Why Empowering the Retail Frontline Is Now an IT Priority

Retail service doesn’t look the way it did a few years ago. Store associates aren’t just ringing up purchases anymore. They’re answering questions about online order pickups, handling returns, checking stock across locations, and coordinating with fulfillment or service teams, all while supporting customers on the floor.

And when customers need help fast, especially during busy periods, they still pick up the phone because it feels like the quickest way to reach a real person.

What’s changed isn’t just customer behavior. The pressure on frontline teams has increased, too, and it’s exposing a gap between how retail service actually works day to day and the systems meant to support it.

Where Retail Expectations Break Downlink to this section

In many retailers, the frontline is where online service expectations either hold up or don’t. Click-and-collect, easy returns, and fast fulfillment sound simple, but making them work depends on store teams having the right information and knowing exactly who to involve when things aren’t straightforward.

That tension came up repeatedly at NRF 2026. The store was often described as the “new last mile” of retail — the point where online expectations meet real-world execution. The challenge isn’t strategy or intent. It’s about whether frontline teams can see what’s happening, get help quickly, and keep things moving when demand spikes or exceptions arise.

At the same time, many store teams are still working with tools that were designed for a much simpler operating model. Customer communications are often handled through shared phones, hunt groups, or basic call routing. These approaches make sure calls get answered, but they don’t always support the reality of juggling in-store customers, online orders, and urgent service questions all at once.

When Routing Isn’t Enoughlink to this section

From an IT perspective, this is where things start to break down.

Basic call routing answers one question well: where should this call go? What it doesn’t help with is who can actually resolve the issue, how urgent it is, or whether another team is better equipped to help. When those answers aren’t clear, calls get transferred, context gets lost, and customers end up repeating themselves.

Consumer research from Metrigy shows how common this has become. 64% of customers say they are transferred half the time or more to resolve an issue, and 68% say they have to repeat themselves in more than half of their interactions. That rising customer effort isn’t a frontline problem. It’s a sign that the systems behind them aren’t designed for how service now flows across retail organizations.

For IT teams, the downstream effects are familiar. Store managers ask for exceptions. Teams create workarounds. Consumer apps creep in to fill gaps. Visibility drops just when demand peaks and decisions matter most.

Why Frontline Enablement Matters to ITlink to this section

Frontline enablement often gets framed as a customer experience initiative. But for retail IT leaders, it’s just as much an operational concern.

When customer interactions are handled across fragmented tools, it becomes harder to see what’s really happening. Where are queues building up? Which teams are overloaded? How are peak periods being handled? Without that visibility, IT teams are left reacting after service levels slip rather than adjusting in real time.

There’s also a risk to consider. When store teams rely on personal devices or unmanaged messaging apps to get things done, governance gets harder. What starts as a practical workaround can quickly turn into a security or compliance issue that IT has to own.

And then there’s scale. Retail demand isn’t predictable. Promotions, seasonal surges, and unexpected spikes are part of the job. Supporting frontline teams when things get busy depends on having a clear, real-time view of demand — not finding out where the pressure was after the rush has passed.

Customers Feel the Difference Immediatelylink to this section

Customers don’t think in terms of systems or workflows. They experience waiting. They notice transfers. They remember when they had to explain the same issue more than once.

The reason the phone still matters in retail isn’t about resisting digital channels. It’s about confidence. Customers call because they believe it’s the fastest path to resolution when something matters. When that expectation isn’t met, trust erodes quickly — and it’s hard to win back.

When frontline teams have better visibility and clearer ways to involve the right specialists, those moments change. Issues get resolved faster. In-store teams stay focused on customers in front of them. And service feels calmer, even when things get busy.

Moving Beyond Basic Call Queueslink to this section

Basic call queues have played an important role in retail for a long time. In most stores, that means shared lines, hunt groups, or phones that ring across multiple associates or departments. These setups help make sure calls don’t go unanswered — but they stop there.

Retail service is now more distributed. It spans stores, specialist teams, and back-office functions. Supporting that reality requires a different foundation — one that gives frontline teams clarity and confidence, while giving IT the visibility and control needed to scale.

This isn’t about replacing everything that already works. It’s about recognizing where simple routing reaches its limits, and where retail service needs a more intentional approach behind the scenes.