Some difficulties transcend sector
Whatever business you’re in, there are issues you’ll face along the way.
This is true across industries all over the world.
It’s not always plain sailing.
But the exact nature of the obstacles you face is largely dependent on the sector you’re in.
Customer-facing businesses that serve new clients daily have very different difficulties to those with more uniform routines, like in manufacturing.
Still, whatever your business looks like, you could likely learn something from another sector.
With that in mind, we’re today comparing two different industries: hospitality and retail, to see what each one can learn from the other.
So what shared challenges do they face, and what can retailers learn from restaurants, as well as vice versa?
Recruitment and retainment
Hospitality often tops the charts when it comes to employee turnover, with recent figures exceeding 50% staff attrition. Retail isn’t far behind, with annual turnover rates of over 41%. As such, both sectors are familiar with the challenges of attracting the right employees and keeping them for the long term.
This is getting harder by the day, with younger generations showing a growing desire to change jobs. Over 90% of Gen Z and Millennial employees are considering finding a new job.
Managers will well know the cost of repeated hiring processes, and so it pays to make the right long-term hires and do what you can to retain your best employees.
Inventory management
Keeping the shelves stocked is a critical part of running a successful retail business. In larger operations, that might be a job on its own, or even one that demands a whole team. Restaurants, meanwhile, don’t always have as strong a grasp of exactly what they have in stock.
This can be a real problem. Food products are more likely to have short shelf lives and require more careful and considered storage. Conducting regular stock reviews, implementing systems like First In, First Out, and setting up automatic replenishment can all help restaurants to take a retail-inspired approach to managing their stock.
Customer loyalty
Most people could tell you their favourite restaurant. Would as many have a favourite store? But the somewhat counterintuitive fact is that retail has a higher rate of customer retention than hospitality.
Clothing and fashion lead the way in terms of customer loyalty, attributed to their focus on identity and personalisation. While it’s much easier for someone to express themselves through their clothing choices, considering how your brand can be a lifestyle choice is still an important consideration for any business in 2025.
Loyalty schemes have long proven successful and plenty more restaurants and retail businesses could adopt these to drive repeat business.
Flexible scheduling
Restaurants and stores alike have busy and quiet periods, from slow early hours to holiday bedlam. Adjusting your staffing levels to meet demand is important to keep costs down while still providing a great level of service when required.
Smart employee scheduling solutions like Findmyshift, tailored to both retail rotas and hospitality employee management, allow you to easily change shifts, keep staff informed, and stay on top of customer demand.
Be ready to adapt and pivot
The COVID-19 pandemic showed the willingness of both the retail and hospitality industries to change their business models and face new challenges. That spirit of innovation is one that remains invaluable even after the world has reopened.
With customer expectations higher than ever, more choice, a battle for reviews and ratings, the rise of AI… there are endless challenges for these sectors to face, and endless opportunities to rise to them.
Restaurants became takeaways during lockdowns, and then expanded their outdoor offerings. Stores changed their queueing and floor plans to allow neat lines of distanced shoppers to match through them.
While these changes were forced, those businesses that made the most of them thrived. Every new year brings new challenges, and it’s time again for your business to take these challenges head on and grow from them.