US retailers are spending a lot of money to recruit employees in preparation for the peak season. Sellers: Are prices going to increase?

Although the global epidemic is still spreading, based on Americans' current shopping enthusiasm, this year's peak season sales should be able to achieve good results.

According to foreign media reports, the National Retail Federation expects sales in November and December, the peak shopping season this year , to grow by 8.5% to 10.5%, with total sales between $843.4 billion and $859 billion . This forecast is higher than last year's figures and will set a record high .

But at the same time, American retailers are also facing many problems during the peak season: labor shortage, supply chain difficulties and inflation , etc. Among them, labor shortage is a major problem plaguing American retail. According to the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 1.3 million retail job vacancies in the United States in August this year . Challenger, Grey and Christmas expect to hire 700,000 workers this quarter.

In order to meet the demand for holiday sales, major retailers in the United States have been scrambling to recruit workers in the market. According to the National Retail Federation, this year's holiday season in the United States may hire 500,000 to 665,000 seasonal employees, far exceeding last year's 486,000.

Not only that, major retailers in the United States have also increased their recruitment investment. Companies such as Amazon, Target and Walmart are looking for hundreds of thousands of employees and increasing wages, offering bonuses and more recruitment .

It is reported that Walmart has begun to raise the hourly wage to US$17, about RMB 109, and provides college tuition for some employees; Macy's department store in the United States even provides referral money to employees. For every family member or friend recommended, there is a chance to receive US$500, about RMB 3,196!

I have to sigh that in order to achieve holiday sales, American retailers have really invested a lot of money! However, the high cost of hiring workers will inevitably affect the operating costs of retailers. Coupled with the current inflationary pressure in the United States, I wonder if the retail prices of American physical stores will rise during the holiday peak season ?

If prices of goods in physical stores in the United States increase, online shopping will be a good choice in comparison. Of course , some sellers also said that as the peak season approaches, logistics costs, warehousing fees, and various advertising fees have greatly increased costs, and they are also considering whether they should raise product prices .

However, some sellers have said on social forums that they raised the prices of their products after the "power restriction order" was implemented, but the results were unexpected, and both sales and rankings rebounded ! I wonder what effect raising store prices will have when retailers increase their investment in hiring?

US retailers prepare for peak season