WorkJam has published research suggesting retailers are putting cost control ahead of employee experience, marking a broader shift in workforce strategy across the sector.

Its poll of more than 150 retail professionals found that 37% now prioritise cost control over employee retention and experience, while only 5% said employee experience remains the priority.

The findings reflect the strain on retailers as higher labour costs and wider operational pressures weigh on decision-making. Employers are adjusting staffing and pricing in response to changes including higher National Insurance contributions and increases to the National Minimum Wage.

Almost half of respondents, 44%, said they are reducing or slowing hiring. A further 29% said they are raising prices.

The research also suggests many retailers still rely on basic or outdated workforce systems. Some 31% said their organisation uses basic workforce management tools, while 26% still depend on manual or outdated processes or have no formal process at all.

This points to slow progress in digitising frontline operations at a time when businesses are under pressure to simplify processes and contain costs. It also comes as retailers face new compliance demands, with only 25% saying they are making changes in response to the Employment Rights Bill.

AI adoption

Use of artificial intelligence in workforce operations appears to be spreading, but deployment remains limited. While 74% of respondents said their organisation is using AI in workforce operations, only 13% said it has been deployed at scale.

Just 20% of retailers described their AI maturity for workforce optimisation as advanced or mature. More than half, 56%, said efficiency and productivity were the main reasons for investing in AI for workforce management, while only 15% cited improving employee experience.

The data suggests the sector is still in the early stages of applying AI to staffing, scheduling and related processes. It also indicates that retailers are treating the technology primarily as a cost and efficiency tool rather than a way to address retention or engagement.

Alongside this, 66% of respondents said workforce pressures are forcing their organisations to rethink operating models. That underlines how labour costs and staffing constraints are driving broader changes in store operations and management structures.

Mark Williams, Managing Director EMEA at WorkJam, said the retreat from employee experience could carry longer-term consequences for retailers already dealing with disruption on the shop floor.

He said: “This is one of the sharpest and most risky strategic reversals we have seen in the sector in recent years. The pressure retailers are facing is real, but deprioritising employee experience is a short-term reaction that will negatively compound over time. The challenge for retailers is finding ways to reduce costs and simplify operations without losing focus on frontline engagement. With the right platform strategy, retailers can consolidate their tech stack while also improving the employee experience.”

His comments reflect a wider debate in retail over whether employers can cut spending without worsening staff turnover, engagement and day-to-day execution in stores. Frontline teams remain central to customer service, stock handling and in-store compliance, making workforce decisions especially sensitive during periods of cost pressure.

Operational strain

The survey points to a gap between the pressures retailers say they face and the systems many have in place to manage them. Employers may be looking for savings, but the results suggest many are doing so with fragmented tools and limited automation.

Williams said retailers should treat staff experience and operational efficiency as connected issues rather than separate goals. A more joined-up approach to scheduling, communication, task management and learning, he argued, could help reduce complexity.

He said: “Frontline operations platforms are becoming increasingly important as retailers look to simplify operations without creating additional friction for employees. By bringing together scheduling, communication, task management and learning into a single platform, retailers can reduce the complexity and costs associated with fragmented systems, while also creating a more connected and engaging experience for frontline teams. The retailers that will be most successful are those recognising that operational efficiency and employee experience are closely linked, not competing priorities.”

Billy Grace has entered the UK market and appointed Juliette Potuznik as vice president of sales, targeting mid-sized agencies and eCommerce brands in Britain.

The Amsterdam-based marketing attribution platform is expanding into a market it estimates is worth more than £25 billion in performance marketing. Potuznik previously held senior sales roles at Google, including head of sales for Northern Europe in Dublin and head of accelerated growth.

Billy Grace sells software designed to measure advertising performance across the customer journey, rather than relying on last-click attribution or returns reported by individual media platforms. Its system tracks campaigns across digital channels as well as upper-funnel media such as television, radio and out-of-home advertising.

The UK expansion follows a €3.2 million internal funding round backed by Fortino Capital and existing investors. Billy Grace had also recently received €3 million from Fortino Capital.

Its clients include Patagonia, Toms, Carhartt, O’Neill, Fatboy, Otrium and Moco Museum. Founded in Amsterdam in 2022, Billy Grace has built its own first-party tracking pixel and attribution modelling system to give brands and agencies an independent view of marketing results.

The attribution issue

Billy Grace is entering a market where tighter privacy rules and the loss of third-party cookies have made measurement more difficult. Those changes have increased scrutiny of the data used to justify advertising spend.

The company argues that large advertising platforms can report only on activity within their own systems. As a result, brands and agencies must piece together results from multiple sources to assess whether spending is generating sales or qualified leads.

Potuznik said the UK launch is aimed at agencies that want a separate measurement layer for the clients they advise. Billy Grace is pursuing a partnership-led approach rather than focusing solely on direct sales to brands.

“Each marketing channel only captures one part of the customer journey, which means platform reporting alone can never provide the full picture. Not because platforms are biased, but because they can only measure activity within their own ecosystem. As agencies face increasing pressure to prove real business impact, they need independent data that connects the full picture,” said Juliette Potuznik, vice president of sales at Billy Grace.

Agency focus

Billy Grace is focusing on mid-sized challenger agencies with eCommerce and direct-to-consumer clients. That reflects a broader shift in the agency market, where firms are increasingly building software products, artificial intelligence tools and proprietary workflows alongside traditional client service work.

Its platform is intended to sit underneath those efforts by supplying measurement, analytics and automated budget decisions. The software can also be used by lead-generation companies, where marketers need to connect advertising impressions to qualified leads and then to closed revenue.

Investors include Fortino Capital, along with founders and former board members linked to GroupM, Airbnb, eBay, PayPal and Bilt Rewards. The UK accounts for a significant share of Europe’s digital advertising market, making it a logical expansion target for vendors selling tools to agencies and online retailers.

For Billy Grace, Potuznik’s appointment adds a senior sales executive with experience working with both agencies and growth-focused advertisers. Her background at Google may prove useful as the company seeks to win business from agencies accustomed to platform-level reporting from major digital media groups.

The company is already onboarding its first UK agency partners. “The future of marketing isn’t more dashboards or more platform-specific reporting. It’s a connected intelligence layer that understands the full customer journey and can automatically optimise against real business outcomes. Billy Grace started in 2022 as an AI-driven optimisation tool for budget allocation and bidding, but has evolved into a complete marketing infrastructure platform spanning tracking, attribution, analytics, optimisation and AI agents. Our ambition is to become the independent marketing intelligence layer for brands and agencies globally, helping them measure, automate and optimise the entire customer journey in real time,” said Mitch Voskuilen, co-founder and chief executive officer of Billy Grace.

Alex Scott, the head brewer at Loose Cannon Brewery in Abingdon, said the award at the Midlands & West Indie Beer Awards 2026 reflected the “hard work, skill and commitment” of his team.

The microbrewery in Suffolk Way was handed the overall gold medal in the cask category for its ‘Cool Name to Follow’, a strong golden IPA with aromas and flavours of citrus and resinous pine. 

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Mr Scott said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have been awarded overall cask champion at the Indie Beer Awards with our 8.0 per cent Double IPA, Cool Name to Follow.

“To also see the same beer take gold in both the bottle & can and keg categories, along with bronze in the overall bottle & can championship, makes the achievement even more special.”

He added: “What makes this particularly meaningful is the standard of the competition.

Alex, Gav and Lou of Loose Cannon Brewery celebrate their win (Image: Loose Cannon Brewery)

“There were so many highly regarded breweries involved, all producing exceptional beer, and that level of quality really highlights just how strong and exciting the independent beer scene is right now”

The Society of Independent Brewers and Associates organised the awards and at the ceremony, held at the Ludlow Spring Festival (May 8-10) the chief executive Andy Slee congratulated Loose Cannon.

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He said: “To win this you have to first win your style category and then go on to be named the best against all other style winners.

“Well done to them and to all of this year’s winners!”

Losse Cannon Brewery opened in 2010 and since then has brewed more than 60 different beers, including Abingdon Bridge which is often served in pubs across Oxfordshire.