[Iwatani Materials Co., Ltd. Logistics Equipment Department] More than 80% of people involved in store management or backyard operations at retail companies have experienced some kind of hardship! Iwatani Materials Co., Ltd. conducts a survey on “Changes in work in store management and backyard operations in the retail industry”! *Iwatani Materials Co., Ltd. Logistics Equipment Department* Press release: September 18, 2024
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More than 80% of people involved in store management or backyard operations at retail companies have experienced some kind of hardship! Iwatani Materials Co., Ltd. conducts a survey on “Changes in work in store management and backyard operations in the retail industry”! * Iwatani Materials Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Masuda (Masayoshi) conducted a survey on “Changes in work in store management and backyard operations in the retail industry” targeting people engaged in store management and backyard operations in the retail industry. *
* The results of this survey revealed changes that have occurred in recent years in store operations and backyard operations in the retail industry, as well as opinions from those in the field. *
* -Background-*
After the coronavirus pandemic, EC and D to C (Direct to
Consumer) is booming. On the other hand, over-the-counter sales, where products are sold directly to consumers, are starting to regain momentum, and many customers are visiting commercial facilities. At retail stores, there is always work to move goods, such as displaying and selling products and managing inventory in the backyard. These tasks place a heavy burden on seniors and women in particular. Nowadays, there is a call for work style reform, and there is a need to improve productivity in these types of jobs that involve people. Additionally, jobs with high workloads tend to be disliked in general, which can lead to people leaving their jobs. Therefore, Iwatani Materials, which manufactures and sells the light and durable aluminum shelf trolley “KALTANA”, is a company run by people in their 20s to 50s who are engaged in store management and backyard work in the retail industry. We conducted a survey on “changes in work in store management and backyard operations in the retail industry” targeting employees.
* -Investigation Summary-*
・More than 80% of people feel some kind of difficulty with product display, sales, and backyard work.
・The main things that people find difficult when displaying and selling products and working in the backyard are “the large amount of work due to a lack of manpower” and “the weight of the things they handle (products, fixtures, etc.)”
・Approximately 25% of people feel that their work in product display/sales and backyard work has changed after the coronavirus pandemic.
・In product display/sales and backyard work, the change most people feel after the coronavirus pandemic is “improvement of the working environment (working hours, store environment)”
– Points that would like to be improved in product display/sales and backyard operations are “reducing workload by increasing the number of personnel” and “reducing the weight of items handled (products, fixtures, etc.)”
・Approximately half of the people request improvements to the working environment in order to continue displaying and selling products and doing backyard work.
* -Survey overview-*
Survey period: August 16th to August 17th, 2024
Survey method: Internet survey
Survey target: Men and women in their 20s to 50s who work at retail companies and are responsible for store management and backyard work. Number of people surveyed: 330 people
Monitor provider: Japan Business Research
*More than 80% of people feel some kind of difficulty with product display/sales or backyard work*
First, in response to the question “Do you ever feel any difficulty in displaying/selling products or working in the backyard?”, 36.1% said “Sometimes,” and 25.2% said “I feel it every time.” 3rd place was “I feel it often” at 21.2%. The total number of respondents who answered “I don’t feel it at all (13.6%)” or “I don’t feel it at all (3.9%)” remained at 17.5%, with the majority feeling some kind of difficulty in displaying and selling products or in backyard work. It became clear that there was.
*The main things that people find difficult when displaying and selling products and working in the backyard are “the large amount of work due to a lack of manpower” and “the weight of the things they handle (products, fixtures, etc.)”*
Next, regardless of the frequency, those who answered that they find it difficult to display/sell products or work in the backyard were asked, “What do you find difficult about displaying/selling products or working in the backyard?” , 1st place was “Large workload due to labor shortage” at 57.1%, 2nd place was “Weight of things handled (products, fixtures, etc.)” at 46.4%, and 3rd place was “Problems with own physical strength.” It was 36.9%. The results revealed that many people find it especially difficult to perform tasks that are physically demanding or require physical effort, such as moving heavy objects.
* Approximately 25% of people feel that their work in product display/sales and backyard work has changed after the coronavirus pandemic*
Next, in response to the question “Have there been any changes in product display/sales or backyard operations since the coronavirus pandemic?”, 73.9% of respondents answered “no”, making up the majority. The results showed that 26.1% of people answered “yes,” and about 1 in 4 people felt that there had been some kind of change in their product display/sales and backyard operations.
* In product display/sales and backyard work, the change most people feel after the coronavirus pandemic is “improvement of the working environment (working hours, store environment)” *
Additionally, for those who answered “There have been changes” to the question in the previous section, the most common responses to the question “What kind of changes have you noticed in product
display/sales and backyard work?” The first place was “Improving the working environment (working hours, store environment)” at 54.7%, and the second place was “Introducing tools and systems to increase productivity and reduce work load” at 37.2%. From this result, we found that many of the changes that have occurred in recent years are positive changes that reduce the burden on workers.
* Points that would like to be improved in product display/sales and backyard operations are “reducing the workload by increasing the number of personnel” and “reducing the weight of things handled (products, fixtures, etc.)” *
Next, in response to the question, “What improvements would you like to see in product display/sales and backyard operations?”, 45.5% of respondents said “reducing workload by increasing the number of personnel,” and 2. 36.7% said “Reducing the weight of things handled (products, fixtures, etc.),” 34.9% said “Improving the working environment (working hours, store environment),” and 4th place “Increasing productivity and reducing work load.” “Introducing tools and systems for this purpose” accounted for 33.0%. Here too, the top responses were those that reduced the physical exhaustion associated with work.
* Approximately half of the people request improvements to the working environment in order to continue product display/sales and backyard work*
At the end of the survey, the answer to the question “Do you want to continue to be involved in product display and sales or backyard work?” was answered with “I would like to be actively involved if the environment improves” with a score of 48.2. %, and second place was “I want to be actively involved regardless of the environment” at 37.0%. Overall, we found that many people had a positive outlook on product display, sales, and backyard work. On the other hand, it has become clear that approximately half of the employees are seeking improvements in the working environment in order to continue doing their jobs.
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