t afford to treat turnover as a cost of doing business.
By making better hires, supporting employees through onboarding, improving scheduling practices, and listening to your workforce, you can build a retail team that sticks around—and delivers results.
Looking to optimize hiring and minimize churn? Check out Harver’s retail hiring solutions.
