Anybody who has worked in retail – or even ventured into a big box store recently – will probably tell you it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
The fact is that retail has gotten to be a much more competitive, and at times, rougher industry than it was in years past.
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This is in part thanks to a rapid consolidation marking the industry around the United States, only accelerated by covid. Many smaller operations couldn’t afford to stay in business during prolonged mandatory closures or minimized operations. A decrease in foot traffic almost always equates to declining sales, and places like mom and pop restaurants or smaller retail shops shuttered permanently during and after the pandemic.
Indeed, many were either bought out or replaced by larger corporate rivals. But those larger corporate rivals – such as Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) – had plenty of their own struggles to grapple with.
Walmart discount department store, checkout line, cashier with customer paying.
Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images
Corporate giants have their issues
Many of the larger corporations have been outspoken about the rise in inventory shrink, or the industry term for product loss due to theft.
“The organized retail crime impact came in significantly higher than we anticipated,” Dick’s Chief Financial Officer Navdeep Gupta explained in late 2023.
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Target CEO Brian Cornell echoed the sentiment, saying stores had been struggling with “an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime.”
And a 2023 Retail Workplace Survey by Loss Prevention Magazine revealed that 60% of retail workers saw some form of violence on the job in the past year. Here’s how that breaks down:
23% of those surveyed said they were a victim of verbal assault14% said they were a victim of physical assault10% said they were the victim of bullying or emotional assault 3% said they were the victim of a sexual assault
Walmart store managers earning more money
Employee attrition is expensive and time consuming, since retailers are forced to reallocate resources to hire, train, and re-train new employees after one has left. It also tends to be bad for company morale.
Walmart, for its part though, tries to avoid this issue by hiring and promoting from within, giving employees an incentive to stick around and rise through the ranks.
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And in January, Walmart announced it would “invest” further into its talent pool, giving store managers the chance to earn more. Here’s what that looks like:
Up to $20,000 annual stock grantUpping base pay from an average of $117,000 to $128,000 annuallyRedesigned bonuses, which allow managers to earn up to 200% by hitting targets
All told, that means some store managers at particularly successful Walmarts can make upwards of $500,000 per year, all in, now.
Walmart also says it’s invested in the qualitative part of being an employee, offering new technology to help mitigate onerous tasks, tele-health options, and access to other health and care services. It says this has helped to reduce its attrition rate, which at one point during the pandemic was nearly twice that of competitors like Home Depot (HD) and Target.
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And a rising tide lifts all ships. Walmart’s individual store success across the U.S. bears out in its sales.
The retail giant, which reported Q1 2025 earnings on May 16, saw stronger than expected performance across the bulk of its major categories; comps were up 3.8% year over year.
“Our results were stronger than we anticipated, with sales growth of 5.7% and adjusted operating profit up 12.9% in constant currency. All three operating segments performed well,” CEO Dough McMillon said on the earning call.
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