Robots to take half a million UK retail jobs

UK retail will lose 580,000 jobs to robots, as IT leaders in the sector expect up to one in five jobs to be replaced by AI/automation within five years, according to the findings of the 2019 Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey.

The move towards automating the retail sector is being driven from the top, with almost half (44 percent) of IT leaders reporting that using automation to improve efficiencies is one of the big issues that their board is looking for IT to address.

These findings follow reports from the Office for National Statistics estimated that two-thirds (135,000) cashier jobs in UK retail are at high risk of being automated, and John Lewis Partnership announced that it is one of the companies behind an open framework which will help companies understand the relationship between humans and robots, after it has trialled the use of robots to harvest produce from its farms for Waitrose stores.

The data forms part of the world’s largest technology leadership survey, analysing responses from over 3,600 organisations with a combined technology spend of over 250 billion US dollars, which notes that two-thirds (67 percent) of IT Leaders in UK retail believe new jobs will compensate for job losses to AI/automation. This combined effect of job losses in ‘traditional’ areas and new job growth requiring new ‘digital’ skills is likely to lead to a significant reorganisation of roles across retailers.

The survey also added that the shift to automating more jobs in UK retail is “very much underway”, with a quarter of IT leaders piloting or implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) (25 percent) and/or AI/machine learning (27 percent). Those IT leaders piloting RPA reported that they are more likely to have higher profitability, better operational efficiency, better time to market, and better customer experience.

Albert Ellis, chief executive of global tech recruiter, Harvey Nash, said in a statement: “Whilst most consumers’ experience of retail automation may be the frustration of having an ‘unexpected item in the bagging area’, this survey shows how the influence of automation is being felt across the entire retail organisation.

“If you also consider the radical changes happening in the high street, and the explosive growth of online commerce, it’s clear the retail sector is undergoing massive change. But, while much of the narrative has been around what jobs might be lost, the real battle for success will be around which retailers will be able to attract and develop the right skills and talent for this new automated, digital world. It has never been more important for Boards and HR leaders to think about the impact of these trends on their strategy.”