Nearly 11 percent of the workforce are being surveilled at a higher rate, and they fear losing their jobs to cheaper labour.

Today’s retail sector is changing fast and new technologies are transforming the shopping experience, reshaping employee job roles, and challenging traditional hierarchies.

According to a study by the Australian National University and the University of Sydney, Australia’s retail sector will soon be the subject of broader debate.

To meet customers’ increasing digital demands, retailers are investing more in technology to enhance the customer experience and drive efficiency across all channels.

The new study found the retail industry is being radically transformed by technology, and Australian workers are being left behind.

Around 11% of Australians are employed in retail, and they are suffering from lack of training and increased surveillance as well as the rise of online shopping.

The Albanese government’s job summit next month will examine Australia’s retail sector, using the report as a framework.

The study also found 35% of workers are concerned that cheaper labour will replace them, and 40% believe that employers use technology to monitor their behaviour on the job.

Senior stakeholders in the retail industry are in conflict with workers, many of whom are vulnerable and lowly paid, according to lead researcher Professor Ariadne Vromen.

“Digitisation, big data collection and utilisation, and automation are altering the retail industry, and new skills are required.”

“Workers are less concerned about automation and more concerned about being replaced by other workers who will be paid less, and see customer service and people skills as more important than technical skills in succeeding at their jobs.” says Professor Ariadne Vromen.

AI, AR, VR, Machine Learning and other new technologies are widely used by retailers to increase operational efficiency and personalize shoppers’ experiences.

Retailers are using AI to automate tasks that no longer need human interaction and finding ways to make supply chain management, logistics and inventory management processes more efficient.

According to Professor Vromen, the majority of retail employees are women, and most of the sector cannot function from home.

“Young workers are over-represented in retail, and more than half of the workforce are employed on temporary or part-time contracts.”

The retail sector is particularly prone to major disruption, led by online giant Amazon as it increases spending on new technology in an effort to cut costs.

Stores are adopting self-checkout kiosks, computer screens for looking up information, and early and limited robot implementations to handle tasks like moving boxes, just to name a few. Some of these technologies are already altering how retail workers operate.

Retailers are using a range of new technologies, including self-checkout kiosks, computer screens for looking up information, to name a few and employees are already being affected by some of those technologies.

Rapid growth of automation

Over the last few years, we’ve noticed order-taking kiosks at restaurants and self-service registers at grocery stores and supermarkets. Although this is not a new concept, the use of such automation has increased dramatically.

According to a study by Cornerstone Capital Group, nearly half of all retail jobs could be eliminated by automation within the next decade.

Every company will weigh the advantages and disadvantages of using these machines; although the majority will prefer to keep things as they are, many will at least replace one job with an automaton.

Retails workers are begining to ask will there be enough new jobs in other fields to help people adjust when their old jobs are eliminated.

More Australian retailers are using the cloud and mobile to sell items, and even the smallest stores require e-commerce tools and internet stores to sell items following the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.

“The disruption wrought by Covid-19 is not going away in 2022.” says Professor Vromen