The British retail landscape is undergoing a structural transformation that could render its traditional entry-level positions obsolete. Next, one of the UK’s largest clothing retailers, has issued a stark warning that the number of starter roles in the sector is collapsing at a rate that threatens the entire workforce pipeline. This is not a temporary downturn, but a fundamental shift in how goods are moved from warehouse to customer, driven by automation and changing consumer habits.
According to Next’s latest corporate report, the company’s own entry-level roles have fallen by 30 per cent over the past five years, and the trend is accelerating. The firm describes the decline as ‘dramatic’ and warns that without intervention, the retail sector could lose its function as a primary source of employment for school leavers and career changers. This is a canary in the coal mine for the broader economy, where retail has long been the single largest employer of under-25s.
The underlying physics is simple: labour is being replaced by capital. Warehouses are increasingly staffed by robotic pickers rather than human hands. Checkouts are giving way to self-service kiosks and scan-and-go systems. Even customer service is being outsourced to algorithms powered by machine learning. Each of these substitutions reduces the demand for the kind of low-skilled, repetitive work that has traditionally provided a first step into the job market for millions. The efficiency gains are real and measurable, but so is the social cost.
Next’s warning comes at a time when the UK’s youth unemployment rate is already stubbornly high, hovering around 12 per cent. The company notes that while higher-skilled roles in logistics, data analysis, and online marketing are growing, these require qualifications and experience that are far beyond what most school leavers possess. The result is what economists call ‘skill polarisation’: a hollowing out of the middle, with low-skill jobs disappearing and high-skill jobs demanding ever higher qualifications.
The data from Next is consistent with broader trends. The British Retail Consortium reports that the total number of people employed in retail has fallen by 100,000 since 2019, with the sharpest declines in store-based roles. Meanwhile, online sales as a share of total retail have stabilised at around 30 per cent, up from 20 per cent before the pandemic. This structural shift means that the physical stores that remain are increasingly focused on experience and service, not just product distribution. They need fewer people on the shop floor, and those they do need must be capable of providing expert advice, managing returns, and handling complex queries.
What is to be done? Next calls for a national conversation about how to reskill and upskill the workforce, with a particular focus on digital literacy and customer service excellence. The company is investing in its own training programmes, but acknowledges that the scale of the problem demands government involvement. The traditional model of learning on the job in a retail setting is becoming obsolete, and the safety net of low-skilled employment is fraying.
There is an analogy here with the energy transition. Just as we must invest in new technologies and infrastructure to replace fossil fuels, we must invest in human capital to replace the jobs that are being automated out of existence. The process is inevitable, but its impacts are not. With careful planning, retraining, and social support, we can navigate this transition without leaving a generation behind. But the warning from Next makes clear that we are running out of time. The biosphere of British retail is changing, and the species that cannot adapt will not survive.
For now, the message is urgent. The entry-level job, once the first rung on the ladder, is being removed. We must build a new staircase, or watch as millions lose their footing.
