Employee Engagement Software for Retail
Retail runs on its frontline workforce, yet most engagement tools are designed for desk-based knowledge workers. With annual turnover exceeding 60% for hourly associates and seasonal hiring creating constant churn, retail leaders need a fundamentally different approach. Unmatched delivers mobile-first engagement, location-level analytics, and AI-driven retention insights built specifically for the realities of retail operations.
Retail Workforce Challenges
The engagement problems keeping retail leaders up at night — and why generic tools make them worse.
Retail experiences 60-80% annual turnover for hourly associates, with some subsectors exceeding 100%. Each departure costs $3,000-$5,000 in recruiting, training, and lost productivity — and that compounds across hundreds of locations. Most retailers treat this as an unavoidable cost of doing business when it is actually a solvable engagement problem.
Holiday hiring surges can double store headcount in weeks, then shed those workers just as quickly. Seasonal employees who feel disconnected from the brand deliver worse customer experiences and are less likely to return the following year, forcing the same costly recruiting cycle over and over.
Associates without company email addresses or dedicated workstations are systematically excluded from corporate engagement initiatives. They hear about company direction through a game of telephone from store managers, and their feedback rarely reaches district or regional leadership in a structured way.
Employee experience varies wildly from store to store based on local management quality. Without standardized, location-level engagement data, district managers manage by anecdote and regional leaders only discover problems when a store's performance numbers crater.
How Unmatched Helps
Purpose-built solutions that address the real challenges of retail workforce engagement.
Mobile-First Engagement for the Floor
SMS and mobile-app surveys that associates complete on their phones during breaks — no company email required. Participation rates triple compared to traditional email surveys, giving you actual data from the people who interact with your customers every day.
Learn more about Engagement Surveys- SMS and mobile-app surveys that associates complete on their phones during breaks — no company email required.
- Participation rates triple compared to traditional email surveys, giving you actual data from the people who interact with your customers every day.
Location-Level Performance Analytics
AI analytics correlate engagement scores with store-level KPIs like sales per labor hour, shrinkage rates, and customer satisfaction. Identify which locations are engagement bright spots and replicate what their managers do differently.
Learn more about AI Analytics- AI analytics correlate engagement scores with store-level KPIs like sales per labor hour, shrinkage rates, and customer satisfaction.
- Identify which locations are engagement bright spots and replicate what their managers do differently.
Exit Intelligence That Stops the Bleeding
Automated exit surveys capture why associates leave, with AI pattern detection that identifies systemic issues by location, department, or manager. Stop guessing why your turnover is high and start fixing the actual root causes.
Learn more about Exit Surveys- Automated exit surveys capture why associates leave, with AI pattern detection that identifies systemic issues by location, department, or manager.
- Stop guessing why your turnover is high and start fixing the actual root causes.
Manager Development Through Feedback
360-degree reviews for store managers that incorporate associate upward feedback, peer assessments, and district manager evaluations. Identify your best people leaders, develop the struggling ones, and build a management bench that reduces location-level attrition.
Learn more about 360-Degree Reviews- 360-degree reviews for store managers that incorporate associate upward feedback, peer assessments, and district manager evaluations.
- Identify your best people leaders, develop the struggling ones, and build a management bench that reduces location-level attrition.
The Numbers Behind the Challenge
Retail workforce data that underscores why engagement cannot wait.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about using Unmatched in retail organizations.
Ready to Transform Retail Employee Engagement?
Start your free 14-day trial and see how Unmatched adapts to the unique challenges of retail organizations.