The Retail Workforce

The Retail Workforce in a Changing Competitive Landscape:  The University of Massachusetts Retail Study
Project Leaders: Chris Tilly, Department of Regional Economic and Social Development
 
Dr. Françoise Carré, Research Director, Center for Social Policy, University of Massachusetts Boston
 
Research Personnel 
Professor Chris Tilly, Ph.D., in Economics and Urban Studies and Planning, MIT. Tilly has done extensive research on service industries and entry-level work in the United States. 

Dr. Françoise Carré, Ph.D., in Urban Studies and Planning, MIT.  Carré has studied work and labor market intermediaries, particularly in service industries, in the United States and Europe   
 
Amanda Enrico, master's student in the Economic and Social Development of Regions, University of Massachusetts Lowell.  In addition to this project, Enrico is working on “Employment and regional development in the United States and Mexico.”

Brandynn Holgate, doctoral student in Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Boston.  Holgate has been involved in a wide range of public policy-related research.

In collaboration with the National Retail Federation,the retail industry is being transformed by dramatic market shifts and rapid technological change. To better understand the consequences of these changes, this study focuses on turnover and retention, training, service levels, and product knowledge in the frontline workforce in the food and consumer electronics sectors. The study will explore what is changing in the industry and how companies are developing selection, training, compensation, and supervision strategies to cope with these changes. By gathering information directly from people who are implementing and experiencing changes in the industry, including industry association staff, company executives, store-level managers, and employees, the study will generate well-informed and practical recommendations for preparing and managing the retail workforce of the future. This study is part of a larger multinational effort examining the retail workforce in Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom as well as the United States, and comparing new developments in these countries. This study is funded by the Russell Sage Foundation, the largest foundation entirely devoted to funding social science research.

Working papers (download pdf files)
“What’s happening to retail jobs?  Wages, gender, and corporate strategy.”  Françoise Carré, Brandynn Holgate, and Chris Tilly.  Paper presented at the Labor and Employment Research Association Annual Meeting, January 2006.

"The Changing World of Work in Retail Trade."  Françoise Carré, Brandynn Holgate, and Chris Tilly.  Report to the National Retail Federation, December 2007.

“National institutions meet big-box retailers: Retail jobs in comparative perspective.”    Françoise Carré, Chris Tilly, Maarten van Klavern, and Dorothea Voss-Dahm.  Russell Sage Foundation Project on Low-Wage Work in the United States and Europe.  December 2007.