Saj Karsan

When Buybacks Are Bad

Hey Miser,

Unfortunately hourly wages are a huge part of a retailers costs, and so retailers always look for ways to reduce them (one growing example: self-checkout kiosks). This creates better paying jobs in the tech industry; the side effect is it reduces the requirement for hourly floor employees.

If a retailer serving the masses could make money paying its hourly workers substantially more (to reduce turnover as you suggest), then we will see such a retailer steal share from the likes of Walmart, Home Depot etc., but it appears unlikely.