Layoffs in white-collar jobs have dominated headlines, but frontline retail also has a problem.

The quit rate among retail workers reached 4.1% in January, above pre-pandemic highs for the first time in the industry since April 2022, according to a survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This persists despite companies like Walmart, Kroger, and Target heavily investing in their workforces by offering higher compensation.

But better wages often aren’t enough. It may seem counterintuitive, but offering career development and upskilling programs in other fields can reinvigorate workers and increase employee satisfaction and retention.

• A 2021 Pew Research survey of retail workers found that 63% of those who quit their job did so due to a lack of opportunities for advancement.

In an effort to address these challenges, and the shortage in skilled trade workers, Lowe’s and its philanthropic arm, The Lowe’s Foundation, are offering its own employees and students outside the company career development training through grant programs with technical colleges and community-based nonprofits.

At the start of the month, the foundation announced a $50 million commitment over the next five years to prepare 50,000 people for skilled trades careers like carpentry, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, or appliance repair careers.

• The skilled trades is also an industry facing a labor crisis: 85% of contractors report trouble finding work, with an estimated 546,000 new skilled tradespeople will be needed to meet demand in 2023 alone, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.
• The foundation will run two separate annual grant application cycles, with applications for the first cohort running through April 10.

“We see this as opening doors for more people from all backgrounds and experiences to benefit greatly from the opportunities that exist within these highly rewarding, well-paying careers,” Betsy Conway, director of The Lowe’s Foundation, told Retail Brew.

Keep reading here.—KM

“Would you live here? In Roku City? This year at SXSW, Roku bet on it. At the annual event in Austin, Texas, the connected-TV maker partnered with the tech retailer Best Buy to recreate Roku City—aka the virtual cityscape screensaver that appears on Roku devices when content isn’t playing—in real life,” writes Marketing Brew’s Kelsey Sutton:

As Roku City opened its doors, Roku and Best Buy announced that the companies had struck a first-party data pact on Roku’s advertising platform, and had also reached an agreement to sell the first-ever Roku-branded TVs exclusively in the retailer’s stores.

Despite the presence of high-end devices and Roku’s style shop, retail sales were not the immediate goal. Instead, Roku City was designed for brand-building—as well as for hosting the company’s clients in a splashy location.

Read the whole story here on Marketing Brew.

Today’s top retail reads.

Pay role: Major retailers including Walmart, Home Depot, and Dollar Tree are raising wages to attract and retain hourly workers. (the Wall Street Journal)

Kvetsy: How the Silicon Valley Bank collapse contributed to the frustration some Etsy sellers already had with the marketplace. “Etsy provides a good platform to sell on, but it was scary not knowing if I would receive pay for sales I already spent money on,” said seller Joanna Marie. (Modern Retail)

Carp diem: The campaign to turn carp, the invasive fish that many Americans turn up their noses at, into a restaurant and supermarket staple. Step 1: changing its name to “copi.” (Wired)

AI-generated, personalized videos: ChatGPT is just the tip of the AI iceberg. Maverick lets you send AI-generated, personalized videos at scale all from one recording—perfect for delighting your customers and boosting LTV.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

At the mall, it’s where band tees are the only tees. In Retail Brew, it’s where we invite readers to weigh in on a trending retail topic.

Amazon is facing a class-action lawsuit for not telling New York City shoppers in its Amazon Go stores that it was monitoring them with facial recognition technology, in violation of a 2021 law that requires stores to post signs when doing so.

You tell us: Do you think businesses should be required to post signs notifying customers if they’re using facial recognition technology? Cast your vote here.

Circling back: Last week, we asked if you’d ever written a negative online review and regretted it after for being too harsh. Most of you stuck to your guns, with 56.6% of you having written negative online reviews with no regrets and just 17% having done so and regretted being too harsh afterward. Almost 1 in 4 (24.5%) had never written a negative review, and 1.9% didn’t know or weren’t sure.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• How Apple made unpacking the iPhone a ritual rather than a chore
• From pretty dresses to surf and sport chic, Cynthia Rowley evolves
• How retailers are weathering the chip-shortage storm